By focusing on the outcomes, celebrating the wins and making a point of highlighting great work publicly. Systems transition is often a marathon rather than a sprint, so drawing attention back to the big picture when people get immersed in the detail is one way of ensuring teams can re-motivate and reinvigorate. Particularly if we are vocal about how much has been achieved to get us where we are today. Call out the progress and remember every person in the team is an individual and all need and take praise in different ways. Manage the individual's needs and the teams will pull together.

I keep my team motivated during a system transition by ensuring clear communication and involving them in planning to foster ownership. I provide training to build confidence and set achievable milestones to maintain momentum. I actively address concerns, showing my commitment to their well-being, and recognize their efforts through appreciation, both formally and informally, to boost morale. Through a positive outlook, I aim to inspire confidence and encourage the team to embrace change together.

In 20 years of HR across 13 countries, I have led and implemented both HR and organization-wide systems. Their commitment to the employee and customer experience, coupled with anxiety about potential escalations, drove their motivation. Success always hinged on the details, especially data migration—like payroll and customer interactions. To address these details, we hired dedicated resources whose sole focus was to confirm data, enter it, perform quality control, pull reports, and audit—tasks that often fall by the wayside with large system integrations and transitions. By focusing on the details and alleviating fears, we kept teams engaged and proactive, ensuring a seamless experience for everyone impacted.

Based on my experience, the most important thing (and this hasn't been mentioned yet) is communication. Very often, top executives hire companies for this or delegate it down the decision-making chain. In my opinion, this is a mistake. It’s not pleasant, but a leader must lead, especially in difficult times. Particularly in difficult times. They need to make time for colleagues' questions and keep explaining things over and over again.