Overcoming Hesitation from Employees When Transitioning to a New ERP

It’s in our nature to be hesitant about change, especially when it comes to the workplace, where functionality and automation are crucial to success. Workplaces require routine, and an organisation productivity depends on the ecosystem that is developed amongst its employees.

As workplaces grow, their systems and technologies need to change to adapt. Having a new ERP (or any new piece of tech) implemented into the workplace can initially cause a stir, but soon becomes crucial to organisation’s success and longevity.

Here are some tips that need to be implemented early into the transition to avoid and overcome hesitation from employees when transitioning to a new ERP:

1. Understand the Need for Change

Not only for yourself and your business, but some employees may need to understand the need for change, especially ones that have been with the organisation for a long time.

This calls for transparency and taking responsibility for any issues within the technology or the company.

Put yourself in your hesitant employee’s shoes. This whole process is not just about changing systems, it’s about how your employees feel about change and their ability to adapt. Implementing new technology needs to be humanised, as changing systems may change the whole job for an employee.

Any resistance to change is not without good reason. Your business will be investing a lot of time, money, and resources into this process, which can feel overwhelming for employees who will be affected day to day.?A collaborative approach to growth is a must.

2. Communicate Changes Early

This helps to eliminate issues of feeling unprepared and encourages early learning.

It’s important to make sure that employees have been informed well in advance that there will be an implementation of a new ERP system. There are several different ways you can do this: send an email, host a presentation afternoon or schedule a 1:1 meeting with each employee. Communicating these plans early ensures that everyone is informed of the changes and can begin to accommodate new processes.

Your employees need to be equipped with the knowledge from the start – the who, how, and why. It’s important to make sure everyone is comfortable and well-informed long before implementation.

3. Focus on Benefits

Focusing on the benefits will help make the transition to a new ERP smoother. Making employees aware of the pitfalls of current routines and systems allows them to see a brighter future in the company.

If employees understand why new technologies are being implemented, they are more likely to accept the changes.

Moving to or updating a system is an investment of time and resources for the whole organisation. Make sure to stay positive and keep a focus on why changes are being made and what the future holds.

4. Providing Adequate Training – Customise Training if Needed

As an organisation, you need to make sure to nurture your employees, especially during times of change. Providing adequate training is vital to ensure a smooth transition into new technology.

Organisations may find extensive training days daunting because there will be long periods of time spent away from the desk and there may have to be a delay in schedules. In the long run, adequate training will help to minimise any issues and costs associated with clunky technology and inefficient work, which will create an overall more competent workplace in the future.

Set realistic expectations and know that there will be a bit of a transition period including lots of questions and some mistakes. Think of them as learning tools and stepping stones and always focus on the positives.

5. Create an Open Forum, Ask for Feedback

It’s important to value your employee’s needs and feedback since they will be the ones using the systems every day. Make sure to keep an open forum and encourage communication to make employees feel valued and a part of the implementation. You will also gain valuable insight from the people who will help you tweak the new systems to be suited to your company’s needs.

Some people will be excited about the change because their processes might be more streamlined, and others will be worried for a range of other reasons.

Support all your staff through the changes. Know that there is a learning curve and that it will take time to get back to the level of autonomy from before.

Hesitation to change will always be around, but if you’re open, honest, and prioritise learning and communication, you shouldn’t have any problems at all.

6. Celebrate Successes, Big and Small

Your employee culture should have a heavy hand in how you run your business. You will need to make sure that your team is working closely and more efficiently than ever, especially in the trying times of technology implementation. It’s a good rule of thumb, inside and outside of change, to celebrate all wins, great and small.

You’re taking a risk in creating tangible change in your workplace, you need to make sure that employees are rewarded for their time, training, and successes with the new technology.

How HARMONiQ can help.

HARMONiQ has developed a scalable ERP to help streamline and evolve your business. Our team also helps to train staff and helps to develop the technical knowledge of your new systems, so your employees feel supported. We work alongside you to help deliver and implement new technologies and provide you with the skills to feel confident in the changes in your workplace.

If you are interested in learning about HARMONiQ or have any questions, feel free to contact us via our website here.

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