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Winning hearts not minds: Unlocking human potential in business change 1

Executive summary

Big projects are always about more than technology. When it comes to digital transformation, success will depend on people being willing to embrace it, and yet we often face resistance. This Edenhouse white paper explores how we can encourage people to welcome major changes to their professional environment.

Contents Introduction

4-5

Articulate the vision

6-7

Engage early – good communication is two way

8-11

Motivate and build momentum

12-13

Conclusion

10-point guide

Introduction

Shawn Robertson loves unleashing potential. In his role at SAP, he flies all over the world, coaching leaders and teams to galvanise hearts and minds around a mission, a new way of working, or a goal. But he doesn’t talk about managing change; he talks about leadership, empowerment and ownership, and his stories illustrate why so many companies get it wrong. “In the US, a big challenge for the healthcare system was moving to electronic medical records,” he says, as an example. “All the nursing schools had spent time teaching people how to fill out charts; and what happened overnight when they switched to electronic records? Fifty per cent of their knowledge base became irrelevant.” Nurses balked in the face of these changes, but when hospitals linked the switch to individuals, something altered. They began to communicate that the continuity of care was the biggest reason for medical errors when people switch doctors – “if we lose a file, then we lose everything we have ever done with that patient”.

T h e y c r eate d a sense o f u r g enc y. T h e y e x p l aine d t h e benefit o f m ov in g to t h e ne w way.

They also helped staff to appreciate they had a central role to play in resolving the problem. “For us to improve patient lives, we want you as the nurse to lead this, because we know you know most about and care about the patient…” they said. Suddenly, the technology became easier for them. “They created a sense of urgency. They explained the benefit of moving to the new way; the benefit was tied to an emotion that was mapped to the importance of their job. And that’s when things transformed,” Shawn explains.

How organisations handle change makes a huge difference to how people accept new technology and realise the potential of digital transformation. Where it was once the case that a company would bring in a big consultancy to manage projects, we now live in a world where change is the new constant, and our way of working is evolving all the time.

To help these projects succeed, we should help people appreciate the reasons why it matters and support them in embracing new ways of working.

Articulate

the vision There is much talk in business about the influence of technology in helping operations become more efficient and allowing people to do more meaningful and productive work. But this often leads to a conversation too focused on the technology itself and the difference it will make. By articulating a vision, however, leaders can engage people at a deeper level. “If we haven’t taken the time to define what great looks like for our people, how can we expect them to go and get it?” says Shawn from SAP. “Everywhere I see underperformance linked to change, it’s because people haven’t clearly articulated why the change is happening, and the value of the change. Or what’s expected of that individual during and post change. For Richard Little, professor of sustainability leadership at the University of Cumbria and a consultant at Impact, which runs development programmes for global companies, the easiest way to get people onside is not to try too hard. Instead do something worthwhile and aim for an outcome bigger than profit.

I f w e h av en ’ t ta k en t h e time to d efine w h at g r eat l o o k s like for our people, h ow can w e e x p ect t h em to g o an d g et it ?

“If the company is clear about why and how a particular project adds value above and beyond commercial goals, then people will commit to it,” he explains. Bringing people together around a vision, and working out how they can contribute to it, is a powerful message that comes across in times of change. It’s more compelling than being forced and will ultimately be more successful.

Lead, don’t manage Richard at Impact says managers can fall into the grip of a “widely held delusion” that change programmes fail because of employee resistance. “People resist change that hurts their interests and don’t take kindly to being pushed around or told what to think,” he says. “As soon as you think of someone pushing, or directing, or telling – you have lost it. People are far better at change or innovation than managers tend to let them be.”

Rather than instructing people to change, he says: “It’s a hundred years since management consultant Mary Parker Follett talked about the relationship of equality between managers and workers as one of ‘power with’, rather than ‘power over’, but it has to be rediscovered over and over again. “By all means ask someone to master a new way of working, a new technology, or new software, but take heed of their insights, share the big picture and give it the resources and time it takes to adjust – which is always more than people think.”

Engage early– good communication is two way With a vision in mind, an ethos of openness, and a readiness to ask ‘how’, rather than tell ‘what’, it’s at least possible to get everyone in the room. Do this early in the process and have the conversations on how best to get where you are going. As Richard from Impact says, “always consult more widely than you think you need to”. This message is amplified by Louise Marshall, infrastructure and shared services director at Brother UK, who explains how “kinetic team working” in the early stages of a project can really help.

“When you have a large group working together, from different areas of the business, you get a wide range of personalities and opinions at all levels,” she says. “A line manager will be looking for technology to make their life easier. When you get someone at the coal face, for example, they will be more interested in the detail. Those two people will have different views on how the project needs to be managed and what the result needs to be. “Getting them together early on will deliver a much better result. If it’s done piecemeal, then people don’t always appreciate the challenges that others will have, and will only ever think about how it affects them.”

Test Make it requirements clear But this is about more than integrating a group of people from across a business. It’s about drawing out different ideas and encouraging a true exploration of what’s needed. Daren Carpenter, group IT systems and service director at chemicals company Synthomer, believes it’s an essential way to test a proposal, gather feedback and communicate a response. “It always comes back to requirements for me; I don’t want to talk about brand or solution, I want people to tell me what they want to do,” he says. “We are currently gathering key stakeholders from different parts of the business, and from various global locations for monthly meetings. “What they are doing is testing requirements across the group, together in a room. If we can get that engagement right, their role is to go back into the business and communicate what we are up to.”

I d o n ’ t want to ta l k ab o ut b r an d o r s o l uti o n , I want p e o p l e to te l l me w h at t h e y want to d o.

It also pays to communicate clearly in these groups, and right through the business, to harness the potential of everyone involved. If your user group and stakeholders understand how they will benefit, there is less scope for confusion, uncertainty and anxiety. Daren from Synthomer explains: “This is about knowing your audience and using simple language. If I communicate well, they will ask me the right questions, and people at the top will be fully engaged.” He adds: “We also have a change director looking at the impact on people, who sits with the board, selling the vision of where we are, where we are going to have obstacles and keeping them engaged.” At Brother, Louise says consistent language plays an important role in helping people feel more comfortable. She says there is a tendency with IT projects for people to slip into bad habits. “They are trying to communicate something quickly and succinctly, but in doing so they lose people’s interests because they get a bit overwhelmed. Don’t use jargon, don’t use techno-speak.”

Understand why people are reluctant It’s inevitable that some will resist new technology. While it’s too simplistic to put this down to age, it’s fair to say that the more familiar you are with a way of working, the harder it will be to adjust – which does introduce the generational issue. Louise explains: “Older people, who have been in situ for a long time, might find it a bit uncomfortable to change what they are doing. Whereas for the younger generation, technology is part of everyday life. For them you almost have to gamify things. But you don’t want to go so far in one direction that you lose the older generation.

She says there are people who have been in the business for decades and their reluctance might be based on previous experience, leading to an attitude of “we’ve seen it all before”. “As with any business, there are things that have worked and things that haven’t and as a human being you tend to think about the mistakes rather than the successes. Trying to engage those people is harder because they might only want to come in at the end when everything is working and settled down.”

Older people, who h av e been in situ f o r a l o n g time , mi g h t fin d it a bit unc o mf o rtab l e to c h an g e .

It’s important to take steps to understand this way of thinking, because it can have a toxic impact on others in the organisation. Choosing to motivate and encourage positive behaviour is one way of overcoming doubt and uncertainty.

Motivate

and build momentum According to Thomas Hills, professor of psychology at the University of Warwick, there are five factors which positively impact behavioural change, which he refers to as: social, economic, identity, nudge and associative. All of these can help businesses seeking to successfully deliver change.

Social role models Thomas says people will naturally look to their role models and friends to see how they respond. “If you can get early uptake amongst people who have the highest social profiles in an organisation, that is a powerful way to achieve what you are looking for,” says Thomas. “They are probably people who are well liked, or people who are productive.” Louise from Brother UK agrees. She says leading by example is key, making sure that leaders adopt things, and are seen to be adopting things. “When you use a new system, and lead by example, you will get people who will automatically follow and do the same.”

Economic incentives You can also pay people to do something, says Thomas. “If you can incentivise things, the economists will tell you, you can basically achieve anything. That is not necessarily true, but it’s highly effective.You can do that in a positive or negative way, giving or taking away.” This is what happened at Brother UK when the leadership team implemented a new app for learning and development. “All the books said: ‘don’t link learning and development to financial reward’, but we did,” says Louise. “Everybody had targets to hit, they are measured against them every year and that determines their annual bonus. The people who wanted to do learning and development did it anyway, but for the people who were more reluctant, this encouraged them to do it and use the technology to get there. But she also suggests other incentives can work for those not motivated by money: “We also included community engagement in the target. For people with more experience, who weren’t ambitious for promotion, we got them mentoring apprentices, going into schools and helping others. And that engaged them with using the app.”

Tap into identity The third factor, and a very powerful one, is linking what you are trying to achieve to someone’s identity. Thomas explains: “If someone really cares about climate change, for example, and you want them to change something that isn’t overtly related, such as diet – you can link the two,” he says. “By saying that changing your diet will ultimately have an impact on climate change – they are more likely to change what they eat because it impacts something they really care about.” The context may have changed, but the message hasn’t. Figure out what people care about. And if you can’t do that, then work out who will be the right role models to help that process, he says.

Remove barriers

Positive association On a practical level, too, once people have developed a full understanding of how things work, then using the new technology should be associated with a good feeling and should be acknowledged. Thomas says if you are trying to create a message that you want people to take up, then show something that reinforces the message, positively or negatively. It’s about pairing what you want to achieve with happy, attractive, successful, entertaining and good vibrations. When people think of what you want them to do – to use the new technology, for example, you want the unconscious associations to be good. Remember the ‘Guinness is good for you’ adverts? These were about automatic associations with the brand. The same can be done for new systems and ways of working.

Once change has been introduced, incentivised and role modelled, then progress is important to maintain momentum and participation. Thomas talks about making life easier and draws on the idea of nudge theory from behavioural science. “If I want people to start using ‘photocopier A’, and I have got another one down the hall they have been using, then I should put photocopier A closer to their desks,” he says. “If you want people to walk around, then introduce the idea of walking meetings.You are just making it easier for people to do what you want them to do.”

Conclusion

If change is constant, then we need to get better at delivering transformative projects. Without the steps mentioned above, the potential power of technology remains just that – potential. We also need to unlock the potential in people. The consensus is, however, that people are much better at change than we think, if certain conditions are met. We all like to have a sense of purpose and vision, and to be consulted and engaged in a process. Too many organisations have come to a place where, according to Shawn from SAP, people have been over managed and under led. He believes the change management processes that are most successful focus more on leadership.

“If you focus more on the mind than the heart, then you’ll be in trouble. When you focus on the heart in a change process, your chances of being successful are ten times better. “With technology projects, you need top level leadership to ask good questions at the outset, inspire the change, create the sense of urgency and anchor it, before firing up the staff to keep it moving.”

10-point guide Here are 10 take away notes to help guide any major change management project: 1

Articulate the vision

2 Lead, don’t manage 3

Engage with your people

Test requirements

5 Language and style are key 6

Understand reluctance

Motivate and build momentum

Use role models and incentives

Tap into people’s identity

10 Remove barriers, provide positive reinforcement

Talk through how you can unlock human potential in business change with Edenhouse Solutions today.

edenhousesolutions.co.uk info@edenhousesolutions.co.uk Or call us:

+44 (0) 330 058 6020

Edenhouse Solutions help forward-thinking businesses reimagine their business processes, by harnessing the power of SAP innovation to drive transformation and change management success. A leading strategic partner to small, medium and large businesses across multiple industries, Edenhouse inspire business leaders to create a growth mindset to leverage their SAP investment, and Cloud strategies to achieve competitive edge.

edenhousesolutions.co.uk

Headquartered in Birmingham UK, with offices in Farnborough and Manchester, the company employs highly talented SAP consultants and solution architects who are passionate about driving our ‘Customer for Life’ ethos and helping create an Intelligent Enterprise to drive success.