Gaming Change: 6 Ways Leaders Can Help Everyone Feel Like a Winner in Times of Change

“Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future” – John F. Kennedy

Let’s be honest. Neither the word “change” nor “management” screams “fun day at the office.” BUT, we at Provisio feel very strongly that change does not have to be so daunting. Dare we say, it can actually be exciting if handled skillfully? Since our job is to guide clients through technical implementations, we have learned a few things about change management that can benefit any organization. 

Get Your Team Involved Early. Be transparent about what changes are happening and why they are necessary. Encourage open dialogue and listen to feedback from team members. This creates a sense of ownership and helps everything feel like they are part of the process. 

Okay, sounds good. But how do we do that?

Name the Project. Throw some ideas around! Brainstorm terrible name ideas as well as great ones. This will help your team work through some of the stress around the project as well as come up with a unifying name. One of our clients called their transition “Project Atlas,” which seemed very fitting considering the scope of their system change. 

To make it more fun, you could pick and name a mascot for the project. You may not know that Provisio uses cats as our unofficial mascots. (Please do not tell my dog, Truffle.)

A Little Group Therapy Never Hurt Anyone. Give your team time and space to express any concerns about the change. Then, be very clear about what benefits they will see from the transition. In terms of a Salesforce technology shift, we feel confident in sharing how this transition will benefit clients, staff, and stakeholders. Don’t be shy about reiterating all the great outcomes you expect from the changes you are navigating.

Embrace Fun. What is it you are changing at work? In the case of one of our clients, they were retiring a system they had used for over thirty years. After that much work, they decided their legacy system needed a retirement party. So, why not throw a party in honor of what you are leaving behind? Order food, line up speakers, come up with a theme song!

 

Cultivate Cheerleaders. You need teammates who will promote the change. If it is a platform shift, it could be a group of superusers: people who understand the benefits your new system will bring and who will support internal training efforts. You can create a committee that will plan events/training sessions that will help ease the transition. 

Focus on User Adoption. All of the efforts described above come down to a single outcome: employees using their new technology. After all, if nobody uses it, why make the investment? If your team understands the benefits of the tech and feels confident using it, you can all pat yourselves on the back and call the project [insert your clever project name here!] a great success.

If you are contemplating a technology change, Provisio has lots of experience guiding clients through the process. Contact Us to get the conversation started!