Written by Samantha Colby
For most people, change in the workplace is intimidating. When that change is related to technology, people are even less receptive to change, and sometimes, downright resistant to it. But, if you know that a new technology, like a new timekeeping system, is what your company needs to take business to the next level, don’t back down because you’re expecting some internal resistance to the project.
Effective change management will help you calm your co-worker’s qualms and flip that mindset of fear to one of excitement for the future technology you’re implementing. Just as change is not inherently negative, change management initiatives don’t have to be dull.
Here are some of our favorite change communication methods we’ve seen clients use throughout our hundreds of change management projects over the past two decades.
- Sending custom cookies to each employee’s home with the open enrollment dates written in icing before the launch of the first open enrollment period on a new benefits platform. You know that was the most exciting piece of snail mail these employees received in a long time! If your employees are co-located, you could also deliver these in the office before the team arrives in the morning, to start the day off on a positive note.
- Having a company-wide daily email countdown with the number of days until the new system was deployed as the subject line. Including super short, yet informative tips for using the new system in the body of the email, complete with screenshots so that employees were familiar with the new system design and functionality, really elevated the level of excitement for one client. You might be thinking sending a company-wide email daily is a waste of time, but we beg to differ, as long as you’re keeping your content short, and focused on bolstering user adoption.
- Have a custom cake and an in-office celebration commemorating system go-live.
- Offer prizes, such as gift cards to a local coffee shop or the office’s favorite lunch spot, for the first 10 people to ask a system-related question during a stakeholder training.
- Holding “What’s in it for me?” walk-in hours where employees in various stakeholder groups have access to HR/change leaders who can hone in on how the new system will impact the employee’s day to day, and provide reassurance in a 1:1 environment. This is particularly helpful if you know you have an employee population that is unlikely to voice questions or concerns in a more public environment, like a company meeting.
- Create a scavenger hunt of sorts with the new system, with prizes offered for those who complete it. Items on the list could be things such as “take a screenshot of the page you’d navigate to if you wanted to see your timesheet for last week”. This is an easy way to incentivize employees to use the new system in a low-stakes way, while helping them acclimate to a new user interface and click paths.
Have you had success with a creative change management method in the past? I’d love to hear about it. Shoot me an email at scolby@hrchitect.com. If you’re getting ready to implement a new HCM system and need help with change management, let us know.
Over the past two decades, HRchitect has helped thousands of organizations across the globe align their HCM technology initiatives with business objectives to achieve extraordinary results. HRchitect is a name you can trust, and your one-stop shop for all your HCM technology needs from strategy, evaluation/selection, implementation, change management, ongoing support, and everything in between.
About Samantha Colby
Samantha Colby is the Marketing Director at HRchitect, the leader in HCM systems strategic consulting. Samantha has several years of experience in the payroll and benefits administration space. Samantha has B2B and consumer marketing experience in several industries including consulting, higher education, and sports and entertainment. When not preparing for upcoming trade shows or executing marketing campaigns, Samantha can be found following Boston-based sports teams or reading a book from the local library.