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Published on 8.07.2019
"Nothing is as constant as change," said the Greek philosopher Heraclitus over 2,500 years ago. Sounds out-of-date? Not at all! In times of Digital Transformation and Digital Workplace, employees are confronted with many changes. One could say they are often overwhelmed by changes as they are flooded with new tools and ways of working. If a social intranet is then to be introduced in the company, project managers are facing a challenge: They want to better reach out to all employees and inspire them at the same time. Ultimately, the new digital home should be launched as successfully as possible and established in the company in the long run. Now, how can this be achieved?
Acceptance is key! That sounds quite simple at first glance? Yet, we are talking about much more than the roll-out of just another new IT tool. Corporate culture and the way we are treating each other are important factors that influence the success and acceptance of your COYO. The social intranet project easily becomes a driver of (other) change processes within the company. Or, ideally, it’s already part of the internal transformation process.
However, many companies still struggle to successfully implement change programs and get their employees to embrace change. Change management is and remains one of the top challenges companies are facing today, and it’s a big stumbling block - even with the introduction of COYO!
The cornerstone
A recent study on change management shows that only 23 percent of all change projects in Germany have been successfully implemented in the past two years. So what's the reason? For the most part, there are too many internal changes - either at the same time or rapidly in a row. Plus, there is development potential on management level.
It’s more important than ever for leaders to invest time and effort in changing the mind-set and attitude of their workforce! Managers should be pioneers for change and employee motivation. They are the ones who act as important role models. They are the ones who lay the foundation for success of the digital home project and its internal acceptance going forward.
So, what's particularly important in the context of change here? Firstly, it's essential to communicate to your workforce why this change is important for the company and will be a win going forward. Employees need to understand the value of this project and why they should make the effort to adjust their behavior. Secondly, executives need to emphasize how this change fits to the overall company strategy. Surely there will be links to strategic cornerstones or company values that can be taken into account for this communication.
If you're missing to establish a sense of urgency, employees will lack motivation and your efforts will go nowhere. This is most important when many changes are happening at the same time, because you don't want your employees to just resist passively. Finally, start communicating as early as possible. Make the effort to communicate to your workforce already at early project stages, if possible. Create momentum by explaining the why and how, share some insights and keep your employees in the loop until the launch day has arrived. Done? Not yet! Include executives in the launch communication to build up a momentum of influence and boost activities on your platform. This is one of the key elements for a solid foundation for building commitment for your new digital home.
Certainly there are more stumbling stones that will cross your way while you're in the middle of your social intranet project, but acceptance from and support by the management is crucial, if you want to make an impact.
