Tech Talk | What your systems can – and can't – fix
Many executives make the mistake of thinking that technology alone is going to solve their problems. For example, an IT department might implement a collaborative development tool, which it expects will encourage all regional team members to stay connected and up-to-date, and allow users to manage all aspects of their projects.
But the complete opposite happens: Users feel the application doesn’t support how work is managed from day to day.
Or consider the legal department that invests almost $100,000 in a software package intended to help manage contracts, but users don’t use the tool in the way that it was intended.
In both examples, the technology provides only a partial fix to the problems. The following tips will help ensure any new tech purchase gets fully adopted and embraced by staff.
Demand Honesty
Encourage senior management—those who report to a vice president or someone higher—to be honest about the issues surrounding technology, the organization and its processes. If they are not honest about the situation, chances are your new technology will not help matters. However, it won’t be easy. Most individuals in senior management too often are afraid of losing their job. As a result, they tend to gloss over issues and use technology as a band-aid solution.
Analyze Defects/Issues
Sample your defects and determine and identify if the root cause can be mitigated by technology alone or a combination of technology and organizational changes. Measure the cycle time for completing certain types of transactions and determine whether it can be reduced by automation alone or a combination of automation and streamlining the overall process.
Take the Company Pulse
Survey the masses to better understand the perception that your employees have on not just technology, but also the effectiveness of all levels of management and the relationships between departments.
If the survey shows that employees are unhappy with management in general, the way technology was rolled out in the past, or the breakdown in communications between departments, chances are the new technology won’t solve the problems. Changes to the organization or company processes will need to happen before or along with the implementation of new technology.
Agents of Change
These days, it’s not hard to find a business analyst that can facilitate and document requirements, but it is hard to find people in these roles who are change managers/agents. Hire someone with a process improvement background who understands the behavioral aspect that comes with changes in technology, processes and organization. Without someone with this background, project managers will likely develop unrealistic and deficient plans.
Cynthia Hipona Gray is a senior consultant for the business process engineering practice at Grace-Hunt. She can be reached at cgray@grace-hunt.com.
WBJ Web Partners
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