Introducing a new software or operating system to your business or organization can be scary, but there are ways to make the process easier.
1. Be Inclusive
Your team’s attitude towards the new program can make all the difference. If they’re dreading the process, it’ll be difficult for them to embrace change. Make sure to include people from all departments and all levels of seniority in the process. Not only when you benefit from a variety of perspective, it will encourage creativity and new ideas. Even better, studies cited by Qlearsite show that companies that seek input from a broad range of staff perspectives often see above-average gains in both performance and profitability.
2. Be Organized
Whether you intend to automate one particular part of your business, such as bookkeeping and accounting, or change everything, a solid strategy is important. In fact, your best option is to develop a roadmap. This allows you to see exactly how the project is progressing, and predict where there may be delays.
3. Be Transparent
As Beekeeper explains, transparency is at the heart of any healthy business or organization. Even if you decide against sharing your entire software rollout strategy, transparency pays off in promoting honesty, credibility, and respect.
Allowing the parties involved in the development to see how the project is progressing means they know when they are next required to contribute. Transparency also creates accountability for individual project stakeholders, especially if the rollout’s progress is shared with the rest of the team.
Allowing staff to ask questions, offer input, and provide feedback will help alleviate fears of the upcoming changes. Consider building a specific channel through your intranet that makes it easy for your staff to offer input. You can even add banner updates when new questions are answered or if you’re seeking specific feedback. Make this task easy by using Adobe Spark’s free online banner maker so you can customize your updated banner posts.
4. Be Helpful
While most people are happy to manage technology including smartphones, tablets, and other devices, not everyone is enthusiastic about new software. Offering thorough training, delivered clearly, is key to a successful rollout.
Organizations do well when they create an atmosphere of openness, where employees are happy to ask questions without fear of sounding ‘silly’. Once training is completed, ad-hoc support is a great way of dealing with questions as they arise.
Bear in mind that your new software may require some equipment upgrades for staff. In order to get buy-in from them with the rollout, they need to be able to effectively use the software on their assigned devices.
5. Be Honest
Few things are perfect right from the start. Your organization will likely encounter a few snags when rolling out your new software. Take bookkeeping and accounting software as an example: as Xplenty points out, keeping data centralized and accessible for analysis has huge value for the business. However, as part of your team transitions from spreadsheets to more powerful software, there will be mistakes. But they will also discover where the software can be improved. Admitting to that need for adjustments helps secure continued buy-in.
Where To Start
Accounting and bookkeeping software is often one of the first choices for businesses when it comes to introducing software during startup. QuickBooks is one example of business software for your mid-level company. It combines a solid foundation with critical analysis functions. Plus, it is intuitive and easy for staff to use. Without becoming overly complex, your business can run payroll, produce advanced reports, and manage your inventory from one central place.
Despite their scary reputation, software rollouts can be done smoothly if they are well planned. Involving employees from all parts of the organization right at the beginning ensures a high level of buy-in. It is a game-changer when it comes to a successful rollout. Then present the information in an appropriate format, and you can look forward to smooth sailing.