People tend to fear what they do not understand. This can come with changes in a company as people can become accustomed to their daily routine. I see this quite often in my workplace where a new manager will present new ideas that will clash with the old way of doing things and both sides fight for their own reasoning. A common phrase we’re trying to steer away from “This is how we’ve always done it.”
“People are often resistant to change in general” (Pennsylvania State University). A company I worked for was moving from Microsoft’s Sharepoint to Epicor’s ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning). ERP 10, the latest version, was just released so we were one of their guinea pigs. As with all latest and greatest advances, there are many bugs and issues yet to be resolved. Being so, there was much frustration going on throughout the entire company.
In the system, there is a program that sales would use called “configurators”. This would configure a product based on a menu-based selection therefore pulling all the materials needed helping keep track of inventor. I was put in charge of creating these “configurators” which involved C# coding, something of which I had no background in. I bravely took on the challenge and began figuring out the system. Working in the system, I had managers breathing down my neck to do what seemed like the impossible. So not only was it frustrating for the users but also for the people working on the system itself. There were several meetings with ERP support where we would have to fly them in and pay for their lodging just for them to be there to aid us.
After months of creating these configurators, it was time to present them to the sales team. This would be the unfreezing part of Schein’s planned theory, “Creating the motivation to change” (Pennsylvania State University). I was to show the team how useful it would be and how much easier it was to do their job with my configurators. To have everyone together and show them the new way of doing their job was quite daunting and of course had much confusion which leads to the second part of Schein’s theory which is changing. “The actual changes in behaviors and attitudes to the new desired behaviors and attitudes” (Pennsylvania State University). After giving them this new tool, I had to ensure they were not only using it but using it correctly. I would routinely check up on people and ask for their feedback if they’d like anything changed. This helped them adjust to the new system and furthermore feel that they had a support system if they needed help. This leads to Schein’s last step of refreezing, “stabilizing the changes by freezing the new behaviors into the standard behavior” (Pennsylvania State University). After making the changes they ask for, it started coming to a point where I just had to make minor tweaks. I made sure that they knew I was there to support them if they were confused how to use the system all the way to what would make their job easier.
When they’re satisfied, they’re more likely to see the benefits of the system. One of the newsletters of the company had a section where they asked some people what they liked about it. This helped boost morale as well as brought light to ideas others may not have seen. The change from one system to another was not a smooth one but I’m glad I was able to be a part of making the change.
References:
Penn State University World Campus. (2016a). Lesson 5: Learning and Changing in a Global Context
Retrieved From https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1802572/modules/items/21179081
Penn State University World Campus. (2016b). Lesson 5: Learning and Changing in a Global Context
Retrieved From https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1802572/modules/items/21179082
Joey Hong Nguyen says
My opinion may be biased because I had a larger part in making the movement and had more knowledge of how the system worked. I personally felt it was worth the switch because it was suppose to automatically keep track of material, quantities and restock on its own but as all new systems, had to work out the numerous bugs. I think the company was moving towards a system where people had more tunnel vision and were to only focus on their job at hand. A part of the system allowed certain groups to see and enter certain menus but as a developer I had access to everything so I could see the entire process whereas some others may not and therefore hinder their productivity. This is because they might not know who the order is going to next and not know how to make their job easier without personally asking them.
aek5366 says
People can be reluctant to change when the road is rocky and they are uncertain if it will bring lasting benefits. Some people wonder if the juice is worth the squeeze. A lot of time the decision to change comes top down and not every level of organization has a say in it. In your case the company went though the change of your old system to a new one. Do you feel like the benefits that a new system provided outweigh the costs and trouble of Switching in your case?