You’ve chosen a new system. It’s well set up, it’ll save hours every week and it fixes problems that have annoyed everyone for years. Then launch day comes and people keep using the old spreadsheet. If you don’t get staff on board early, the new system never really lands.
This isn’t stubbornness, usually. People are busy, the old way works well enough for them, and learning something new takes effort at exactly the moment they have least time for it. Resistance to change is normal. Planning for it is what makes the difference.
Here’s how to get staff on board and bring people with you.
Before you launch: get staff on board early
Involve people before you choose
The single most effective thing you can do is involve the people who’ll use the system before it’s picked. Not everyone needs a vote, but the people who do the work every day know things managers don’t: the workarounds, the edge cases and the bits of the current process that actually work well.
- Ask a few staff what frustrates them about the current way of working.
- Let one or two try the shortlisted options with real examples from their day.
- Take their feedback seriously, even when it’s inconvenient.
People are much more likely to support something they helped shape.
Explain the why, in their terms
“It’ll give us better visibility of the pipeline” means something to a director. It means very little to someone who answers the phone all day. Explain what changes for each person and what’s in it for them.
Be specific: “You won’t need to type customer details in twice.” “You’ll be able to see today’s jobs on your phone without calling the office.” Also be honest about what will be harder at first. People trust you more when you don’t pretend it’ll all be easy.
People don’t resist new systems. They resist extra work, uncertainty and feeling foolish. Deal with those and most of the resistance goes.
Find your champions
In every team there’s someone who enjoys working things out and whom others go to for help. Get them involved early, train them first and give them time to get comfortable. They become the person colleagues ask, which is far more effective than everyone emailing the supplier or the boss.
Give champions a bit of recognition and some protected time. Being the helpful one shouldn’t mean doing their normal job in the evenings.
Around launch
Train for the job, not the software
Training often walks through every menu and feature. People remember very little of it. Instead, train around the tasks people actually do.
- List the five or so things each role does most often.
- Show how to do each one in the new system, step by step.
- Let people practise with realistic examples, not dummy data called “Test Test”.
- Leave short written or video guides for each task.
- Follow up a week or two later, once real questions have come up.
Keep sessions short and in small groups. Nobody learns much in a three-hour marathon.
Plan the switch carefully
Timing matters. Avoid launching during your busiest season, around holidays or when key people are away. Summer can be quieter for some businesses but also means holiday cover, so check the calendar.
Decide whether to switch everyone at once or start with one team. A small pilot group can iron out problems before everyone else joins. Whatever you choose, set a clear date when the old way stops, and stick to it. Running both indefinitely is the quickest way for the new system to fail.
After launch
Keep listening after launch
The first month is when goodwill is won or lost. Make it easy to report problems and ask questions. Fix the small irritations quickly, because they matter more to adoption than big features. Let people see that their feedback leads to changes.
After a few weeks, ask the team directly: what’s better, what’s worse and what’s still annoying? Share what you’ve changed as a result.
Lead by example
If the managing director still asks for updates by email instead of checking the system, everyone will notice. Use it yourself, refer to it in meetings and ask questions in terms of what’s in it. “What does the system say?” is a powerful habit.
A checklist for your next rollout
- Have the people who’ll use it been involved in choosing it?
- Can you explain the benefit for each role in one sentence?
- Do you have at least one champion?
- Is training built around real daily tasks?
- Is there a firm switch-over date?
- Is there a way to gather and act on feedback?
How we help
Working out how to get staff on board is as much a part of a successful project as the build itself. It’s built into how we approach digital transformation, and our IT and technical support can help your team through the early weeks.
