In general, all technology or IT related operational changes are mostly considered back office changes and work is usually schedule for after or before business hours. In addition, most leaders also understand that both technology and business are dependent on continues improvements and without change there is no progress, then why some business leaders are reluctant or resistance to any IT or technology related change? Is it even possible to avoid changes in both technology and business? Is there a cost for delay?
Here’s some of the main reasons for IT/Technology operational changes:
- Technology Life Cycle
- Business Process Change
- Compliance or Certification Requirement
- Operational Improvement
- Process Improvement
- Business strategy alignment
Here’s top 3 reason business leaders are resistance to change:
Impact of IT Change on Business Operations: In context of all business expenses, IT Cost (Hard Cost) is a small cost compare to other business expenses, however, IT impacts most on business soft cost. It is common understanding that it’s not the change in IT operations that business leaders are concerned about but impact of IT change on business operations. To avoid any business impact, detailed planning and testing with strategy approach are key disciplines that reduce business soft cost and lower risks. There are many studies and books have written on the topics of Change Management or ITIL to lower impact on business.
Communication and Training Issues: Lack of communication and inadequate training are another reason for operational change failure. Any technology change or upgrades require detailed communication with all staff to ensure they are involved in change process and are well informed with status updates. On-going training process before deploying any change and detailed communication on project plans will ensure that smooth transition required for any operational changes.
Impact of employee push back: All too often when executives encounter resistance to change, they “explain” it by quoting the cliche that “people resist change” and never look further Yet changes must continually occur in industry. This applies with particular force to the all-important “little” changes that constantly take place—changes in work methods, in routine office procedures, in the location of a machine or a desk, in personnel assignments and job titles. Technology advancement will impact all of the above in some shape or form over time but continue training and communication process will avoid most conflicts to deploy necessary changes.
How to deal with change reluctance in your organization?
Resistance is usually created because of certain blind spots and attitudes which staff specialists have as a result of their preoccupation with the technical aspects of new ideas. The key to the problem is to understand the true nature of resistance. All IT professionals regardless of their areas of specially (Operations, Software Development, Security etc) during their academic studies, are trained on importance of change and how it’s essential for any business operations. If you have IT Staff on-site, allow your IT staff to be a champion of any operational change….read more on cost of change
Understand business Impact of delaying operational changes
Revenue Impact - Cost: In order to understand business impact, you need to review of list of technology related items that should be considered when understanding soft cost. Any delay or resistance to operational change will increase soft cost. For example, obsolete infrastructure or equipment that has reached end of life cycle will increase business soft cost i.e higher business risks, lower employee productivity and compatibility issues with other technologies. As a result, higher IT Soft cost means lower profit margin.
Review IT Impact on Revenue & Profit Margin
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