People are creatures of habit, even in this era of rapidly-changing technology. It’s difficult enough for individuals to alter their own routines, but executives and HR leaders understand how much tougher it is to get groups of people to adopt and accept changes to how they function. The field services industry is seeing this firsthand as online workforce platforms are gaining in prominence but still not fully accepted by many organizations.
Listing the many practical benefits of utilizing online labor platforms for global field service operations presents a compelling argument to decision-makers. But, of course, they are not the only ones to be affected by adopting this method. Leveraging this new technology and its capabilities can only happen when everyone using the platform is willing to learn it thoroughly and maximize its potential.
Organizational change always happens incrementally. At some point in the process, the few have to convince the many of the merits of such widespread change. If you’re in that situation with your organization about using an online labor platform, follow this guide for making your case to co-workers.
Understand the Importance of Change Management
There’s an old sports cliché used by coaches from the National Football League all the way down to Pee Wee Football: “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” Making the transition to new technology, much like the very field service projects your organization works on, requires much planning and groundwork before it can begin in earnest.
Change management is a big part of modern HR, but is not limited simply to Human Resources. As the lead person behind the change to an online workforce platform, you’ll have to engage with the employees who will be affected by the change. Set up group meetings to explain the transition process and gather immediate feedback. Smaller face-to-face meetings allow employees to voice any concerns or confusion personally rather than via company-wide memos or emails.
By starting small with department heads, project managers, and in-house technicians, you’ll begin to understand the concerns the rest of your co-workers will likely have when you’re preparing for the actual rollout. Take the time to get a comprehensive portrait of what benefits resonate the most and how you can alleviate any apprehension or reluctance to this change.
Find the Selling Points for Everyone
You’ve done your homework, read, and analyzed, and have decided that leveraging a new, comprehensive field service management platform just makes sense for your organization. You understand both the immediate improvements the platform will make and the long-term benefits that you can reap from it. Now, you have to disseminate those benefits to everyone else in the company while not making the transition seem too daunting.
Getting your co-workers on board hinges on your confidence in the overall benefits the platform will provide and how well you communicate with them. On the most 
general level, you’re explaining how this solution allows them to do their jobs better with greater ease. But truly winning them over will require distilling the benefits down to individualized selling points most relevant to employees’ chief concerns.
For some staff, such as your current in-house technicians and engineers (and even your project managers and coordinators), it will be necessary to assure them that the platform isn’t meant to replace them. Terms like “automation” are an obvious benefit to those in the company who handles IT field service strategy at the top but can be threatening to those whose current responsibilities include some of the features of the platform. Make sure to provide examples of how this solution won’t take their responsibilities from them, but rather will allow them to fulfill those tasks with greater ease and success rates.
Others will be resistant or uncertain because of many other reasons: stubbornness about continuing to do things the way they always have been, overall discomfort with new technologies, or confusion about what the goal of this change is. Give each of these issues the time and attention needed to dispel people’s apprehension and get them excited about this solution’s potential.
A recent WorkMarket webinar, which featured Kinettix, offered six steps to a winning business case for building an on-demand field service workforce. Watch it on demand here.
Be Transparent
Keeping the focus on the benefits helps you state your case for why your organization is transitioning to a new field service management platform. But organizational change is tough work and requires a great deal of effort from all. It’s equally important to be upfront, realistic, and transparent about what the transition will involve.
Don’t hold back on information, but also don’t drown your co-workers in it. Start with the benefits—both the tangible positives like time savings and better KPIs, as well as the soft ones such as lowered risk and greater operational efficiency—then use further communications to thoroughly and incrementally prepare everyone for a smooth implementation. Give specific dates for each step in the transition whenever possible, prepare employees for the learning curve of the software based on its differences from the previous way of doing things, and be honest but firm when met with negative responses. This need for open communication will continue well past implementation as everyone in your organization gets comfortable with the online workforce platform at their own pace.
Be Patient but Insistent
You’re bound to be impatient when you’re on the verge of implementing your organization’s new online labor platform. It’s a battle to resist rushing through the change management and co-worker training to start reaping the benefits, but steady patience is your best ally in this instance.
Expect gradual, as opposed to immediate, adoption. It’s only natural that the combination of different levels of acceptance among your fellow employees and the steeper learning curve of the software for some people will naturally pump the brakes on platform implementation. Be accepting of these speed bumps along the way, but don’t lose sight of the finish line. Work to make your platform the new normal by celebrating early successes and having the fastest learners get the rest of their co-workers excited about the possibilities.
When prudent, use individualized training programs for those having trouble understanding the benefits or applications of the new software. Continue to have meetings after the platform is in place to make sure everyone is getting the most out of it and working toward the new organizational goals the platform allows you to reach. Don’t harass co-workers to pick up the pace, but certainly, keep nudging them if they’re still feeling hesitant or confused.
Getting your entire organization to welcome and adopt the use of an online workforce platform is an involved process that will take plenty of time. Like any project, this requires great planning, thorough and transparent communication, and diligent guidance through the last mile. As long as you’re convinced of the many benefits of a better, more comprehensive online field service management platform, your co-workers will see the positives that you see and eventually follow.
