With only a small percentage of technology implementations being deemed successful, we're often left scratching our heads about where it all went wrong. Greg Taylor, Change Management specialist, says it's all about getting your users to embrace change. He shares with us his five Ps to help your users adopt change with confidence and give your HR technology implementation the best chance to succeed.

Start with trying to understand what's the problem that needs to be solved? Don't just use a tool because “it's coolâ€', it's available and you like it. When it comes to understanding the purpose for change you need to talk to real people and find where their real problems are – never assume you know! Get out and ask people questions: What's the pain that you're experiencing in the process? If there's one thing that could be better in the process what would it be? What are things that we tend to “paper overâ€' that makes us look foolish in front of our customers?

If you better understand the real problems, you'll better understand how a supportive solution can make people more productive, and you'll have a real purpose for your change initiative.

The plan is all about how you will solve the problem – not how you will implement the solution. Key to this is thinking about the path you will travel to help people adopt your HR technology; how you will help them grow in confidence with it and then how it will deliver real value for your organisation. It also includes thinking about who is going to drive the change. Getting “buy-inâ€' from your leaders is not enough – they need to be truly committed to the change and commitment is not an allocation of goodwill; it's an allocation of resources and an unwavering presence.

There's a useful tool from the Boston Consulting Group that can help you “measureâ€' your plan. You could use this to measure the quality of your plan at the beginning, or even a “health checkâ€' on your progress as you go. Check it out – it suggests that success is wrapped up in four foundation elements:

• The duration between learning events for the team
  (A learning event is when you stop and look at where you are, where you need to be and how you're going to close the gap to be successful)
• The quality of the project team
• Senior and local levels of commitment
• The amount of effort that will need to be expended above and beyond the normal day-job for people to make the change happen

3. People

Of course you can't have a purpose and a plan without then focusing on the people. We know that only around 16% of people will be excited and on board with a change right from the start. You'll find that around a third won't get on board unless they know there's a plan to be successful, and another third want to see it working before they get on the bus. You can also expect a minority to be sceptical no matter what you do – don't ignore these people, but be prepared for that and look for ways to keep them engaged wherever you can.

You'll never be successful in change if you simply “tellâ€' people what to do and when to do it. We all know change is hard work and it is important to recognise that emotions play a huge role in adoption. Psychologist Jonathan Haidt uses the metaphor of the rider and elephant when describing our human response to change, where the rider represents our rational side (who we target with emails, plans and facts) and the elephant represents our emotional side. Initially you need to give good direction to the rider to get them both heading in the right direction, but very quickly you'll also need to mobilise the emotional elephant so as not to exhaust the rider, trying to steer that beast towards the objective. Change fatigue is the dilemma between what the elephant is feeling and what the rider knows has to be done. Engage them both and then find ways to keep them both on the path and this will lead to your success. Don't be afraid to talk about what is making people anxious – the future isn't always beautiful for everyone so get that out, acknowledge it, and show how people will be supported as they make the tough journey ahead. Don't sell benefits for the company – tell them what's in it for them. Help people understand what good looks like by creating engaging materials such as videos or through focus groups (in person or online) so people can share stories and support one another.

4. Process

Help your HR technology solution thrive by analysing the processes that it supports and identifying where it could break down. You may have designed your HR solution based on input from subject matter experts, but test the process out in the early stages with real people. Does the system use language which is familiar to real people? Has the system been designed around an “idealâ€' process, but the reality is that the processes in use are quite different, or quite varied. Were key assumptions made that are only true in a minority of cases? Are we expecting people to have implicit knowledge about something that actually they've never really had to think about because someone else took care of everything? Taking time to understand the behaviour of real people involved in the process will help you work out the key barriers to success and give you time to overcome these.

5. Proof

Finally, be clear on how you will know if your change is successful. How will you know if you are actually delivering the value you set out to achieve – the purpose for your change initiative? Look for metrics showing positive behaviour and evidence that people are using your HR solution with confidence. Maybe you can use analytics tools to show you where and how people are using the solution. Maybe you are able to incorporate the ability for people to give direct feedback about an aspect of your solution as they use it. To be successful here you need to be really clear about what examples of behaviour will be true indicators that your initiative has delivered the improvement you were looking for – and if you aren't seeing the result you expected, you need to have ways to drive that behaviour towards the goal.

About the Author

Formerly a C130 Hercules pilot in the Royal Australian Air Force, Greg Taylor now spends his days helping people adopt change with confidence. As a change management consultant, he works with senior management teams to help them identify the value to be gained by any improvement initiative, developing and executing an effective plan for change, and then to sustain that change and help people adopt the change with confidence.