Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Dealing with employee resistance

CHANGE is happening faster that most people care to think about. What is more important, change is happening faster that most people care to accept. In fact, most people do not want change! The premise is that change is not always good - that somehow it will have a negative impact.

Today, technology is exponentially advancing. It is very difficult to keep pace and stay abreast with these technological developments. We are in a constant state of change and continuous change and continuous improvements in the abilities of companies to do things better, faster and cheaper is an absolute must for survival in this brutally competitive world.

The main reason for the resistance towards change are fear of failure, fear of being redundant and fear about the uncertain future.

Fear of being Redundant

The biggest fear shared by people in companies going in for ERP implementation is the loss of their jobs. As soon as the decision about the ERP implementation is announced rumours about the new system automating all the tasks and making people redundant will start floating around. When a company talks about ERP and automation, the immediate reaction is that computers will replace people.

There is some truth in this fear. There are many instances where computers have made people redundant. But what most people fail to hear is that the people who are doing manual jobs before computerization were able to get better jobs with higher salaries once they learned the new system and how to use the computers. So if a person is willing to adapt to the changes and is willing to learn the new system and new way of doing business, then he or she does not have anything to fear. There is a very good chance of getting better jobs with higher salaries.

Fear of failure

Another fear that must be addressed is people's fear of failure - the fear of not understanding or being able to work within an automated environment. Many companies make the serious mistake of not insisting on a very thorough training program that will insure the employees have the knowledge and a confidence level of adapting and using the new system to the maximum benefit of the company.

Many view training as an expense to be cut. Beware of those that claim they can reduce this expensive as the results have proven increases the hidden costs to the firm that often exceeds the perceived savings. Training is an item that should receive the most serious attention by professional implementers.

Fear of future

Openly discussing and announcing the purpose of implementation and what it means to the employees of the firm can help to address the fear of the future. Normally ERP implementation investment is made so the firm can compete and grow the business. It may be implemented to survive, thrive and become competitive.

Whatever, the future expected from the implementation, it must be made openly clear to all who are expected to participate in making it successful. A feeling of excitement must be built from the ground up, in order for people to enthusiastically embrace the ERP system as the key to their futures. Without a feeling of confidence that things are going to be good, they may never try it at all. If they decide not to give the system their full support, you will not be successful in your implementation.

For more information kindly visit: http://www.eresourceerp.com

Please Contact us at:
TMA House, 1st Floor,Road No 16, Plot No. 6,Wagle Industrial Estate,Thane (West) 400 604, Maharashtra, Tel: +91 22 25827692/+91 22 25828775/+91 22 65130234

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