When it comes to effective change management, any organization that is looking to implement a successful digital transformation needs to communicate the ongoing changes with everyone. This is especially true when it comes to change management with primarily non-desk workforces; achieving workforce-wide adoption of new technology can be particularly challenging when workers aren’t accustomed to receiving information via digital methods.
Deploying an employee app to handle workforce change management can:
- Ensure messaging is clearly communicated in real-time to all employees
- Easily allow organizations to push updates to teams across shifts, time zones, and departments
- Provide detailed analytics to measure employee engagement and communication
Digital Change Management Simplifies Workforce Tasks
Above all, digital workforce change management should make everyone’s lives easier. Change management and employee buy-in requires an agnostic approach to technology. Not every person in your workforce is going to embrace digitized workflows. Therefore, your chosen digital workforce strategy needs to be easily integrated with other traditional internal communications strategies to effectively reach all employees or audiences.
Overcoming Barriers to Workforce Adoption of Digital Technology
Familiarity and ease-of-use are both essential factors when it comes to workforce adoption of new workplace technology. People want to use communication tools they are familiar with. From a consumer standpoint, it’s safe to assume most frontline employees talk to family and friends through messaging on mobile devices that is extremely intuitive. If a company can’t make their messaging app easy and desirable to use, they simply won’t use it. Moreover, the employee app experience needs to prove its value by being integrated into their daily workflows and becoming an asset to their job.
Employee Apps Connect Dispersed Teams for Mobile Collaboration
With the Beekeeper employee app, teams across industries that are comprised of both desk and non-desk workers can be connected wherever work takes them. For example, say housekeeping submits a maintenance request to fix a broken lampshade in a room directly from their mobile device using the employee app. The maintenance team receives their request in real time, and service can commence sooner. The room is ready faster, freeing up housekeeping to continue on to other rooms, so guests can check in on time. Removing workforce communication delays translates into better guest service. Satisfied guests become return customers, which in turn increases revenue.
In a manufacturing context, a team app allows rapid delivery of quotas, safety reminders, and product updates, instantly connecting HR or management with frontline workers on the loud plant floor. Accessibility via mobile device or digital signage saves valuable time and expense while ensuring workplace safety because workers are notified immediately of and can communicate out any safety alerts, equipment issues, or last-minute changes in production schedules.
Three guiding principles to keep in mind when implementing a change management strategy:
1. Ensure your change management program reaches everyone.
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- Your change management solution should be aligned with your company’s goals, but it also needs to reach every single member of your workforce. Using a digital workplace app like Beekeeper combines some of the most-used internal communication tools for shift management, payroll, unified communications, and employee engagement.
2. Make sure leadership is informed, and invested, first.
Executive buy-in is the first step to successful change management. Further, if leadership doesn’t have mandatory discussions about their role in change management, it won’t work. When leadership models positive technology adoption behaviors, they align themselves with their workforce through actively demonstrating the technology’s value.
3. Consider consulting with change management professionals.
When it comes to your change management plan, adoption relies on implementation. Why not bring in change management experts who can guide you step-by-step through your digital workforce transformation?
At Beekeeper, our Customer Success Managers ensure your deployment is launched without a hitch applying our industry-leading best practices to maximize rollout through employee engagement, dashboard analytics measurement, and messaging. For larger organizations, Beekeeper partners with change management and system integration expert Accenture.
Try a free demo of the Beekeeper digital workforce app now!
