“This is ridiculous. Why are they making us do this? Our system works just fine.”
During the early years of my career, I worked as a reporter for a few different newspapers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. On two separate occasions, I was on staff when the company migrated from an old, time-tested computer system to something new and sleek that was going to change the entire editorial process.
And both times, the announcement was met with as much enthusiasm as a meeting with an auditor.
My second time around, when I was with a northern NJ-based newspaper, the company was replacing the computer terminals that had the green screens with a much more modernized system. Yet still, the reaction from the majority of the staff was, “This is how we’ve always done it. Why fix what isn’t broken?”
The answer was simple: it may not technically have been broken, but it sure wasn’t the best way to do things. And while the veteran staffers knew how to navigate their way around these “computers” and had all of the shortcuts memorized, for new staff members, learning how to do things like indent, create box scores, and send files for layout was a nightmare.
For a newspaper that was trying to adapt with the changing times by improving its online and mobile offerings, stepping out of the dark ages was a must. This was the case for both of the transition periods I went through; yet both times, management failed to acknowledge — or communicate — how much the change was going to impact workflow.
Earlier this week, at the NJ HIMSS Spring Conference, Barbara Boelter, RN, assistant vice president of IT operations at Somerset Medical Center, spoke about the challenges her organization has faced in being an early attester to Meaningful Use Stage 2. She talked about a recent go-live, calling it, “The toughest thing we’ve ever done.” The number one reason? Because “people hate change.” For leaders at Somerset, trying to get clinicians to alter their behaviors and mindsets proved to be a significant obstacle.
So the big question is, how can organizations lead change without making staff members feel like it’s being forced on them? It got me thinking about the experiences I’ve had — how things went, and how I wish things had gone. With that in mind, I’ve compiled a few pieces of advice for making big transitions slightly less rocky.
1. Be transparent about your plans right from the start. Don’t drop anything on your staff at the last minute. The longer people have to prepare for the change and accept it, the better off they will be.
2. Make sure the staff understands why they need to change the way they do things and how this change will benefit the organization as a whole. Don’t just assume that people will understand that it’s for the greater good.
3. At the same time, leaders need to be firm — stand by your decision and let people know that the change is definitely happening, and that they must do their part to help facilitate the transition. This isn’t the time to be wishy-washy.
4. If at all possible, do not postpone deadlines. If staff members see that things keep being pushed back, they’ll be less likely to take it seriously once you’re ready to move. The exception, of course, would be something like ICD-10, where the decision is out of your hands. But if it’s something you can control, stand firm.
5. Make training sessions mandatory. If you need to, impose some kind of penalty for failure to attend, or offer incentives for those who do attend. An easy way to boost numbers? Serve food.
6. Find champions or super users who can help train and motivate others. In my case, the negative attitude that many of the veteran staffers had was passed down to the younger people. One way to combat this is to have people who can tout the benefits of the new system.
7. Be patient. Realize that no one likes change, and that it’s going to take time for staff members to adapt new behaviors and accept that this is the way it’s going to be.
And finally, remember that hesitancy often stems from a fear of the unknown. People are scared to let go because they don’t know what to expect. The more educated and assured they are, the more likely they’ll be willing to let go of the green screens and move on.
Share Your Thoughts
You must be logged in to post a comment.