4 Tips for Reducing Resistance to Change

The issues companies target for improvement by change projects...namely, teamwork, worker output and other contributors to workplace productivity are the very things that employee resistance negatively affects. In a mild state, resistance might appear as employee inertia. But employees may demonstrate change resistance in more overt ways, such as rebellion and sabotage. Consequently, it's important to design and implement change management strategies to prevent or reduce employee resistance when a change occurs. For instance, you might improve the likelihood a change project will succeed by including employees in planning and other change project processes.

1. Include employees and other stakeholders in change management project.

For a change project to succeed, stakeholders -- employees and others with a vested interest in a project's outcome -- must support project processes in emotional and practical ways.

The involvement of the right stakeholders at the right time can accelerate a team's progress, increase the value of project outcomes and decrease project risk. For instance, there's a greater likelihood a project will deliver its promised value, such as a 20 percent increase in productivity, due to a decrease in the risk that results from employee buy-in. The opposite is also true: disregarding key stakeholders or limiting their contributions can wreak havoc with a project schedule and budget, each of which may increase the risk of project failure.

One way to gain stakeholder support is to involve them throughout a change project's life cycle. To do so, a leader should identify and begin to communicate with stakeholders early in the project planning process. Only then will the project team understand stakeholder attitudes, which is needed for a project's outcome to reflect their perspectives.

2. Clearly and repeatedly communicate the need for change.

Organizational change is a disruptive event made more so if company leaders fail to alert employees to the forthcoming change and its effects says Rosabeth Kanter in "Ten Reasons People Resist Change." What's needed is for leaders to invite employee discussion of the change project and its ramifications during the early stages of the project. Kanter says that unless employees are active supporters of the change project, they may oppose it. For this reason, timely discussions between leaders and employees about the need for change, the nature of the change and its probable results are essential.

3. Limit the likelihood employees will perceive the change as a threat.

If employees doubt a change project will accomplish a desirable outcome, it's likely they will resist the change. Also, employees may withdraw project support if they conclude a project will make a bad situation worse. The origin of both of these responses is an employee's need to be in control of his work.

To limit the likelihood employees will perceive a change as a threat, invite them to participate in all phases of the change management project -- from planning for the change to its implementation. And if possible, allow employees to choose from a few alternatives that the team might implement, rather than force them to accept that which management chooses. 

4. Limit the disruption of employee work processes.

A change project can raise employee expectations, improve resource access and lead to employee reassignments and advancement. But these projects may have undesirable outcomes as well. For example, an employee might lose a degree of authority, need to work extended hours or lose his job.

Because an employee's work is one basis of his self-esteem, people may perceive workplace change as a threat according to "Managing through Change," a publication of the University of California. As a consequence, workplace change can result in stress or medical and behavioral issues that can negatively affect employee performance. So it's important to give employees ample opportunity to adjust to a change and provide training in new processes or technology. To best meet these requirements, it's wise to limit the number of workplace changes that occur simultaneously and implement them using a phased approach.

Although a company's management approves change projects to improve work processes, a project's effects can be anything but positive. If a company implements a change project too quickly or if the project scope is too large, stakeholder support may be difficult to come by. So it's best to involve them in the change management project processes early and often.

Robert Blake
Bit by Bit Computer Consultants
721 N Fielder Rd. #B
Arlington, Texas 76012
Direct 817.505.1257

877.860.5831 x190

Business And The Cloud - Pros And Cons

Since the cloud first started to make inroads into the business world, there have been concerns. It's quite obvious that business and industry can profit from the unlimited storage, less expensive software options, and nearly unlimited access to company files from computers, tablets, smartphones, and future devices. In spite of the benefits of cloud technology, there are issues of security, minimal flexibility, and limited control of your network. Businesses have to make their cloud computing decisions based on the features that are most important for their company's success. If the advantages of the cloud infrastructure are greater than its disadvantages, your business will benefit from this great technology. Use the following information to help you determine whether or not the cloud will be good for your business.

Benefits Of Cloud Computing

There are many advantages associated with using the cloud for business. From saving money to increasing access, the cloud can improve the performance of everyday work tasks and data protection.

External Storage - In the event of a disaster, it's critical to have backups of all your business documents. A fire, tornado, or earthquake can destroy a business overnight. Vandalism and theft can also interrupt business. If all your documents, sales data, contracts, employee files, and banking information are stored on computers located in your office, you can find your business in serious trouble when a disaster occurs. Cloud storage provides backup and storage of your important business documents, and they are where they can be easily accessed from any location by your electronic devices.

Cost Effective - Expenditures related to cloud computing are minimal compared to other options. Software prices and computer licensing fees have always been a financial drain, especially on small businesses. Cloud servers store most of the software businesses use, and the cost is based on need. When a company had to buy a license for 15 computers but only 11 were using it, money was wasted. When you subscribe to software in the cloud, you pay only for what you need and the cost is considerably less. In the cloud, software is automatically updated for you.

Concerns With Cloud Computing

In spite of the many benefits the cloud offers business, there are still many who have concerns about uploading sensitive business data.

Security - The major concern of most businesses that presently reject the cloud is security. When you make the decision to go cloud, choose a company with the highest level of security that allows you to feel at ease. A high-end cloud company will provide encryption during the transfer of your data and while it is stored. Encryption is not a guarantee your data will remain secure. Professional hackers can break encryption, and this is the reason strong passwords are so important. You must limit the access to a select few employees in order to reduce the risk of your data being compromised.

Limited Control - An external server, possibly thousands of miles from your business, is where your critical data is being stored. You and the select employees have very little control of this server. The company guarantees your service will be up and available 24 hours a day, but if the server is hacked, damaged, or goes down during maintenance, there is nothing your or your staff can do to fix it. You are totally dependent on the cloud company to quickly get your data back online and accessible.

There are other pros and cons relating to the services provide by cloud computing firms, but these are among the most common. Before you decide to move to the cloud, thoroughly research the companies you are considering. It will help avoid unpleasant problems later.

Robert Blake
Bit by Bit Computer Consultants
721 N Fielder Rd. #B
Arlington, Texas 76012
Direct 817.505.1257

877.860.5831 x190

Office 365 vs. Google Apps - Working Cross Platform

 Over the years, employees, executives, and freelancers have been required to use a variety of software suites. This comes with the territory when you work in companies constantly straining to stay at the forefront, automating processes, and enhancing collaboration. If you are in a technology-based field (and, really, who isn't these days?), the changes come quickly. Today, it seems it's all about cloud-based services, SaaS environments, collaborative tools and data storage. People find themselves constantly working at maintaining the delicate balance between information security and sharing. There are a lot of tools out there, but which are best for each organization and individual varies.

 

Microsoft Office 365 is a relatively new entry into the marketplace. For 20 or so years now, businesses have been mostly reliant on Windows and accompanying software. Even Macintosh users have found themselves learning the ins-and-outs of Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, and other applications from the same collection. Every two or three years, new versions came out, requiring us to purchase an upgrade.

 

In an effort to combat the rising cost of software as more and more users needed access and prices continued to rise, breaking into the market was Open Office, a free suite of applications initial put together by the team at Sun Microsystems. Open Office was unique amongst the other offerings in the market, because it was developed not only to provide an alternative to Microsoft Office, but also to be compatible with the leading software. This was a problem even Microsoft Office had with its different application versions. Macintosh users could easily read and edit Windows files, but Windows users couldn't read Macintosh files unless those Mac files were saved in a specific manner. Then, when Office 2007 came out, the files started saving with a new file extensions and additional software had to be installed for users of the older versions to be able to read these new file formats. So, while Open Office tried, there was still some formatting and compatibility issues we'd run into.

 

In 2001, Microsoft launched Office 365. This was the software publisher's answer to the cries from a global community of users who wanted a number of features. What did Office 365 do that previous version didn't?

 

·         Allowed easier collaboration with a cloud-based file system

·         Access to applications through a web interface

·         Government and industry compliance certifications

·         Cross-platform compatibility

 

Of course, Microsoft Office 365 is not totally without its drawbacks. Chief amongst these would be the price. There is an annual fee and that fee is based on which level of the suite you're using as well as how many seats you require. It tends to work out to being cheaper than it was when buying separate pieces of software for each machine. You can login from your laptop, tablet, phone, and desktop. If you're using the same login, that's still only one seat. Still, cost can be prohibitive for some organizations, but what options are there.

 

Open Office is open source and rarely maintained. The team behind open office went on to develop Libre Office, which is also free, but it seems to lack some of the compatibility and reliability that was there years ago. This is most likely due to the growing complexity of the software as well as the lack of support that was once there. However, free options still exist. One of the most popular comes from none other than search engine giant, Google. Google Apps is a web-based software suite designed to replace Microsoft Office. There are a lot of things it does well.

 

Business owners scoff at the idea of running their office on Google Apps. This is because much of their professional lives they have been touting the axiom: "You get what you pay for." And, Google Apps is free, so it must be horrible, right? Not so fast. If it makes you feel better, there are paid versions of Google Apps where you can set it up for your domain and have control over users on that domain, purchase additional storage space, add more people to a Google Hangout, etc. However, even the free offerings supply more than one might expect.

 

They use the same 128-bit level encryption that Office 365 does. It's not totally without certifications either. Google Apps is GISMA-certified--that's the U.S. governments standard for securing email communications. Lower bandwidth usage. If you need something like Sharepoint to be running for sharing files and information, you'll need a good, solid, high bandwidth connection. Google Apps does not require the same amount of bandwidth, relying of the infrastructure of a company that is known for reliability and speed of their cloud computing.

 

Here's the downside. working for a number of clients, each requiring use of different systems. From Dropbox and Google Drive to Office 365 and Google Apps, users could be forced to familiarize themselves with the full gamut of software options. The compatibility between these different application suites is less than ideal. Someone using Office 365 can open Google Docs files and someone using Google Apps can open Office 365 files, but the formatting and full functionality will often be mismatched.

 

When making the decision on what's right for you and your business between Office 365 and Google Apps, there's a few things that you really have to consider. How much do you want to spend? Do you need to spend that? If so, why? Are you going to be sharing files with people outside of your network? If so, Office 365 might be the better way to go. This is purely based on the commonality of the platform. If everything is internal, however, using Google Apps should be more than enough for your needs.