How to ensure people don’t kill your ‘IT project’

Organisations too often spend valuable dollars on technological solutions and then are surprised and frustrated when their expected tech miracle doesn’t deliver the super-powered efficiencies, capabilities or cost-savings that were envisaged. Staff complain, and any hype surrounding the initial installation dies a quick and sudden death.

This is because tech solutions can’t fix ‘people’ problems that are ‘not part of the project’. I have witnessed instances where technology was installed flawlessly, only for users to complain that the system 'doesn't work' once they begin using it.

Here are some tips on how to avoid some of the ‘people problems‘ that may be plaguing your tech project and will cause it to fail.

Focus on holistic implementation, not technology installation:

New tech fails to deliver because companies focus on the ‘installation’ of the technology rather than ‘implementation’ that involves people often working in completely new ways. Leaders often underestimate the time (and often money) that is required to learn, adjust to and embed new technology in a way that optimises new ways of working for their existing people. Focusing on implementation combines how people, processes, data and technology need to change and interact holistically to deliver better business results. 

Focusing on implementation combines how people, processes, data & technology need to change and interact holistically to deliver better business results. 

Ensure leadership support and embed active involvement.

Leaders who don’t understand the potential for the technology to transform their business, will not invest the resources they need to get the most out of it. Leaders can underestimate the true power of a new system to transform parts of their business, leading to a chronic underutilisation of the adopted solution across the entire organisation if implemented poorly.

Spending time with leaders to develop their understanding and win their ‘buy-in’ is necessary to ensure that the leaders provide staff with continuous support - during both good and bad times. Without strong leadership commitment, any project will fail. Not only must leaders be genuinely supportive, but they must be engaged and actively involved to clearly communicate why any changes are needed and model any new behaviours and new ways of working.

Allocate significant budget, resources and time for change activities

When implementing a technological solution, not allocating a significant proportion of the project budget and time to focus on any people-related challenges will result in failure.

Leaders wouldn’t dream of not funding or allocating a project manager for a project, but the need for a change manager is an afterthought at best. I’ve witnessed Change Management presented as a separate project by consultants and put forward as ‘optional’ for clients to choose or go without. This sends the wrong message, and there is little wonder why projects that prioritise technological installation over achieving the business outcome ultimately fail and disappoint.

By proportionally allocating resources for change activities, the project will facilitate staff adopting the new ways of working that are related to the new technology. Not investing in change will cost a company more in the end. As additional costs and delays occur, the project will inevitably struggle to achieve the intended outcomes due to the lack of traction and poor adoption.

Conduct a thorough assessment of people and uncover dormant people issues

It is important to conduct a well-thought-out and thorough assessment of people’s roles, skills, structures and any people issues that will need to be dealt with as part of the project planning process.

This assessment will uncover any unmanaged or uncomfortable people issues that leaders may know about but haven’t managed. Uncovering such challenges is essential as staff who were underperforming, hoarding power or keeping information to themselves can critically undermine the success of the project.

Give the project a business name rather than the technology being installed

Projects are not about technology, they are about achieving business outcomes through change.

Instead of naming the project by the technology that is being installed, name the project by the business objective that is to be achieved. For example, rather than the ‘CRM project’, the project could be named the ‘Improving Sales Revenue’ project.

Naming the project by the business objective will significantly shift the dialogue and provide a good reminder along the way about what the project is about and what will need to be focused on to achieve the objective.

Include training on new ways of working, not just the technology

Obviously, staff will need training in the new system. Otherwise, they can’t use or trust it! I have seen this lack of confidence lead staff in some organisations to ignore a system altogether completely, especially when it doesn’t work how they expect it should. You can’t give a few PowerPoint presentations and expect your staff to be adequately ‘trained.’

When staff are not trained adequately in the new way of working or new business process, they may blame the system – because it does not work as they expect they need to work. It is like a new tradesperson blaming their tools, but they haven’t yet learnt the basics of doing the trade or job.

Don’t just train people in the new technology but on the new ways of working, new behaviours or processes that may be different or you may have assumed they understood. This will give people context about why the technology has been set up to work in the new way.

Expect and manage learning and adjustment

It is unrealistic to believe that once the technological solution is implemented, people will need no further ongoing adjustment beyond what was initially planned or envisaged as part of any project or initial deployment.

Ensuring there is sufficient time, space and deliberate inbuilt short feedback cycles as part of the project and ongoing continuous learning and improvement of the system once the project is complete is vital. The project doesn’t end at ‘go-live‘, and if people have had ample time to learn, adjust, ask questions and provide valuable insights and feedback along the way - this journey will be much easier and less painful for all.

Technological systems will not provide miracle solutions, but they can save your company valuable time and money when they are implemented effectively.

To successfully implement a technological solution, leaders must identify people-related challenges, take change management seriously and adopt a people-centred and iterative approach to get the best benefits in the shortest amount of time.

Ignoring ‘people problems’ can cause projects to fail. Focusing on how people, processes, data and technology need to interact holistically to deliver better business results will provide the best chances of success for you and your business.