Why Effective Change Management Is Necessary For Success

As a manager, days can fly by while you’re scheduling jobs, maintaining vehicles and guiding drivers safely from A to B. When your business is operating like a well-oiled machine and everyone knows their role, new technology can disrupt these day-to-day processes – but adopting innovative tech is a necessary and important step towards preparing for the future.

Recent Teletrac Navman data indicates that 87 per cent of organisations recognise technology transformation is a competitive advantage for their business. Mobile resource management, GPS fleet management are essential tools for the transport industry, already working to streamline and optimise processes across many businesses. For these platforms to generate maximum benefit and make everyone’s job easier, implementing effective change management is critical.

Removing legacy processes

Integration of new technologies, like GPS fleet management, has clear benefits. It can lead to improved driver safety, significantly reduce paperwork and streamline job management processes. This can contribute to cost-saving and increased business efficiency.

To get the most out of this tech, solid infrastructure is needed, and removing legacy processes while creating (or updating) safety management systems is a vital step in preparing for and integrating this change. Technology is only as effective as its implementation process, and policies and procedures may need to be adapted to prepare for this new infrastructure. Ensuring a smooth transition will help drivers better adopt these technologies in their everyday work.

Legacy processes are familiar and comfortable, but they can also be time-consuming and costly, often reliant on manual procedures or unnecessary back-and-forth. Identifying and eliminating them early in the change management process is essential – with consulting firm McKinsey finding that excellent change management practices can lead to an average return on investment of 143 per cent.

Communicating change

Unfortunately, without effective planning, business change is likely to cost key resources or fall flat with a lack of support. Most large-scale IT projects run 45 per cent over budget and 7 per cent over time. Yet when employees follow the best practices of change management, 94 per cent of businesses meet or exceed project objectives.

Resistance, caused by objections, miscommunication and disruption, is a key hurdle to implementing new technology. Without properly understanding the effects of change, many employees will resist a change to the way they’ve always done things. Research shows 33 per cent of failed implementations are caused by management not supporting the shift, and 39 per cent are due to employees resisting change.

Communicating the clear benefits of streamlined digital processes will mean employees are more likely to become advocates for change and embrace new platforms. At the same time, implementing a tiered roll-out plan that accounts for testing and re-designing will make the transition between phasing out legacy processes and installing new technologies smoother for everyone. Frequent communication between management and staff throughout the transition is the most effective way to support integrated change, making it 12x more likely to succeed.

With strong communication structures and education in place, implementation of big changes can be a smooth process. This will give your business all the tools you need to successfully undergo effective change management.