Without successful users, the modern workplace will fail

1 March 2019

Technology review

A project can only really be successful with sustainable change

What use are the theoretical advantages of the modern workplace if the employees are not putting them into practice? The successful adoption of the modern workplace stands or falls with the right change management.

  The introduction of a new tool usually follows two paths. On the one hand, there is the technical aspect: from design and development to implementation. And then there is the human issue: from embracing the solution, to adoption and use. "A tool is only successful when it works on both fronts," says Els De Stercke, Change Manager at Realdolmen. "The technical installation and the human realization together provide results and success." 

Adoption is a gradual process

However, people are often reluctant to change. "If they don't properly embrace a new tool, the company sends the employees to training," continues Els De Stercke. "If that's not successful, more training will follow." This is an approach that unfortunately does not work. To arrive at a lasting change, the employees have to go through a process with several steps. First of all, they have to be aware of the usefulness and the necessity of the new solution. "As a company, you need to explain why Office 365 is important to the employees. They need to understand what risk they are running when they don't use it. " From that insight, it must make sense that the new tool should be given a chance. Only then does training become relevant.

"But that's not the end of the story", says Els De Stercke. "It is important that the employees can apply the gained knowledge. That has to be measured so that the best practices can be shared with the employees in the company. This will strengthen the whole process." Change management is designed to successfully implement the outlined steps and result in the adoption of the solution. "That's really a must. Out of 10 failing projects, 7 of those can be attributed to a failure of user adoption (source: Forrester, CRM). However, if there Is sufficient attention being paid to the change process, you will have a greater chance for success." Realdolmen designed a business productivity road map specifically for the support of change management around Office 365: a plan that moves the company step by step towards the successful adoption of the modern workplace.

From paper to smartphone

Familiehulp has 12,000 employees who are responsible for customer service. All of them have a mailbox, thanks to Office 365. "We are currently running a pilot project", says ICT manager Bart Bogaert. "We have expanded Office 365 for a hundred employees to include Teams and SharePoint Online. They also each received a smartphone." This is a major change, with digital processes replacing the traditional way of working with paper. "Adoption is essential for the success of the project, because we are striving for a lasting change."

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