As a small business owner, you may have been set in your ways for a long time. If you’ve recently decided that it’s time to move your business into the 21st century, you may be noticing some employee resistance and pushback.
Your employees are probably stuck in their ways and used to doing things a specific way. Implementing sweeping changes may make your employees uncomfortable. When employees are resistant to change, your job as a manager becomes significantly more difficult. So, how can you convince everyone that new technology, like an employee time clock app, is in their best interest? We’ve provided some tips below.
Understand What Drives Employee Resistance
Before understanding why a new employee time clock app would not go over well, it’s imperative that you first understand why your team may be resistant to the change. The first reason is that employees do not like to be controlled. There is already severe distrust between employees and management. Changing a system process that has seemingly worked for years could come off as you over-managing your employees.
Furthermore, many employees fail to embrace change because they don’t see what’s in it for them. It’s easy for them to understand how the new employee time clock app could benefit management, but it’s challenging for them to see how they’ll benefit from making a change. As managers, this is one of the biggest challenges we face. It’s up to us to explain the benefits of employee time clock apps so that employees are motivated to begin using it.
Don’t Implement New Technology Abruptly
When implementing new technology, you’re going to want to communicate with your team and inform them of your reasoning for doing so. Implementing new technology abruptly is one of the best ways to raise your employees’ red flags. Instead, communicate with your team and describe explicitly what the employee time clock app is and how it will impact them.
Don’t be afraid to humble yourself a bit during this conversation. Highlight times in which your existing time tracking system failed and how your employees were harmed as a result. Perhaps mention times when there were issues with getting employees paid on time or for the correct amounts. Then, outline the benefits that the new employee time clock app could offer.
Stress The Benefits Of The New Technology
When you implement new technology, employees want to hear what’s in it for them. Make sure you highlight some of the benefits of the new employee time clock app and how it will benefit your team. For instance, stress the fact that employees will no longer show up to the job site after a miscommunication about directions. Highlight the fact that employees can view their paystubs in real time so that they can report any discrepancies immediately.
You can also emphasize the fact that the new technology could help the company grow, as managers will receive ample data about various projects. Managers could use this data to quote projects more accurately. This, in turn, could allow the company to win more bids, thereby keeping employees busier.
Provide Support
If your employees don’t understand how to use their new software, they will grow disgruntled rather quickly. You should make efforts to support your employees during the transition. Make sure you provide adequate training on how to use your new system.
Additionally, be sure to set clear expectations for your employees. Outline what you expect from them when using the app. Setting clear expectations during the training process is one of the best ways to reduce miscommunications.
