How to Implement Technology Successfully

Change management is a systematic approach to dealing with change both from the perspective of an organisation and from individual employees. Through my SafetyIQ journey I have been amazed by how many organisations overlook or in most cases underestimate internal change management issues. Introducing technology affects organisations of all sizes and can significantly impact employees work activities.

Technology has and will continue to revolutionize the way business is managed. In a climate of global economic uncertainty, there is a common theme of company restructures occurring, directly impacting available resources, increasing workloads and straining productivity outputs.  Workplaces are desperate for technology tools that provide quick solutions to real problems.

Disconnect within organisations

Over the past couple of years we have worked across a number of industry sectors including resources, construction, health, government and training.  The types of organisations have also been diverse, ranging from small/medium enterprises to large global conglomerates.  Enterprise selling is complex and there are numerous books and articles and much advice on how to be successful. Selling technology, specifically SafetyIQ, has barriers to success that are often generated from Middle Management who advocate having a ‘non-tech culture’ as a reason not to progress.

SafetyIQ is a software solution that creates visibility for an entire workforce, irrespective of where people are located.  It is not a tracking device and incorporates a simple check in process that confirms the safety of an individual as they move around.  Executives and Senior Managers, who are responsible for an entire workforce, recognize the consequences of not knowing where people are or if they are safe.  Often they have been personally affected by employee fatalities, injuries, missing people, general personal safety and world catastrophes.

Operational people moving around in remote and isolated environments, or undertaking global travel also understand and/or have experienced the results of what can happen in the absence of an effective journey management system.  The risks are real and things can go wrong very quickly.

Often Middle Management are recognised as influential decision makers who gather evidence from cross sections of the organisation, formulate a business case and develop the implementation plan for Senior Management or Executives to determine a final decision.  It is this approval process that generates significant organisational disconnect, particularly if Middle Management have the perception that the implementation process is going to be fraught with negativity, resistance and additional work.   The business case then reflects subjective conclusions that do not represent a synopsis of current practices and the RIO on introducing technology tools.

The reality is people want to do things the easy way and need to be sold on the reason why and how change will benefit them.   An effective implementation process does not have to be cumbersome, but it does require effort and ensuring positive engagement is obtained from a cross section within an organisation.

SafetyIQ Implementation Success

There are several key factors that can be directly attributed to 100’s of o SafetyIQ clients achieving a successful implementation process.

Engagement of key organisational representatives who are impacted the most by current journey management practices, to include administrators, operational employees and managers.  This level of engagement has also included those individuals who would be defined as ‘non-technical’ and the most challenged by change.

Senior Management and Executives demonstrate support and interest in the benefits of improving safety in an efficient way.

Organisational Champion who provides change management leadership, creates a sense of urgency and engages the right talent to define an appropriate implementation plan, communication strategy and feedback funnel.

There are many more contributing factors to implementation success, however the 3 mentioned above are the key factors.  We have developed a comprehensive Implementation Kit to support organisations implement SafetyIQ.

Irrespective of SafetyIQ being one of the simplest pieces of technology for an organisation to implement, fundamental to success is the positive engagement of people.  SafetyIQ is technology that is anywhere, anytime and has the ability to significantly reduce time and resources wasted on unproductive or costly practices associated with managing a mobile workforce.

Watch SafetyIQ Demo

The SafetyIQ Demo highlights:

• How travel processes are followed
• How travellers check-in when they arrive at a checkpoint
• How escalations are handled if a traveller fails to check-in
• How managers can monitor the safety of travellers