Change is hard.

Resistance is inherently a part of change.  And when you make the change to Altru Museum Management Software , you are asking your staff members to rethink, re-evaluate, and change how they do their job.  That's tough- even if the change is for the better!



Many people often recognize that Altru provides more efficiency, better reporting, etc. and yet they still struggle because change is hard.  But!  All hope is not lost.  Managing resistance can make the difference in a successful Altru implementation.  As a consultant who specializes in change management, here are some tricks and techniques I’ve found that work effectively to help your staff through their resistance:

1. Keep a running list of "Wow Moments".  This can be anything: a passing comment someone makes, "Oh X is so cool!" or a suggestion from your staff that could make a process easier.  Keep these and post them somewhere that everyone can see.  I think Wow Moments are particularly important when people are feeling frustrated; you can point back to those positives and why you decided to make the change to Altru. Check out this community post for examples. Maybe even post your positive feelings in the community!

2. Try to understand the cause of the resistance.  Survey your staff anonymously or if you're comfortable, have a very honest conversation about it.  Understanding what's causing a person to resist can help you be more helpful to them.  Personally, I'm a fan of an anonymous survey because it gives your team a forum to air their concerns without fear.  There are some great "technology preparedness" and "change management" surveys out there online that you could use as guides to create your own survey. SurveyMonkey is free and easy!

As an example, if members of the staff are worried that Altru will replace them (a concern I've heard before), you can try to address that through communication and involving them in the decision making process.  If the staff is worried about the timing (when will we have time to do this?), you can share the project calendar with them and talk through it.  If there's fear of learning a new system, get them signed up for the Altru Basics classes and share the Altru Sandbox environment so they can start using Altru in a risk free environment.  If the staff doesn't feel like they will have the support they need to be successful, try to involve your staff leadership to reaffirm that they are listening to those concerns.

3.  Over communicate!  Try to keep your team in the loop throughout the course of the project, even if they aren't directly involved in the decision making.  Keeping staff engaged in the project can help them understand what's going on and how that may potentially affect them.  People who aren't aware of what's happening or why, often feel thrown off guard.  Keeping everyone engaged in the project can help alleviate that pitfall.

4. Look out for the sneaky resistance.  Even people who are excited for an Altru implementation can sometimes betray that excitement with sneaky resistance - like not preparing for consulting sessions or avoiding attending Altru meetings that they are a critical part of.  Keep an eye out for this because it can be really detrimental to your implementation and can seriously derail a project if it goes unchecked.

5.  It's okay to feel what you're feeling.  During the course of every Altru implementation, everyone has what I call the "pit of despair" moment- that moment where things feel overwhelming or like its too much to achieve or like you just want to give up.  Sometimes it even happens to me as a consultant too.  That's okay!  Recognizing that this can happen, acknowledging where you are at, and letting your consultant or someone on your team know, is a good start.  I often find that talking through the project plan can help bring me out of the pit of despair.  Focusing on the short term goals can also help you see the trees from the forest.  It is important, of course, to keep the larger picture in mind, but when that is too much- focus on what's next.

Everyone deals with change in their own ways and resistance can take on many forms.  Even the greatest champions on a change can sometimes find themselves questioning “why did we decide to do this?”  Change is not easy, but change is an opportunity to try new things, adapt to new trends in the industry, and use your talented staff to accomplish great things!

Dealing with the change? The conversation has started in the Altru community!