People love the idea of innovation, especially when it comes to the operations of a collective. Businesses, for example, are always striving for innovation or seeking to emulate the latest practices of others who manage to stay on the cutting edge.
Adopting new technology also opens up unforeseen possibilities and benefits. For instance, a UK company which had switched over to VoIP handsets for its communications at the start of 2020 could conduct many operations via video conferences and file sharing, even in the months of lockdown which would eventually follow.
Embracing change gives any organisation greater potential to adapt and improve. But some possible issues may come with it, which you can help manage as part of a team.
Overcoming user resistance
In theory, a new system can be exciting. But in practice, people may resist using it or try to fall back on older tools or techniques. Human beings enjoy the stimulation of new experiences but are simultaneously creatures of habit.
If your organisation is deploying new CRM software, for instance, the affected members who’ll be using it may demonstrate active or passive resistance. For a new tool or system to succeed, it’s essential to provide proper training ahead of deployment. When end-users are fully aware of its benefits and gain hands-on experience with it, this sets them further ahead on the learning curve before the new system is deployed and older systems are discontinued.
Conflict and compatibility issues
Innovation is often driven by the desire to improve output quality, performance efficiency or both. Yet if your team finds that new technology doesn’t mesh well with existing tools or workflows, then the potential benefits could end up being largely wasted.
Leadership needs to align their decisions with the people and processes that will be directly affected and frequently touch base with them during the planning stage. Individual employees, in turn, need to be aware of the issues and opportunities for improvement that they encounter on the job and provide that feedback. This alignment allows developers to test and make changes specifically for better cross-platform or legacy system compatibility.
Failure to evaluate over time
New ideas and solutions could prove unsuccessful if you simply lift them out of context from another organisation’s model of success. Even internal innovation can fail. Sometimes, companies known for creativity and success, such as Google or Facebook, roll out products or solutions that don’t work out eventually.
Leaders in innovation know that this risk is part of the journey. They will keep monitoring new systems to find out if they are worth the investment. Just because your team has started to adopt a new solution doesn’t mean you need to commit to it blindly. Play a part in providing multiple data points over time, so that the long-term analysis gives a clearer picture of whether the new technology has been an effective solution instead of adding to the problem.
No matter the nature of industry or scale of operations, an organisation can benefit from innovation and adopting new solutions. You can help make the implementation a smooth success by working to overcome these three challenges no matter what your role may be.
