(Forbes) Do you wonder why businesses are struggling to transform in the digital economy? (I’ll give you a hint: It’s not about technology.)
The reason may be that many people are resistant to change. Yet digital transformation requires great change to be successful.
Few companies that I know of have people on board who work to understand existing behaviors across different generations of workers, assess how those behaviors contribute to or detract from digital transformation, and orchestrate the best people plans to create new revenue streams.
But I believe businesses need people to act as therapists during digital transformations. Here’s why.
The Generational Challenge
Today’s workforce contains a multitude of generations (paywall). Therein lies part of the digital transformation challenge -- and part of the reason your business needs a therapist.
Each person is different. But each generation tends to have its own general set of beliefs, values and expectations.
Younger people, in my experience, often value flexibility and freedom and expect faster results. Some older folks may be more likely to prefer doing what they have done in the past. It’s helped them get where they are today. Why change now?
Those in the middle who I've worked with are sometimes frustrated with legacy thinking but have homes and families, so they may also be concerned that change could adversely impact their job security.
The Fear Factor
That gets to another reason your business should have a therapist: to deal with fear.
Unfortunately, rather than helping employees identify and address fear, many businesses may actually be creating it. Instead of explaining why change is needed, they often present change as a mandate. And, to be frank, I've found that the mandate is often a reaction to a bad financial quarter or two.
It feels reactionary. And reactionary moves can feel dangerous. They can cause people to retreat when what the business really needs is for them to engage.
A More Productive Approach
What I believe businesses should do instead is gain a firm understanding of why they need to change. And then they should communicate that information to their employees.
That way, employees can elect to be part of the change -- or not.
This exercise could include answering the following questions:
• Why do we need to do what we need to do?
• Why do we need to do it now?
• What role can each individual play in the change?
• How can each individual benefit from the change?
I've found it's important to explain why the change is needed now. That can add urgency to a digital transformation effort. Establishing a timeline also helps. It lets people know what they’ll need to do and what to expect along the way.
The Personal Touch
But the conversation should go beyond just company concerns. People can benefit from understanding how they fit into the new business model -- and how they’ll benefit.
They should see how they can be part of the change. And they should learn what financial or other benefits they’ll realize as part of their involvement.
That will help them decide if they’re interested in making the change happen, and it could stoke their excitement about being part of the change.
But, as we discussed earlier, different people -- due to generational differences or personal ones -- are motivated by different things.
I've heard older workers say they came up in a world that felt like it moved more slowly. So, promising them a promotion or other benefit three years from now might sound reasonable. That’s probably not going to work with all younger folks. These digital natives, by many accounts, have always been able to get what they want when they want it via technology like the internet. And some may jump ship if their payoff is too far into the future.
That’s not so difficult to understand. Think about it. If there are 20 cars waiting in line at Wendy’s, you might motor past it. You want a burger, but you don’t want to wait. So instead you get lunch at Whataburger, which has just two cars at the drive-thru.
The point is that it’s up to the company therapist to understand any generational differences. When they do, the business can map benefits and messaging to address specific employee interests and motivators.
The Right Chemistry
Some companies look at the generational divide and adopt an "in with the new, out with the old" philosophy. But in my opinion, companies need a balance. They need people with historical knowledge of how things work and people to introduce new ideas to keep a business fresh and moving forward.
That is the strength of diversity and inclusion. Success is about the chemistry you create. A therapist can help create that chemistry by understanding what motivates people. That, in turn, can encourage behaviors that drive positive company culture and enable the necessary change.
That’s important from the top to the bottom of an organization and everywhere in between. It reminds me of John F. Kennedy’s famous “man on the moon” story. In it, Kennedy reportedly encountered a janitor at the NASA Space Center. He asked the man what he was doing. The janitor replied, “Mr. President, I’m helping put a man on the moon.” In a perfect world, every organization would have that level of commitment throughout its ranks.
The Right Therapist
So, who is best suited to play the role of therapist to assuage employee fears and drive companywide buy-in for digital transformation efforts? The answer is that it varies.
Organizations that are just getting started with digital transformation may look to someone in human resources to play the role of therapist. However, businesses that are well into their change process may want to establish the therapist role outside of HR. That’s particularly important for businesses that have had issues like layoffs, which could create employee mistrust of HR.
One of the most important things, however, is that the person acting as the company therapist makes people comfortable. Employees should see that individual as someone without an agenda who genuinely cares about their well-being.
When people open up, therapists can start to understand what drives behaviors. Therapists can then work to alleviate those fears and potentially even channel them toward productiveness. That’s a much better strategy than allowing fear to run amuck.
