How to Manage Change When Adopting New Technology in Healthcare

SADA Says | Cloud Computing Blog

By SADA Says | Cloud Computing Blog

Many Healthcare organizations want to transition to a next-gen collaboration platform, but experience change management challenges. The pain points hit hard:

  • Administrators are unsure where to begin
  • Aging workers are set in their ways
  • Executive buy-in is tough for a variety of reasons

Change is always tough, but when you factor in that any disruptions to patient care or overall hospital functions are unacceptable, it’s no wonder that 70% of initiatives fail. To do it properly, staff have to take a more comprehensive approach towards analyzing their business’s operational life before and after a change initiative.

Discover how Healthcare organizations can get workers at all levels to truly adopt change and be in the driver’s seat for its success:

Identify Your Goals for Change

Before you rely on a change initiative to fix an organizational problem, you first have to fully understand the problem and identify what success might look like. To do this, you need to leverage internal analytics and data to ID the problem. Maybe older technologies are hampering collaboration on patient care? Perhaps inefficiencies are backlogging admin staff? The data (and staff) will tell you what the problems are, so establish realistic KPI to determine what direction you want to head in and how aggressively you want to achieve results. Only 35% of leaders frequently or always share organizational challenges,yet doing so is so critical to effective change. Explaining to your staff what changes may happen will reduce the shock later on and increase buy-in.

Select the Right Change Management Solutions Partner

Once you know what your pain points are, you’ll need to start shopping for a vendor whose solutions address your challenges. A trustworthy company will be able to provide a live demonstration for you; as a bonus, some may offer you a free trial period. You should also be able to openly discuss your business challenges and include tangible costs. This can help potential vendors assist you in making the business case to the C-Suite, demonstrate the positive impact that change will have on patient care, and show why they’re the best choice in a field of competitors. Having confidence in your solutions partner will rub off on how employees eventually engage with the new systems..

5 Steps to Change Management Beyond Go-Live Day

SADA Systems is an IT consulting firm specializing in cloud and web-based technologies. We help companies transform processes through technology, while fueling better business results. We have spent more than 10 years helping companies implement IT changes that help people work more efficiently and foster new, collaborative cultures. Our approach consists of several components:

1. Executive workshops and trainings
Large organizational changes such as rolling out new technologies require executive buy-in to get everyone on board. We start with one-day workshops where SADA experts help organization leaders envision the future state of working in the new system.

2. Executive communications strategy
Executive sponsorship is about top-down messaging on the reasons and benefits of change. We have found that success of a new technology initiative is closely linked to executive engagement with employees. It’s important to begin the process early.

3. User champions
Most of us would rather ask a friend how to do something than call the help desk. With that in mind, we work with clients to create a layer of peer-to-peer support where user champions, those who are power users and have the enthusiasm to help others. In the world of Google, these individuals are called Google Guides.

4. Awareness and training
Change management with technology should follow suit. Some tips include:

  • Deliver messages in different formats frequently, from emails to lunchroom signs and internal social media campaigns
  • Commence training programs as soon as the contract is signed.
  • Quality of content is as important as frequency.
  • Measure how and if the message is getting through in order to gauge negative or inaccurate perceptions early in the game.

5. Boots on the ground
Not every company has dedicated IT change management and communications people. SADA Systems experts augment those efforts when needed, ensuring that customers have the proper support to pull off a comprehensive change management program.

Even though it’s highly recommended for major technology implementations, not all organizations will take a strategic, structured approach toward change management. But for those companies that do, we have seen a direct correlation between these programs and user adoption. And, the higher rates of adoption, the more satisfied employees are, leading to even more usage. Over time, the business benefits faster from better productivity, decision-making, business results, and so on.

Getting staff and administration to change, especially when they’re stuck in their ways, is never easy. But with the right planning, rollout strategy, and dedication, even the most stubborn of employees will come around.

See how SADA Systems can help design a solutions strategy for you. Read more about how SADA Systems helps healthcare organizations manage change by downloading our change management brief, today!

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