Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, new service – how to switch colleagues from Excel to another tool if you are a technical lead
A little context
The first freight company is an operator of freight rail transportation. Our fleet numbers about one hundred thousand cars. Obviously, each of them must be in good condition. If a carriage breaks down en route, it is immediately sent for routine repairs. All platforms also undergo regular technical inspection – once every three years or every 160 thousand kilometers. Repair planning is carried out by colleagues from the maintenance department (we call them “car guys”), and this is not the easiest task. It is necessary to take into account the type of car, its current location, the distance to the nearest repair depot and the place where it should go after – the longer the car moves empty, the more money the company loses.
For a long time, car block specialists used spreadsheets and carried out calculations manually to draw up a repair plan. With this approach, the processes went rather slowly: you need to constantly take into account new input from contractors and changing internal factors – this certainly does not add speed to manual calculations. To help our colleagues, we at PGK Digital have developed a special tool – “Repair Optimizer”. He creates a maintenance schedule for the month in advance and makes recommendations. However, at the stage of implementing the Repair Optimizer, we encountered a problem – colleagues ignored the new tool, preferring the usual spreadsheets. Everything is fine – plans are being made, carriages are being repaired, wheelsets are being rolled up. But we have seen that the new system is more efficient; it speeds up calculations tenfold. To convince the carriage workers and involve them in implementing the changes necessary for the organization, we applied the change management methodology.
What kind of methodology is this
In the 1960s, American psychologist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross identified five stages of accepting the inevitable that are familiar to many. These are denial, anger, bargaining, depression, humility. Over time, the model expanded beyond medicine and psychology and found application in other areas – for example, in business, where a person often has to adapt to changes. For these purposes, the original concept was detailed, and the modern version includes seven stages:
Shock. The first reaction of employees to innovation, which, as a rule, entails a decrease in productivity.
Negation. Employees believe that changes are not necessary.
Frustration. Fear of the unknown, productivity continues to decline.
Dejection. Accepting the inevitable, motivation and energy levels drop, and anxiety increases.
Experiment. Employees begin to understand how proposed changes affect them.
Solution. Productivity increases because most of the team understands how to work in new conditions.
Integration. The final stage, when the new becomes familiar.
Obviously, the process of adopting something new is quite painful in companies. It is not enough for management to announce structural or systemic changes; they must help staff adapt to the modified regulations.
To overcome the business transformation crisis, John Kotteran expert in leadership and change, suggested methodology change management. It is based on a study of more than one hundred organizations. The model is based on the idea that if employees understand the benefits of change, they will help promote it. The framework includes eight steps: 1) creating a strong sense of need, 2) forming a team of like-minded people, 3) formulating a common vision, 4) discussing new ideas, 5) avoiding obstacles that prevent the implementation of changes, 6) achieving initial successes, 7) consolidating successes, 8) consolidation of new practices.
In 2008, Kotter's framework applied telecommunications equipment manufacturer Ericsson. Then the company entered the 4G market and went through a large-scale restructuring. At this time, top management held regular meetings with employees, at which they set short-term goals, praised employees for their success, increasing their motivation. As noted by experts who worked in the company at that time, management played a huge role in helping to adapt to changes.
In addition to the Kotter framework, there are other change management techniques. One of the famous – three stage theory American sociologist Kurt Lewin. He argued that change for a person or organization is a complex path that consists of several stages of transformation leading to equilibrium. Lewin's concept includes three steps:
“Defrosting” It is about recognizing the need for change.
“Movement” The process of transformation itself.
“Freezing” Characterized by the adoption of new operating principles.
In a sense, Lewin's theory includes all the steps proposed by John Kotter, but is more compact. I like her terminology, and it is on this that I will rely in the story of how we convinced our colleagues to give the Repair Optimizer a chance.
“Defreezing” the carriage block
Showing the need for change
The first stage of the methodology is decisive, and the final result largely depends on it. First of all, you need to establish effective communication and overcome initial resistance. In other words, it is necessary to convince people of the urgency of change by highlighting problem areas and possible solutions.
We decided to create a picture of positive changes. The economic effect from the implementation of the Repair Optimizer was chosen as the optimal indicator. We calculated the benefit that a company receives when switching to a new intelligent tool: the amount of repair costs when using the Repair Optimizer turned out to be less than when calculating manually, because the new tool could take into account more factors (for example, combining current and planned repairs if possible , so as not to send the car to the depot twice in a row). And this became a strong impetus in recognizing the need. To convey information to the performers, we held a number of meetings, mainly demos, at which we broadcast a new position: “Repair Optimizer” can be a complete replacement for working with tables.
We attract like-minded people
Next, according to the methodology, we set about forming a team of like-minded people. The management of the carriage block supported us from the very beginning, but we needed to attract ordinary carriage workers to our side. It is worth noting here that we continued (and continue) to refine the “Repair Optimizer”: the tool should take into account new input from car repair enterprises and other changing parameters of the external and internal environment. In addition, we are constantly looking for solutions that will help us improve the overall efficiency of the Repair Optimizer and provide a significant improvement in the repair cost metric.
At this stage, we noted that colleagues from the technical service department were not involved in any way in the development process. As a result, they didn’t feel like they were part of the team, even though the tool was created just for them. To rectify the situation, we turned to one of the stakeholders who was ready to work with us and give a critical assessment of all the proposed improvements from the perspective of carriages. We asked him to analyze all the proposals of the Discovery team even before the start of work, in order to select only those that are truly necessary and valuable. Thanks to his contribution, we were able to relieve the Discovery team and receive additional confirmation of the importance of the selected improvements.
The dissemination of the new vision – to completely replace Excel with the “Repair Optimizer” – was carried out by a team of top managers of the car block. For our part, we helped conduct presentations and tried to attract even more users to the process of improving the service (more on this below).
“Movement” of the carriage block
The second stage of the methodology involves restructuring processes that contradict the new vision. Here practices are formed and applied, which gradually become part of the usual daily routine. It is important to actively promote established goals to keep employees on track.
Removing obstacles
Even at the first stage, we stopped expecting the maintenance department to use the tool themselves simply because it works well. If at first, in order to get the process off the ground, we focused on financial benefits, then we began to explain to our colleagues that the “Repair Optimizer” is not only useful, but also convenient.
The main emphasis was on the fact that planning with the help of the new solution will give carriages the opportunity to work faster and easier. For example, when creating a repair plan, it is sometimes necessary to calculate several scenarios. Previously, calculating one scenario could take a day. The new tool completes the task in 10 minutes, which increases planning variability and allows you to take a strategic approach to the future cycle of planned repairs. Having tried this calculation several times, my colleagues felt an interest in the Repair Optimizer.
In addition, it was important for us to make the new tool as user-friendly as possible. To do this, we conducted surveys in writing and at brainstorming meetings. During the process, people suggested changes that should occur in the Repair Optimizer in order to make it simple and easy to use. On the one hand, this approach allowed us to improve the usability of the service, on the other hand, we continued to involve ordinary users in the improvement process. Indifference has been replaced by personal interest in the product.
Achieving first results
For some time, Repair Optimizer and Excel existed in parallel: colleagues continued to use tables, and we calculated the repair plan in the new tool. Perhaps, in our case, this became an additional lever for changes – month after month, our calculator showed the best result, so the benefits of the “Repair Optimizer” became obvious even to conservative colleagues.
Consolidating success
We are now at the stage of consolidating our success. One of the important tasks is to ensure that users contact us to take into account all current changes. An additional complexity is introduced by the fact that the repair planning process is constantly changing, and our release cycle must be very short, so that by the new planning stage all improvements have already been tested and put into production. The release cycle for us is two weeks (once per sprint). To work effectively in such conditions, we are looking for opportunities to improve development practices. For example, we recently allocated a separate role for the Delivery Manager for planning and rolling out releases.
“Freezing” of a carriage block
The goal of the final stage is to consolidate success. Despite all the difficulties, the Repair Optimizer has become the main tool for drawing up plans. What is equally important, the user base is actively expanding – for example, economists and workers from other areas of the carriage block have joined the system. We conducted a study and calculated the consumer loyalty index (NPS): users do not experience any difficulties in working with the service and are ready to recommend it.
For us, additional confirmation that the Repair Optimizer has finally caught on will be independent requests from users to improve our tool. If at the beginning we basically “knocked” ideas out of them through long surveys and research, then after a while they themselves will come up with new hypotheses and features. And I hope we will get to this someday – not without the help of change management methodology.
