AllenWeb
AllenWeb
6 June
'98
"Holding back change driven by cost-effectiveness is like trying to hold back a rushing river with a worn-out dam. Bet on the river." - Joyce Lain Kennedy
"If change is a product - or a byproduct - you'll need to deal with the fears and perceptions of the people involved." - Rick Maurer (Weeding Out Resistance to Change) and other Change articles of interest in projects.
Resistance to Change
The bulldozer and construction worker are symbols of change. Yes, you have heard about change management for how long? Too long, right? But now we are entering a new century. Change is happening faster that most people care to think about. What is more important, change is happening faster that most people care to accept. In fact, most people do not want change! The premise is that change is not always good...that somehow it will have a negative impact. And in many cases, this is correct depending on where a person stands in the arena.
In the automation business we are, by the very nature of our discipline, in a state of constant change. Technology is exponentially advancing. Even for those of us who have been using and advocating automation for many years, changes in available technology is difficult to stay abreast with, if at all. We are in a constant state of change. Whether its upgrading a new plant, a new materials handling system, a new robotics installation, or just plain business systems integration, we are making continuous improvements in the abilities of companies to do things better, faster and cheaper. That is what automation is all about. If it doesn't serve that purpose, it doesn't belong in the market place.
The problem in automation is not the technology in 95% (a reasonable percentage) of the cases. The problems come from either mis-applications of hardware or software and from people. The problems with hardware and software can usually be fixed by re-design , integration, or changing up. The problems with people are not so easily dispatched. They can be constant threats to the success of any project and to the very survival of a company. I will not address the technical - hardware and software in detail on this page. That is another story. The purpose of this page is to discuss the human factor.
The Human Problem in
Automation
Do you remember your first bicycle (two-wheeler)? Do you remember your fears and concerns as a child at that moment of decision. The decision whether you should try it. The concerns about your abilities. Could you be successful? Would you be able to do it? Would you instead crash, injure yourself, or even more disastrous.... embarrass yourself in front of parents or maybe friends standing by? The damage to the bike during your learning may never have entered your mind and probably didn't. The concern was for your safety, your self-esteem, your pride, your abilities, your success of failure.
Maybe you were one of the lucky ones. Yes, maybe your parents put training wheels on your bike to give you stability. Those wheels helped you develop the skills without the embarrassment and potential injuries that you might have suffered without them. Or maybe you were one of the unlucky ones. Your parents put you on the seat, after a little instruction, and gave you a shove. Maybe you survived with little damage or maybe you had several mishaps before you gained the experience and confidence.
The big difference in all of this is that whether your parents put the training wheels on your bike or didn't, you wanted to learn and you wanted to be successful. Why? Because it was an important part of growing up and taking your place with your peers. And certainly it was because you really wanted the fun, freedom, and adventure of riding a bicycle to distant places even if it was only a few blocks away.
Not all people share this same enthusiasm in dealing with automation. In fact, many have the very same concerns that they had during their first bicycle experience. The big difference is, they really do not want nor do they share the desire to "ride" automation. There are many more factors involved, but the concerns are still uncertainty, fear of failure, fear of the unknown, and now fear of being "put out of a job."
Yes, most people see automation as a threat....a threat to their very existence. Whether they are senior management, middle management, a shop floor technician, or janitorial labor - unless they are comfortable with automation and embrace it as they did their bicycle, they will resist and fight the change automation brings with every tool at their disposal. And why do they do it? Why do they fight it and sabotage its implementation?
The answers are easy, but putting the solutions into action and implementing them is difficult.
#1 - Fear of Being Redundant
The biggest fear shared by people faced with automation is the loss of their job. When a company talks about automation, the immediate reaction is that machines will replace people. Take the insurance industry as an example. Remember when the use of the computer was first introduced. Remember the large redundant clerk force that was eventually reduced. That is what enters the minds of folks faced with an automation effort by their company. They don't see the other side of it. Higher profitability and higher wages for those who adapted and grew the company. And they certainly don't think about the failed companies that didn't adopt automation because they were not able to compete against those who had. Those companies no longer exist in some industries.
An answer: Automating a facility should give the company a much larger capacity, allow them to go after a bigger market share by adding more flexibility in responding to the market, etc. But care should be taken early to identify exactly how this automation will impact the current work force and if there will really be a redundant situation or will the current workforce be a necessary part of the new plant? What training needs are there? Every effort must be made to identify any redundant elements in the planning phase and action taken with those effected.
Remove the uncertainty by all in the company by openly displaying the new interim organization structure BY NAME "prior" to automation implementation. (And take good care of the redundant elements.) This MUST be done to maintain a level of confidence by those who remain behind to adapt to automation usage. More problems have arisen during implementation from all levels of a company because people were uncertain of their future upon completion of a successful implementation.
# 2 - Fear of Failure
Another fear that must be addressed in the planning phase is how to handle people's fear of failure. The fear of not understanding or being able to work within an automated environment. Many companies make the serious mistake of not insisting on a very thorough training program that will insure the employees a knowledge and a confidence level in adapting and using the new systems to the maximum benefit of the company.
Many view training as an expense to be cut. Beware of those that claim they can reduce this expense for a pat on the back. The resulting proven increases in hidden cost to the firm can exceed the perceived savings of cost cutting by multiples! This is an item that should receive the most serious attention by professional implementors. Once it is determined in scope and budgeted, it should become a sacred cow, and be adjusted only by the implementor due to project scope changes.
An Answer: This is one of the most dangerous and expensive "things" to short on. The lack of preparatory and reinforcement training or inadequate training in these areas contains some very direct damaging expense to the firm and even more dangerous indirect expense. DO NOT short on this important part of automation, unless you significantly adjust your expectations downward in return on investment in automation. Remember the training wheels analogy?
# 3 - Fear of the Future
The fear of the future must be addressed by openly discussing and announcing the purpose of automation and what it means to the employees of the firm. Normally automation investment is made so the firm can compete and grow the business. It may be latent automation for survival.
An Answer: Whatever, the future expected from the implementation must be made openly clear to all that are expected to participate in making it successful. A feeling of excitement must be built from the ground up in order for people to enthusiastically embrace automation as the key to their futures. Without a feeling of confidence that "riding the bike" is going to be good, they may never ride it at all! If they decide not to ride, you will not be successful in your implementaton.
Address Issues of Fear, Uncertainty,
and Self-esteem
The levels within an organization that must be addressed in overcoming resistance to change is each and every one of them. The first thought in anyone's mind when automation is discussed is, "What's in it for me?" If the answer must be self-generated, then it will probably be on the pessimistic side yielding a negative outcome perception. This critical issue should be addressed early in any project and at every level.
Factual representations of what will happen to people within the organization, how the automation will take place over what period, milestones during the project, and managing expectations of all (from janitor to board director) are absolutely necessary if a successful on-time and on-budget project is the goal.
Manage Expectations
Managing expectations of problems to be expected during the start-up and ramp-up periods is the biggest challenge. Due to "sometimes selective memory loss" by some parties, some "CYA" moves by others, and "nay sayers kibitzing" on the sidelines, your implementation efforts can be derailed. Never let this type of activity impact a project. It will - if allowed to go unchallenged.
In the planning stage, these elements must be addressed and well documented for later fire fighting, if necessary. If planning is thoroughly completed prior to implementation, most of these elements will be insignificant to non-existent because they have been dealt with early on. And if expectations are openly adjusted and well documented during changes in project scope or circumstances, you can avoid blind-siding parties with resulting perceived surprises. If they are not, it usually can result in the loss of confidence in the project or you or both.
The Real Challenge
The real challenge in automation is meeting the above fears head-on, addressing them in a very satisfactory manner, and eliminating them through planning, training, understanding, and obtaining "buy-in" to the automation effort in everyone's agendas. You can do it! It can be done, if you pay real attention to these fears and take care of them in your design, planning and implementation. If you don't, they may undo everything else you have done well. People's resistance to change can and will burn you, regardless of the level you are at in the process!
The Real Solution*
An accumulation of knowledge
is valuable only to the extent that it can be tapped - at any time.
The rules for learning have changed. Adapting to changing conditions has become an everyday challenge. The time when learning could be separated from doing, when formal training was distinct from on-the-job training (OJT), is over. How then does one make knowledge available as and when your people need it?
The answer to these questions is Knowledge Engineering, through which all of your growing skills, experience, and knowledge are documented in structured knowledgebases, easily accessed by your employees. Whatever their task, they can call upon this knowledgebase for helpful guidance. And, as they do, they increase their process knowledge, productivity, creativity, and job satisfaction (retention); they improve their processes; and transform your organization into a vibrant Learning Organization.
Building the KnowledgebaseYou are probably more familiar with knowledgebases than you think. Perhaps you have hunted down information through an Internet search engine, an electronic bulletin board or Lotus Notes, or visited the Library of Congress. In those cases, you have searched through unstructured information.
A structured knowledgebase, on the other hand, converts information to knowledge by carefully weaving it around its timely and relevant use. The user receives the needed knowledge on a just-in-time basis. And the mode of access is a simple, intuitive interface on the desktop.
A robust structured knowledgebase has two primary components:
While employees come and go...
organizational knowledge can stay and increase.The Knowledgebase puts everything you need to know at your fingertips. Knowledge is information that has values. It therefore must be relevant and accessible at the right time and place. It can then lead to intuition and learning. For example, think of classroom situations in which the teacher is pouring out vast quantities of facts. At such times you probably wonder when and where you will have use for them. And you may conclude, "What value does all this have if it is not there when I need it?"
A knowledgebase is a solution to this problem. It consists of the body of knowledge related to a specific process or methodology accessible from a prestructural repository. This means that the knowledge worker has all the necessary expertise, information, experience, and documentation located in a knowledgebase, providing what he or she needs to know on an on-demand basis.
Whereas the old paradigm made the individual responsible for accumulating the relevant knowledge for decision making, the new paradigm lifts this burden by delivering knowledge to the worker.
Knowledge Engineering is an iterative process improvement discipline whereby processes are defined, educational and training requirements are determined, and knowledgebases are created, validated, and disseminated. The result: increased process knowledge, a knowledge-sharing culture, knowledgebase feedback, improved process performance and design, and enabled process reengineering, when appropriate.
Building the knowledgebase:
an investment in your future.Knowledgebase creation offers short-term benefits and long-term security. A knowledgebase is an interactive, electronic presentation of a structured body of knowledge, skills, and abilities. It makes available the ever-changing resource of current knowledge, evaluates it, and shows where knowledge and abilities must be honed to enhance process performance.
Today we measure technological change not in years but in months. Knowledgebases offer organizations the opportunitiy to keep pace with the expected spiraling changes of the future. Paper, traditional training, and repositories of information simply cannot cope with the immense knowledge changes your organization faces. That is why it is important to begin planning and creating your knowledgebases today.
* Knowledge Engineering services are available from Litton - PRC Inc. 1-800-PRC-BPR5. They are offering a solution to overcoming resistance, getting up the learning curves, and saving valuable time and money in an automation project. I will continue to evaluate their capabilities and potential participation in various levels of automation projects in the future.