Changing a process or system is risky. For one thing, there may be people who benefit from keeping things the way they've always been. For another, it's not always easy to enlist the support of those who stand to gain from the new way of doing things. In other words, you can expect push-back any time something rocks the status quo.
Implementing business process management, or BPM software can make some people feel threatened. Maybe they don't worry about being automated out of a job, but resent changes being imposed from "on high" without their having been part of it. And even if people are generally receptive to what BPM software can do for them, you can expect some growing pains along the way. Here are some thoughts on what to do when your employees balk at your BPM software. Avoid Problems By Including End-Users From the Start If you think you can simply drop BPM software onto your workforce and it will automatically be embraced by everyone, you could be in for a rude awakening. Executives may love a new BPM solution, but if it's imposed by executive decree, expect resistance. People aren't opposed to improving work processes, but if they're a user of a process, they want to be part of BPM software implementation from the beginning. Sure, executive buy-in is important, but so is support from the actual people who will use the process day after day. Don't Allow Your BPM Software to Initiate Unnecessary Changes Change for the sake of change is short-sighted. When evaluating processes for use with BPM software, it's important to see where things are already going right and concentrate on parts of a process that actually require improvement. For example, if you have an electronic form that serves its needs perfectly, replacing it with the BPM system's form could cause unnecessary disruption without improving the process. Make sure your BPM software lets you integrate steps that already work well so you can focus on the opportunities for improvement. Carefully Select the Business Processes You Start With BPM software provides a return on investment when it represents new or improved business value. Therefore, it's important to define these new or improved business values upfront and deal with processes that may have once met business objectives, but no longer do so. When considering where to start with BPM software, consider how the context of your business has changed (perhaps you ship internationally now, or operate e-commerce as well as bricks-and-mortar stores), and define how you want to add business value.
