If you don’t like change, you will like irrelevance even less.
— General Eric Shinseki
The wind of change is blowing. In fact, this is the only wind you can be sure will stick around. In today’s modern workplace, this change comes in the form of technology. Beloved by some, feared by most. No matter how you feel about it, if you fail to embrace it you can be sure of one thing: you will get left behind.
Many executives are concerned about the ground-shaking, earth-rumbling, seismic waves that are coming. But in the face of disruption, while it may feel instinctual, leaders can’t afford to freeze.
To ensure the survival of their organization, leaders need to understand the challenges, and more importantly the benefits, of impending changes. For their organization’s sake, leaders need to address them head on.
We are conditioned to prefer stability and respond to change with fear and disorientation. However, there is plenty we can do to prepare ourselves. Below, we outline our top tips for embracing the inevitable.
1.Adjust your attitude
One of the hardest things about change is how it makes us feel. Using a new tool or implementing a new system is like trying to ride a bike for the first time: scary.
Being a beginner means you’ll be asking a lot of questions, performing actions slowly, and making a lot of mistakes. These very points are why it is so critical that you have the right attitude.
Prepare yourself for the difficulties by acknowledging that they will in fact exist. Engaging in self-talk is one way to do so. For example, instead of thinking “I don’t want this, I’ll just stick with what I know,” try saying to yourself “this may not be pleasant at first, but it’s a worthwhile long-term investment.”
Acknowledge that things will be hard at first but the discomfort
will pass, and in its place will come a newfound sense of success and
accomplishment.
2. Be willing to fail. Badly. (And accept that your employees will too)
The outset of the journey will be laden with mistakes, and you’ll undoubtedly experience a rocky start. However, it’s important to accept these errors as a part of the process. Things may start off poorly, but they will get better. Exponentially.
3. Encourage learning
Enthusiasm is contagious. Provide your employees with the support they need in order to take your organization to the next level. Implement learning systems that make it easy for employees to learn the skills they need in order to work with the latest software, systems, and tools.
4. Celebrate the little things
Everyone appreciates some positive feedback. Give employees a pat on the back by vocally recognizing their small accomplishments. They’ll appreciate your recognition of their achievements, and you in turn will see the small steps made on the road to mastery.
And finally, and probably most important of all-
5. Lead by example
Remember– you are the ambassador of your organization. For this very reason it is vital that you pass on the torch of change acceptance to your employees. Promote the adoption of change by introducing new technologies.
Be open to hearing about new potentialities. Encourage learning. This approach will enhance productivity and make sure you are keeping up with the times. Don’t forget- how fast you embrace evolving technologies will determine the place of your organization in your industry’s roster.
At Datarails, we know how challenging it can be to accept and respond to change. This is why we’ve designed a solution that helps finance departments change the way they work without feeling the aftershock.
Finance work is primarily done using Excel, which analysts rely on for diverse tasks including risk analysis, budgeting, and data manipulation.
Yet while reporting is practically unanimously done with this tool, working with Excel can be messy. Datarails offers a platform that lets you keep working the way you’re accustomed to with Excel while concurrently improving the data collection and consolidation process.
Embracing our technology means you acknowledge and accept the need for change in your organization but choose to do so with minimal backlash. As a result your employees will spend less time gathering data, thereby freeing up their time for tasks with greater value-added such as analysis.
Leverage technology to your advantage, your way
Change can be hard to accept, but it is vital for the survival of your business no matter what industry you’re in. How fast you embrace and incorporate modern technologies will determine your place in the market. At Datarails, our goal is to help you with this transition so that you encounter minimal difficulties.
Our technology is an FP&A enabler, allowing FP&A analysts to get the job done as best as possible. Integrating our technology means you acknowledge that change is necessary and have chosen to work with the platform that makes the transition as smooth as can be. With Datarails’ FP&A solution you can enjoy the ride, with as minimal bumps as possible.
About Datarails
Datarails is an enterprise-class FP&A software that empowers each finance professional to independently work with data and deliver actionable, data-driven insights. Finally, count on numbers you can trust and reduce inefficiencies without having to change how you work on Excel. With Datarails, strengthen the connection between finance and operations to drive better organizational decisions.
