Shifting to new technologies is never an easy task. You are used to the old software and know its various ins and outs. Leaving that familiarity for a new technology necessitates learning everything from scratch. Take the current Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams transition. Many employees will resist it because of how long Skype has been used. If you are concerned about how to transition your company, then, don’t be. The way to transition smoothly lies in a few simple steps.
Here’s how you should go about the transition:
1. Preemptive Transition Planning to Microsoft Teams
The fact of the matter is that industry wide transition will happen sometime. It is better to stay ahead of the curve and start preparing your business before it becomes the standard.
You should setup a team to research and learn Microsoft Teams. The team should also start rolling it out and testing it in trial phases. That will give you information about compatibility issues.
2. Research and Understand
The worst way to transition from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams would be to do it overnight. That is not how you carry out companywide technology changes.
You will need to thoroughly understand the features and aspects of Microsoft Teams. This software promises to be a much more robust offering over Skype for Business. It has several other functions and a capacity much beyond that of Skype for Business. Skype is not the only software it will make redundant. Microsoft Teams will take over aspects of many other software. Accommodating for software redundancies will be needed for keeping track of change.
3. Preparing Your Employees
Employees are a key factor in how to transitionsmoothly, for any company-wide change. How compliant or resistant your employees are can make all the difference. It is better to bring them aboard beforehand than to spring the news on them.
You should make them understand the benefits to gain from the Skype for Business to Microsoft Teamstransition. Emphasize to them the ways their lives and work will be made easier by using this new software. You can supplement this with training sessions for Microsoft Teams. This will allow them to get their bearings in a safe and timely manner instead of learning on the fly.
The better you work on your employees to make them open to change, the more seamless the transition will be.
4. Multi-Tier Change Management
Organizational change has to be multifacetedfor effectiveness. Along with deadlines and rollouts, you should also incorporate soft change management. This means providing the sort of environment where change is receptive and embraced. Encouraging your employees, forgiving initial errors and providing technical help will be as important as meeting targets. That is the only way to transition effectively. Technical and personal change management should go together.
Conclusion
Learning new technology is hard. You can see this for yourself by trying to teach Facebook to a very senior citizen. Realization of this fact and following the above steps will be key to transitioning smoothly from Skype for Business to Microsoft Teams. If you need help with it feel free to reach out and we will gladly help!
