Something I’ve noticed over the years working with businesses moving from manual processes to digital systems is how easily we underestimate the people side of the change.
Think about someone who has worked with a manual system for 15 or 20 years.
They know it. They trust it. They understand its shortcomings, but they also know how to work around them.
Then we arrive with a new system and expect them to change the way they’ve always worked.
And sometimes there’s another concern we don’t talk about enough: Will this technology eventually replace my job?
We provide training, of course. But I’ve come to realise that training alone is often not enough.
Teaching someone how to use a system is one thing. Helping them understand why the change is necessary, what it means for their role and getting their buy-in is something quite different.
And this has real operational consequences.
In a packhouse or processing operation, for example, once a digital system is implemented, every relevant transaction needs to be captured. You cannot have some transactions recorded manually and others digitally without a reliable way of bringing them together.
The moment that information chain is broken, traceability, stock accuracy and reporting are compromised.
The technology might be working perfectly, but the business is not getting the full benefit.
Perhaps we need to start treating change management as an essential part of digitisation, rather than assuming that training will take care of everything.
After all, successful digitisation isn’t just about implementing a system.
It’s about bringing people along with it.
I’d be interested to hear how others have approached this challenge.
