As part of our ongoing ‘Ask the Experts’ series, we have brought together some of the Fashion industry’s leading Digital Transformation specialists to answer your most pressing questions. Today, we ask the team: what are 3 practical ways we can tackle the resistance to change when moving from the physical to the digital? Here’s what they had to say.
Frame your transformation in the right way.
The goal shouldn’t be “moving to digital”, but rather, business process improvement. With that in mind, you will need to sit down with your business teams and understand their objectives; is it to save time? Is it to save money? Is it to make better decisions? Working together in partnership, you will create a desired future process and define the capabilities needed in order to activate it. And as long as your team is working together toward the same goal, it will be much easier to implement digital capabilities.
Aim to solve a problem for people.
Don’t ask them to move to digital because “it’s better” or because it will “improve the process”. You need to understand their current pain points and show how the digital capabilities will solve them. For example, are the factories having a difficult time understanding design lines on a 2D sketch? Then, show them 3D virtual taping on a digital mannequin and how it translates directly to the pattern. Or are the merchandisers having a hard time visualising key looks without physical samples? Then show them how a digital key look can help them make decisions far earlier in the process.
Bring everyone along on the journey.
Organisational change management is crucial to the success of digital transformation. Everyone needs to understand their new role, why they are important, and how they are adding to the success. Ensure that everyone knows that their skills and experience are highly valuable and that they will be trained up on new skills, if needed. The fastest way to end an innovation project is to make it about doing the same process with less people – no one wants to innovate if it puts jobs at risk. The goal should be about enabling room for the company to grow and providing new career opportunities. Make sure that everyone, from the CEO to the newest intern, understands that.
Listen.
Ask why and ask why not? The more you understand the resistance, the easier it is to address and course correct. And quite often it’s not as much resistance, as it is confusion.
Don’t be afraid of over-communication.
Just because folks attend a meeting and nod during a PowerPoint, does not mean they understand, buy-in, or feel accountable. Weekly updates, daily walk-bys, and frequent touch points go a long way.
Create and nurture a HyperCare programme.
Have a dedicated hotline. Bring in coaches who can offer spontaneous training and Q&A sessions. Making the community feel “looked after” and heard enables people to speak up, seek clarity, and become part of the change. To be credible here, you must make sure all suggestions for improvement (process or technology) are acknowledged and addressed. It is basic human psychology: we all want to Be Seen, Be Heard, and Belong.
Find Craig here.
Speak the right language.
There tends to be at least one person who’s enthusiastic about the change to digital: why are they excited when others aren’t? This ‘champion’ will help you to better understand why their colleagues are more reluctant, and will often know the right words to say to convince them to give it a try. Listen to people’s concerns and, where possible, let them come up with their own solutions.
Compare the physical process with the digital one.
What are the pros and cons of each? Are certain steps far more effort in one process than the other? Do this comparison on your own, and then again with the people who will have to live the change. They might raise new points and concerns that you can address as a collective.
Consider upskilling broadly, rather than specifically.
You might find that people from unexpected areas are interested in switching roles once they’ve tried out the digital tools. An example from my own experience was of training a diverse group of people in a 3D simulation programme, and a technical developer being unexpectedly enthusiastic and engaged. She was given the room to grow and change her position, and now is a driver for the implementation of 3D within the company.
Find Sophie here.
Be clear about the problems you’re solving for your multi-faceted internal audience.
You cannot use the same narrative with the design team as you do with the supply chain group. Take time to understand your audience’s pain points and do your best to fold your agenda into a change that will make their life easier. Make sure you position yourself as being on their side, and do what you can to show you care about them.
Find your champions.
While transformation is best driven by both a mandate and a movement, finding your champions in your organisation, rallying them to the cause and building critical transformation mass will make a huge difference. We often talk about infecting the organisation with a good virus, so use the power of exponential growth!
Avoid selling the vision as a way to drive efficiency.
This has never inspired anyone to act and will most likely scare and alienate people as they will inevitably end up fearing for their jobs. Instead, sell it as a way to allow them to build better products and better consumer experiences. (Mostly) everyone gets inspired by a desire to do better!
Find Safir here.
Take a people-first approach.
Motivating others to succeed must be the primary focus of managing the transition from apprehension to adoption. Passively listening to someone, actively listening to someone, and making someone FEEL like you are listening are three very different things. Master the latter and you’re 75% there.
Be honest and realistic.
Digital presents new solutions but it isn’t immune to product creation’s pre-existing conditions. In the past, we’ve billed digital as the future while minimising the limitations. When designing your digital transformation roadmap, be objective: the wins are there but if we don’t speak to the challenges, they blindside our teammates and undermine our intentions.
Own your learning culture.
Tool-provider training is a wonderful resource, but training is NEVER a “one and done.” If you don’t have an actionable plan for how to turn your greenest employees into your next superstars, you’re NOT creating a path to success. Even if a tool provider is also your training provider, someone from your organisation needs to guide the trainer and trainees. And after training, prioritise support for your teams over productivity. Over time, productivity will increase as the need for support decreases. And as the need for support decreases, your internal support resources increase. If the need for support does not decrease, you have a problem that needs to be addressed!
Find Christian here.
