Conflict management as part of digitization projects
How can classic conflict management support digitization?
Frederic Rouagha: Mediation thrives on identifying conflict issues and naming them precisely. You can then find your way out of the conflict position, i.e. out of a deadlocked thought construct, into a dynamic process. This then enables a solution-open process through different creative techniques and opens up unimagined possibilities for all parties. “We love conflicts” may sound a bit paradoxical at first, but where there is friction, there is energy. And you can use them in conflict situations - especially in the case of digitization. Progress comes from change and change from resolved conflicts. We should therefore do away with the negative image of conflicts and see and use them as opportunities.
From experience, what types of conflicts are there in digitization?
Frederic Rouagha: There is active resistance from employees. This can be countered by open discussions and offering solutions. Such often constructive discussions are often very useful for the process. As a result, this type of resistance is a win for everyone involved, as long as it is done professionally and purposefully.
Passive, silent resistance on the other hand, the torpedoing of measures, the "non-use" of new systems and solutions, for example, is a hindrance. The employees do not work efficiently and thus damage the process. Action must be taken early on in order not to jeopardize the overall project. Everyone has to be brought on board, the entire company should be willing to implement digitization, not just individual heads.
What does it look like in practice if there is no acceptance for a digitization project?
Stanislaw Panow: Then, instead of the great new ERP system, people will continue to work with xls files, instead of using the efficient and simple project communication tool, e-mails will still be written and sent, telephone callback requests will continue to be stored on yellow slips of paper instead of them in the ticket system to capture
Which methods can be used to advance digitization projects anyway?
Frederic Rouagha: A big problem is that there is no thought at all about conflict resolution. Why isn't a conflict solver integrated into every major digitization project as a matter of course? Then you would come up with effective solutions much faster than if you presented the finished solution to the management floor to the employees. If the topic of conflict management plays an active role in the digitization strategy, a lot of time and money can be saved. You should always ask about the interests of everyone involved and integrate them into the process.
Which hurdles do companies stumble over?
Stanislaw Panow: It really starts with the fact that not everyone who is affected by the project is often sitting around the same table. Sometimes they are not even informed about the new digitization project. If employees are not taken on the journey, in the worst case they will even begin to torpedo the project. In our projects as an IT service provider, however, it is above all about the fact that many - including IT service providers - talk past each other because there is no structure as a basis.
Is the solution to the conflict primarily in the structure?
Stanislaw Panow: Yes, in the structure and in the knowledge of connections. As a civil engineer, I have a special love for structure. And at some point I just got fed up with the lack of structure in IT. And what could be more obvious than viewing IT as a building and dividing it into individual, defined trades (we call them IT services). The lack of knowledge about connections in IT, for example, harbors an enormous potential for conflict, which we would like to counteract as far as possible with our method, with which we connect the trades to each other. If digitization projects are to be meaningfully advanced, an overview of the company's IT is an important prerequisite and the connections in the existing IT must be known.
Part 2 of our webcast series "Are you also dreaming of digitization simply taking place?"
In the expert discussion, Frederic Rouagha ( matchdigital management GmbH ) and Stanislaw Panow ( netcos GmbH ) shed light on your digital journey with regard to conflict potential and conflict resolution.
Hand in hand, the digitization platform matchdigital and the IT analysis methodology itpilot® ensure that small and medium-sized companies in particular make their processes fit for digitization and structure their IT for these requirements and make it future-proof. More about collaboration
