Struggling with Employee Resistance to Change? Matt Stoyka Has Some Tips

Matt Stoyka knows a thing or two about change. As Rackspace’s Chief Relationship Officer and founder of RelationEdge, Matt has been leading business transformation efforts for decades and championing others to do the same — but that’s not to say it’s always easy. 

In fact, successful business change is extremely difficult, as it requires three factors to be in harmony: people, process, and technology. The most important pillar of that trio — people — is notoriously resistant to change.

So, how can you get employees on board when making big changes that affect your business process and technology? 

According to Matt, you should involve your employees from the very beginning. He recently appeared on Cloud Spotting, a Rackspace podcast hosted by solution architects Alex Galbraith and Sai Iyer, where he discussed how to engage employees in change efforts and how to align people, process, and technology for optimal outcomes.

The people at your company who are doing the day-to-day work are the ones who know firsthand what’s working well — and, more importantly, what’s not. Start out by asking these employees what roadblocks they encounter at work. What are the headaches within their current processes? “It’s a bit of a venting session,” Matt explains. 

Asking your employees for input is critical to your success; according to a McKinsey global survey, companies are 1.4 times more likely to report a successful digital transformation if they ask employees to come up with their own ideas. Engaged employees are more likely to fully buy into the changes and embrace them; you’re also much more prone to find a solution that actually addresses the issues at hand.

Once you’ve got your people on board, you can then effectively align the other two pillars of change: process and technology — with process being next in line. Want to learn more about successful business transformation? Listen to the full episode to learn:

• Why it’s misguided to think of your business transformation as a “project,” with a beginning and an end — and how to change this mindset
• Why the best technology change initiatives start with a conversation that’s not about technology at all
• How — contrary to popular belief — size doesn’t matter; large businesses can change as quickly as smaller businesses 
• Matt’s perspective on mergers and acquisitions in the technology space, including Salesforce’s acquisition of Tableau
• …and much more!

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