Culture of Curiosity: The Key to Effective Technology Change Management

Technology continues to rapidly advance the customer experience. Apps, AI, and even robots are deployed in businesses with the intention to enhance and make things easy. Conversations around what customers want in their vehicle sales or service experiences are shaping the next wave of dealership innovations. Before we think about how we enhance, we must think about what is.

Have you ever signed up for something, but didn’t really invest the time or energy into it? Maybe it was a gym membership, a New Year’s resolution, or a project, but ultimately it didn’t amount to much? Sometimes we get so caught up in the future state that we neglect the present. We realize we made a decision, but couldn’t fully commit if things got too uncomfortable.

Maybe our only time to go to the gym was at 4AM and those cold winter mornings made it too uncomfortable to get out of bed. Maybe that New Year’s resolution was too hard. Maybe that project can wait until next weekend. When growth happens, it is created out of the uncomfortable. It’s why we use the term “growing pains” to define both the physical experience of a child becoming an adult and the periods of discomfort within our lives. Our businesses have these growing pains too.

It can be hard to endure discomfort, but as leaders we must find ways to fully sign up when we’ve decided to create a change.

Ok, we’re in. We picked a new solution. What now?

Let’s go back to what is. Customers are wanting more choices in how they transact and how they receive services. They want to make an appointment. They want to talk to someone right now. They want a text when their car is ready. It seems simple enough to go ahead and pick a solution that says it enhances the experience based on what the customer wants, but in each of those choices, there’s a multitude of ways for things to break down. What if the scheduler isn’t set up right? What if the phone just rings and rings? What if no one checked to see if the number on file was the customer’s cell?

Technology can’t solve for processes if the business doesn’t fully commit to the discomfort of solving for what the current state is.

Now we’re at the hard part of creating better experiences: the commitment.

Inside your business, there’s many people that will ultimately shape if a technology solution you decide on is successful. You may have some people that are outright against it. Others will be lukewarm or indifferent. Some may think it is the best solution ever. As a leader, you must align all of your team on the belief that the solution is what is best. Next, you will need to show your commitment. Your team will only push through the uncomfortable if it means creating something better so long as you show you’re willing to be uncomfortable with them. Will you participate in the conversations around workflows and set up? Will you be involved in discussing processes? Will you be available for your team to help get through challenges? Commitment to a better experience doesn’t mean that you must do it all, it just means that you have to stay true.

The solution has been installed. The team is working through some of the discomfort, but finding the new solution is working well. How can we enhance it?

This is the fun part about how quickly the customer experience is changing. Your business needs to have people that are creative in how they can use new technology to better enhance the customer experience with your team. Create a culture of success through excitement in the uncomfortable. Allow your team opportunities to learn. Give them a voice in how they can better shape or measure outcomes. Your customers have better experiences through how your team adapts to changing business needs. They have the best experiences by having a culture of curiosity. If we give ourselves the opportunity to examine what is and what can be, 2024 is sure to be an exciting year.