The interesting thing about process changes is that they don’t stick if they’re ignored. What’s more, a business won’t realize any value for their technical and strategic investments if they haven’t factored in the talent required for success.

If you want to get employees to rally behind a change the first step is to make sure they understand why change is needed. Adults are skeptical learners and quick to dismiss anything that isn’t seen to have a big “what’s in it for me?” payoff.

As an example, take a look at the following MS Visio flowchart that demonstrates how a project is to be opened under a new process. Part of the visual challenge is that the viewer must decode the colors, read the sideways swim lane titles, and follow the small arrows in and out of the action.  The other challenge is that it’s pretty boring, right?

Original process depiction

A revised version was requested to better identify the participants and what they’re expected to do under the new approach. This sketch suggests one path with participants coming and going as required. All copy is to be right-reading and immediately associated with the action step required.

A suggested direction for simplifying who does what

We developed a final version that resided on their intranet and had links associated at the right time with the few forms that were needed. This enabled employees to continue doing their jobs with a minimal disruption from the process changes that accompanied new technology.

New process render