How To Maintain Workflows During a Technology Update

Workflow improvements are often the primary concern for companies looking to upgrade their existing technologies. However, in the digital work landscape, keeping your technology up-to-date and on the cutting edge is essential to stay competitive and deliver a first-class customer experience.

In this blog, the Lightyear team walks you through some of the common concerns for enterprises when onboarding new technology partners or assets – and how you can keep disruption to a minimum. Let’s get started!

Understand Your Current Workflows

All seamless business transitions start by properly understanding your current environment and workflows. Arming yourself with up-to-date information on your current processes, highlighting potential disruptions and integration points, will help you smooth the transition.

Start by engaging with stakeholders throughout your departments and locations. Use process audits, and analyze data flow and dependencies, to determine mission-critical functions and their interdependencies. This will help you develop a targeted plan and ensure you don’t overlook potential impacts affected by the transition.

Plan Your Technology Update Carefully

Ensure you have a detailed and realistic update plan. Again, make sure to understand the timing, resources, and support needed for the rollout. Engage with the service provider and, where possible, the installation team, to understand what needs to happen on their side and if you should expect any associated downtimes. Some will be inevitable, but others can be reduced just by planning well.

Now is a good time to remind our readers that smart redundancy planning, such as having a backup broadband ISP you can fall back on as your new fiber line is installed, can be useful to business continuity.

Communicate Clearly and Often

Arguably, the single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. George Bernard Shaw’s pithy words are as valid today as ever! You cannot maintain business continuity during a disruption without seamless communication. That means your stakeholders and employees, new provider, and the teams handling the installation need to be in regular, responsive contact. This should happen before the update, as well as during the rollout and to iron out any niggles once it has been completed. 

Establishing effective communication channels allows you to determine the quality of support your new provider offers. However, make sure your organization isn’t the weak link. If Beth in accounting doesn’t respond to the service provider's emails about her schedule, she can’t be surprised when the installation starts the day of her big presentation.

Today, good communication relies on an excellent internet connection. Another good reason to have a redundant option in place, such as managed wi-fi, to see you through primary disruptions. We’ve offered some tips for WAN continuity before which you may find helpful.

Train Your Team Effectively

Good training makes smart workers. Equip your employees with the skills and knowledge they need for a smooth transition. This also ensures you reap the rewards of your new systems. Well-planned training minimizes user resistance and enhances productivity, significantly reducing downtimes caused by unfamiliarity.

To ensure strong workflow continuity, try to schedule training sessions during off-peak hours or in phases. This means parts of the team can attend while others maintain mission-critical operations. Make sure you prioritize critical functions first and consider offering multiple sessions to accommodate different worker schedules. Additionally, offer them supplementary resources such as manuals and online tutorials to reinforce learning and support their ongoing education – without disrupting their daily tasks.

Implement in Stages

This phased approach is a great way to minimize disruption during the rollout, too. Consider starting with a single pilot group or department rather than going “all-in.” This also allows you to determine if unexpected delays or unanticipated issues arise, which you can then account for in subsequent phases. Use that feedback and your results to decide how to scale up the rollout to other areas of the business. This will also help keep disruption at a minimum, as you aren’t overhauling everything at once and have time to adjust, respond, and train staff as needed.

Monitor and Support Post-Update

Monitoring new systems after an update is crucial to ensure they function correctly and helps you quickly identify any issues. Continuous monitoring also helps in maintaining system stability and performance, allowing for prompt troubleshooting as needed.

To support employees who may face issues using your new tech, ensure you establish a clear communication channel for reporting problems. A help desk or dedicated support team is a smart idea. Remember, timely support reassures employees you care, and it maintains optimal productivity. Again, offering training sessions or resources to help staff navigate the updated systems confidently fosters a smoother transition and reduces frustration.

Ensure Data Integrity and Security

Protecting your data during a transition is critical to prevent loss or security breaches. Implement robust backup and recovery plans before the big day, ensuring all data is securely backed up before starting the transition. Consider using cloud services or a data colocation service for these backups, to give you broader recovery options stored safely offsite. 

To ensure the highest possible data security during a transition like this, use data encryption and secure transfer protocols and ensure that only authorized personnel can interact with your data. As always, regular password updates and authentication adds additional layers of security. Make certain you conduct thorough security audits before and after the transition to identify potential vulnerabilities and ensure robust compliance with your security policies for sensitive data.

Maintain Flexibility Throughout the Process

Even the best-laid plans go wrong sometimes. Trying to keep to a rigid “normal” during an update simply isn’t realistic. You need to be prepared for unexpected challenges, and ready to swiftly respond to changes in timelines or unanticipated hurdles. Maintain open communication channels to quickly incorporate feedback and address emerging challenges head on. Encourage a culture of continuous learning and problem-solving among your employees, so one careless person doesn’t send everything off the rails. Being prepared for unexpected challenges involves proactive planning, including having risk assessments and contingency plans in place. This readiness will keep disruptions to a minimum and keep progress strong, even when you encounter obstacles in the plan.

Evaluate the Impact on Workflows

Performance metrics, employee feedback, and process efficiency analyses are your secret weapon. Identify key metrics to track, such as time taken to complete tasks, error rates, and user satisfaction, and focus on measurable factors like productivity, system response times, and cost savings directly influenced by the upgrade.

It pays to document the lessons you learned throughout the process to inform future updates. Gathering insights on what worked well and what didn’t will help you refine your strategies and avoid repeating mistakes for future technology transitions.

Future-Proof Your Technology and Workflows

To ensure your updates support your long-term company goals, align them with your overarching strategic objectives – productivity, efficiency, and competitive advantages. Regularly review and adjust your plans to stay on track.

Stay informed about technological advances by subscribing to industry publications, attending conferences, and networking with peers. This insight will help you make informed decisions about future updates instead of buying into hype.

Remember that the best workflow is one that is flexible and adaptable, offering scalable solutions and possibly using modular systems for simpler deployment. This adaptability allows for easier integration of future updates, minimizing disruptions and ensuring they stay relevant, even as your business needs and technological innovations evolve. Ready to get started with your technology overhaul? The Lightyear team is always here to offer our expert help and industry experience.