All aboard! Three tips for overcoming adoption adversity 

Tip #1: Acknowledge their discomfort 

We probably don’t need to repeat for the millionth time in this change management series that “change is hard,” but accepting that difficulty extends past you and your project team is critical. The discomfort extends to those who weren’t behind the steering wheel and are now being told to adapt. Travel is about people, and so is business. We can’t forget the role emotions play in the process. 

There are a few ways to build an acknowledgment framework and depending on the structure and the needs of your organisation, you may need different combinations of the following strategies. 

• Lunch and learns: These are open lunch hours where employees can relax and enjoy their lunch while being given a short presentation on your change plan, and then ask questions and provide feedback. Lunch and learns are highly effective tools because they are less formal and less of a sacrifice to your employees’ time. If you’re hosting your lunch and learn in the office, provide incentive by catering lunch that day. If it’s remote, send employees an e-gift card to a meal delivery service so they can order lunch and eat while you present. 

• Office hours: This tactic has become even easier to manage with video conferencing tools. Create a standing, recurring invite on their calendars, and let employees hop in when they have time. People are more inclined to ask a question when they know they don’t have to lose a whole hour (or more) of their workday. This is also a good time to give employees face time with the minds behind your change plan. 

• Persona-based forums: This strategy can take on many shapes, but it can be anywhere from meetings that are tailored to a specific department, to travellers that prefer a specific airline, all the way to individual one-on-one chats. The goal here is for attendees to feel heard and understood with their questions. Having people of like minds together is an easy way to do this, and inspires nuanced conversations. 

Tip #3: Invest in decision support software 

Have you heard the phrase “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink?” We believe there’s a simpler solution: Just bring the horse the water in the first place. Or in this case, don’t make travellers and employees go searching for information or answers. Provide it while they are interacting with your travel program tech and policies. 

Using browser extensions to serve up notifications around safety and risk and booking parameters is one thing, but have you ever thought to use this technology to support change management?

Imagine this: Your traveller logs into FCM Platform for the first time. A pop up with smiley face emojis, or maybe a GIF of someone waving appears with the text: “Welcome to our new online booking experience! Care for a quick tour?” Or, maybe, they’re browsing your Intranet for policy information, and they receive a pop up notifying them that your organisation has a new TMC. This way, you’re meeting your travellers where they’re at, instead of pulling them away from work tasks to learn about your new change.