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5 min. read
There's discomfort in change
People who like change, like the discomfort that it brings.
At WeAreReasonablePeople we like to create solutions that 'rock the boat'. That may refer to all the marine and offshore work that we've done for Ampelmann, Damen Shipyards, Fugro, Anthony Veder etc. but there's a deeper meaning to it. The solutions that we create typically have a significant impact on how a company goes about their daily operations. We introduce new apps in the working process, making the process more efficient, but also asking people to leave behind some of their work habits. And as much as we like to celebrate efficiency in the modern world, it is still a people's game for a large part. People find comfort in habits and may resits change even if it has clear benefits for them. That's why rocking the boat, fits us so well: we fuel these changes, but it can feel a bit uncomfortable.
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Digital change is, above all, a people game
In business today, business benefits are too often the only focus in change processes
Putting people first when designing new digital solutions, is not just empty rhetoric. It's not to be sympathetic but really a prerequisite to do what we do. We need to work customer centric, even if we would be the most misanthropic agency out there; we simply have no choice. And because our solutions 'rock the boat', a big part of our job is to make sure people stay in that boat, and give them some life jackets if that helps them feel comfortable. There are many ways to do that, but ,zooming out, the best ones are to introduce changes bite-size, to keep affected people very close by in the design process, and to clearly structure the change process so that people know what to expect. This requires excellent communication and proces management skills, and visualisation techniques to make abstract concepts more tangible. Strikingly, these are the first things people cut corners on, when confronted with time pressure and efficiency demands. Clear communication and process structuring takes a lot of time. But if you want to rock the boat and keep people on board, it is definitely worth the effort.
