The picture shows a change agent offering a more efficient way of getting things done. Unfortunately, there are blockers that hold back people from changing their ways. What we see here did not only happen in the stone ages. It’s something very natural as our brains enjoy the comfort of the known and often try to reject the new. BUT there are actions to take to help people manage change. Let’s look at some blockers and how to deal with them below.
 

1. People stick to doing what they know: this is the way it’s done for a longer period & it gets the job done
   The longer people do things in the same way, the more difficult it is to introduce changes. The best course of action is to know the benefits of the change and sharing them often on multiple levels (see point 2).
   • Pro tip 1: Have 1-1 conversations with the most outspoken people showing resistance to understand concerns and help address them. People who resist the most can be your greatest advocates
   • Pro tip 2: it makes a lot of sense to consider introducing TrendMiner to people taking part in a young graduates program (or similar) in your organization. They are free from long-term habits and typically have very little resistance against exploring new platforms like TrendMiner
      
2. The change agent is not an authority for the change recipients
   Advocacy to promote the change on the right level is vital. Awareness creation on multiple levels is needed for TrendMiner adoption thrive. Here lies an important role for 3 main roles that need to work together to achieve a successful change:
   • Sponsor: The sponsor is an authority within the organization who explains the vision and why the change is required NOW.
   • Teamleads: Teamleads are involved early on and need to buy into the change before their team members. Teamlead communicate the expectations to their team to achieve value with TrendMiner
   • Project manager: The project manager ensures alignment between the sponsor, teamlead and team members according to a Success plan with defined actions. The plan is typically made in collaboration with the TrendMiner Customer Success Manager
      
3. People are overwhelmed with work
   Overwhelmed people suffer from an amplified version of all other mentioned blockers. To overcome this, it’s important that it’s known that it is encouraged to spend time on TrendMiner NOW in order to win efficiency gains later. Tasks that cancel the time to become more data driven need to be discussed proactively by the teamlead and/or project manager.