Encouraging behavioural change in the workplace is a key challenge for many. The benefits are often linked with increased employee engagement but it’s also a core element of digital transformation.

By giving employees more ownership and control and clearer targets for what they’re working towards, you can build a stronger digital transformation strategy that benefits everyone. This then makes the switch from paper to digital far quicker.

Building awareness

Digital transformation requires plenty of proactive effort, therefore even if employees gain ownership and control, the business will still need to build awareness about the reasons for change.

It’s not enough to simply detail what will change. Why is it changing? Why should a process that was once paper-based be made digital?

To spread the word, it’s best to lean on e-learning, intranet content and email communication. For instance, a Q&A flowchart or decision tree will help people resolve helpdesk-style questions relating to when they should and shouldn’t print.

‘Cheat sheets’ also remain a brilliant way to summarise the dos and don’ts of printing and can easily be shared.

A word on incentives

There’s no escaping the fact that incentives play a key role in change management.

Despite this, you don’t necessarily need to throw additional staff budget at digital transformation, because monetary rewards are unlikely to inspire change.

Instead, award a prize to the team or staff member who performs best against their digital transformation goals. A meal out, trip to the cinema or the presence of their name on a company bulletin may be all that’s required to inspire them.

The enemy: unconscious printing

Can you remember how many times you clicked ‘print’ last week? It’s highly unlikely; printing is simply a function we occasionally perform in order to progress a project. None of us keep tallies of how often we do so.

With employees unaware of how much or how often they print, unconscious printing is an enemy of digital transformation and a significant barrier to change.

With the right technology in place, your business can address this by gamifying the print experience; print histories, key statistics and comparisons with fellow workers are great ways to engender healthy competition while reducing their reliance on print.

Appointing a change champion

Imagine a change champion as the public face of your organisation’s digitisation project. With one in place, you can rely on their abilities and profile to build awareness about digital transformation and gain company-wide support.

When looking for a change champion in your business, you need to identify the following skills:

• brilliant communication that enables them to reach people at every level of the organisation;
• an appreciation and understanding of your digital transformation project;
• credibility and respect within the organisation;
• genuine enthusiasm and a positive commitment to change delivered with energy and charisma; and
• the time required to make the project work and offer help when required.

The best change champions are capable of carrying the digitisation message beyond the IT department and into the very culture of your business.