New ideas can help you and your firm save time, money, and increase the number of clients you serve. But any idea — whether it’s a tool, system, process, or just a new way to do things — requires change. And people resist change.
If you’re part of a firm, and you’ve identified a need for change, how do you ensure the necessary improvements are made? How can you create buy-in, when others in your firm might be reluctant to try something new?
1. Recognize other recent changes
Those you’re trying to convince of a change have (likely) thought about these things recently. Knowing trends your colleagues are currently dealing with helps you understand their decision-making process.
You and your coworkers may have started working remotely recently. Or you currently are working from home (and will be for the foreseeable future). This change is likely still weighing on the mind of your leadership.
- Are we keeping up with demand?
- Is communication as clear as it can be?
- Do we need the same number of people right now?
If your change benefits everyone in the firm, it should also help alleviate concerns of the top brass.
2. Know the goal: get to the next step
The biggest challenge in achieving change is follow-through. When you share your idea, there’s actually a good chance you will get a positive response.
The leaders in your firm will probably agree with your ideas and say something along the lines of, “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. We’ll need to upgrade at some point.”
The key is moving forward into an actual practical step. It’s too easy to table decisions around change — “let’s revisit this next quarter.” If you want momentum, you have to know the next step in the process.
3. Lead with context: focus on benefits
Potentially the most effective way to get buy-in on an idea is to make sure the idea is not coming only from you. In your accounting firm, think about what leaders in the firm want.
- They want an efficient firm
- They want happy clients
- They want growth
When bringing an idea about innovative technology, try to find other opinions, data, and customer case studies to support you. Understand what those who are resistant to change really want, and lead with that context.
Share with others in the firm from the perspective of strengthening the relationship with clients, and improving the overall experience.
Another similar approach is to listen to internal dialogue within the team. If you’ve heard co-workers complaining about a sticking point, you can introduce a new technology solution from the context of this pain.
4. Finally, listen to the objections
Some common objections to change can include:
- “What we’re doing is working OK”
- “A big switch will slow people down”
- “I don’t see the benefit”
- “Too expensive”
The final step in being the catalyst in your firm is to have a proper dialogue. Start with great preparation, and:
- Fully understand the change you would like to see
- Know what your leaders are currently doing and how the change fits into those moves
- Begin conceptualizing how the change will happen in your firm
Once you’ve prepared as well as you can, it’s time to make the case for your idea. Even the best proposal won’t likely end with, “Ok, let’s do it!”
It might, but don’t get your hopes up.
The best thing you can do is listen. After all, you want to make the change for the good of the company. And if you really understand the change, you’ll be more than ready to talk it out and convince them to move forward.
For more information visit: https://karbonhq.com/resources/how-to-be-a-catalyst-for-change-in-your-firm/?=utm_source=weekly_email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=catalyst-for-change&utm_content=text