A story was told to us recently about 42 pupils whose school went bankrupt in their final year of high school. Not having the financial means to move schools, the pupils decided to teach themselves and look for support in neighbouring schools where it was required. The pupils identified subject experts, in some cases, sub-category experts, and these people taught their peers. The person who taught them mathematics is a friend of ours. In telling the story he made a very strong observation. People relate very well to their peers when it comes to being taught. Possibly even better than they do with teachers or experts. The reason behind this is simple. That peer has no authority over her fellow classmates, they speak the same language and are able to stand up to the person giving the lesson. Because there’s no power play, both the pupils and the “teacher” were more relaxed and receptive to the transfer of knowledge.
The broader message here is that peer learning has a bigger impact on the learning of and adapting to new systems than companies may be aware of.
Hareclitus wrote “The only constant in life is change”. He noted this about 2500 years ago. Strangely, nothing has changed. Change still disrupts our existence, in spite of our consistent resistance to it.
This resistance to change remains a massive challenge to the implementation of large software and hardware systems in companies around the world. So much so that change management, as it is most often referred to, forms a major part of each implementation and is regarded as a critical component of any rollout. Statistically the odds of success are not expected to be great. McKinsey and Company noted in 2016 that “Research shows that 70 percent of complex, large-scale change programs don’t reach their stated goals.” McKinsey observed in the same article that “Common pitfalls include a lack of employee engagement, inadequate management support, poor or non-existent cross-functional collaboration, and a lack of accountability. Furthermore, sustaining a transformation’s impact typically requires a major reset in mind-sets and behaviors—something that few leaders know how to achieve”.
The decision to change or upgrade an existing system is almost always taken by the executive team and IT department. Service providers put together an implementation plan that inevitably follows the traditional method of senior management directives and so it flows down to the ultimate user. And at that point the message becomes convoluted. Some think they could lose their jobs if they don’t use the system. The fear of the systems extends beyond the technical knowledge to use it. People may feel their superiors will judge them if they don’t use it. They may just be plain scared that they might not be able to use the system due to its novelty and complexity.
Most of the literature covering change management talks about a top-down approach. Get senior management behind the process and then filter the message down to the users. If this method worked then the percentage of successful applications would be higher. Using senior management to “drive” this transformation is antiquated, and contributes to the ultimate lack of success. This is a type of stick approach. Relying on (implied or otherwise) intimidation as an incentive to create new behaviours. Sweetening the deal with a carrot could also be viewed as demeaning and hence counterproductive.
I'M NOTS
Returning to the school example at the beginning of this article. Peer learning is an extremely powerful and effective method of the general adoption of complicated systems. Some might remember the scene in Monty Python’s “Life of Brian” where Brian’s followers wait all night for him outside his house. When he eventually addresses them, Brian becomes increasingly frustrated with the crowd telling them that they are all individuals and different, a sentiment that is echoed back to him by the adoring crowd. A lone voice calls out “I’m Not” and is quickly told to keep quiet.
There’s an “I’m Not” in every organisation, individuals who stand out. Often these “I’m Nots” are the type of people that embrace change. In the case of new IT systems, we might call them the early adopters.
“I’m Nots” are a neglected resource because they can and should be used as flag bearers for the adoption of new technology. We can’t change a person’s fear of change but we can show that there are people who have risen above that fear and are willing to share their knowledge of the new processes. In many cases we have found that the same “I’m Nots” relish in the system and have worked out certain efficiencies that the primary vendor is unaware of.
Peer learning in practice
The “I’m Nots” are the key here. It still remains a complicated matter of encouraging these “I’m Nots” to start teaching their contemporaries but this process pales in comparison to the wider acceptance of a new system. Whilst peer learning is a very natural process it often lacks that strong element of formality that ensures that it’s taken seriously. Our method is to create a series of INTRATERNSHIPS in the organisation that formalise this informal process. INTRATERNSHIPS are a formalisation of informal training. It sets up times for training with agendas and outcomes, all managed by peers.
We call these people INTRATERNS because they are in effect interned as employees. This adds weight to the programme by formalising the training. At the end of a cycle, which is typically about 12 months each person on the programme is awarded a certificate. In addition we provide the organisation with a recognition certificate which lets both internal and external stakeholders know that if key people exit the company, tasks. can continue.
The trick is to run a peer learning programme in parallel with the formal change management process. The terminology used in Oracle’s process is intimidating and somewhat old fashioned, it still looks at the top-down methodology, thereby creating an us-and-them sentiment. The top down methodology is guaranteed to be more successful if you see the executives learning from the people who are going to actually use the system daily.
And the school. Forty-one of the forty two people made it through their final exams, one person being thrown out the school for being disruptive. Those same graduates then started a fund to purchase the school and the land from the government. It’s almost fifty years since these matriculants took control of their finals and St Charles is one of the top schools in South Africa.
Paul Janisch and Rudolf Rautenbach are South African a peer learning buffs. Peer learning does not replace formal learning and training, it reinforces it. It’s a sort of training micro-dosing. Whether it’s formalised or not, it happens in every organisation. Formalisation of the process harnesses the power of internal knowledge.
They can be contacted on info@risecontinuity.co.za