​Research by the Corporate Executive Board[i] (CEB) shows that when employees help to determine the right course of action and they are responsible for the implementation of the changes, the chances of success double and the implementation will most likely be faster.
 
IT staff that are actually doing the work need to be involved in creating the change necessary for their teams to become more efficient and effective.  Whether you are implementing a best practice, a new type of technology, or going through a digital transformation, if you want a higher probability of achieving the expected return, the IT staff need to be engaged. 
 
Engaging employees in determining the right process or technology changes isn’t as easy as merely assigning them an action.  To be successful, the same CEB research also shows that leaders need to change how they communicate about the problem, the project, and the end result. 
 
It is time to throw out the PowerPoint slides which encourage one way communication with the team. 
 
The adoption of change requires a two way conversation right from the start.  Rather than telling IT staff about the problem, leaders need to ask IT staff about the problem and how it affects the customer as well as completing their work.  The staff are in the best position to understand the issues and the ramifications as they are actually involved in the work every day.  They are also in the best position to solve the problem.
 
Once the problem is known, the IT staff need to be tasked with solving the problem and implementing the solution.  Leaders may need to set limits relating to budget, schedule, risk, etc. but if the IT staff are charged with determining and implementing the solution, the adoption of the solution amongst the staff will be higher.  The end result will be a stronger return on investment and most likely, a better customer experience.

[i] CEB HR, The Power of Open Source Change Management, May 2016