One of the difficulties with implementing new IT systems is getting people to use them in the manner intended. There are many horror stories of expensive IT investments that are never fully incorporated into daily organizational life.
Does the introduction of technology automatically change behaviour? Our experience says that this does not happen. In the worst case the new technology reinforces the habits and attitudes already present. (See the example in the box.) Organizations need to do more than simply change the IT equipment and systems available if they want to experience a radical shift in behaviour. A culture change may be required to create the shifts in information sharing required, because the introduction of new IT systems alone will not achieve this, suggests Davenport (1994). He says, ‘It shouldn’t surprise anyone that human nature can throw a wrench into the best-laid IT plans, yet technocrats are constantly caught off-guard by the “irrational” behaviour of “end-users”’. He says that what is important is how people use information, not how they use technology.
IMPROVING THE SALES PROCESS THROUGH THE USE OF IT?
We recruited George in January. He was a dynamic salesman, brought in to boost our capacity to develop major accounts. George had used this great IT system in his old company, and encouraged us all to come to a presentation about what this type of system could offer.
The proposed system would allow salespeople to share information about customers and contacts. He said this would boost our capacity to plan our sales visits, and partner with each other to work more creatively with existing and potential clients. It sounded good.
We bought the system in June. It was pretty simple to use, and everyone seemed in favour, so there should have been no issues. After two months, only George and two other salespeople were using the system and updating it regularly. This was out of a team of 12 of us. People just weren’t used to sharing information in this way, and as we were still measured on our individual sales targets, there was no incentive to help others by revealing our contacts.
George got really frustrated, and accepted another job by the end of November.
Perhaps we need to forget about technology for the moment, and look at existing information sharing habits and develop some goals for behaviour change. But what are the rules governing information sharing behaviour? Davenport states the information facts of life:
- Most of the information in organizations – and most of the information people really care about – is not on computers.
- Managers prefer to get information from people rather than computers; people add value to raw information by interpreting it and adding context.
- The more complex and detailed an information management approach, the less likely it is to change anyone’s behaviour.
- All information does not have to be common; an element of flexibility and disorder is desirable.
- The more a company knows and cares about its core business area, the less likely employees will be to agree on a common definition of it.
- If information is power and money, people will not share it easily.
- The willingness of individuals to use a specified information format is directly proportional to how much they have participated in defining it, or trust others who did.
- To make the most of electronic communications, employees must first learn to communicate face to face.
- Since people are important sources and integrators of information, any maps of information should include people.
- There is no such thing as information overload; if information is really useful, our appetite for it is insatiable.
IT systems such as Lotus Notes and other forms of groupware are often readily taken up by employees because of the range of ways of sharing information offered. However, people need to have time to explore and learn about the possibilities of these systems so that they can make best use of them. E-mail is now taken for granted, but also has downsides such as ‘non-information overload’ rather than information overload. Non-relevant e-mails take time to scan, process and delete. It is almost too easy to share information via e-mail, and people will do it for their own reasons (such as covering their backs, making themselves look good, bringing network power into play and making others look bad) rather than for the benefit of the recipient.
IT systems are expensive to implement. Therefore, it would be beneficial if executives could start to see the difference between deciding to implement an IT system, and deciding to change the company’s information-sharing habits. Experience shows us that the first will certainly not guarantee the second, and the second often requires a culture change which requires energy, commitment, sponsorship and clear direction (see IT-based process change).