Module 9 · 9.1
English
Explaining the switch to your colleagues
Module 9: People and rules · Reading time: 10 minutes
Learning objective: After this lesson you can create a communication and training plan that gets your colleagues on board with the switch, and you know how to deal with resistance.
Key concepts: the why-story, timeline, "what changes for me?", ambassadors, role-based training, cheat sheet, question hour, frequently asked questions, feedback, resistance, accessibility
Technology is half the job, people are the other half
A switch rarely fails because of the technology. It fails when colleagues don't know why it's happening, can't log in on switchover day, can't find their files, or quietly keep working in the old service. Then you end up with two systems side by side, files go missing, and frustration grows.
Bakkerij De Korrel employs twelve people: bakers who start at four in the morning, two delivery drivers with only a phone, a shop assistant who manages orders by email, and Sanne, who arranges everything. Each of them has different questions. A good plan takes that into account.
This lesson is about people; lessons 9.2 and 9.3 cover the rules. This is explanation, not legal advice.
Step 1: the why-story
People find it easier to change when they understand why. Explain it in plain words and a few sentences. No legal terms, no panic. For De Korrel:
"We're moving our mail, calendar and files to a European provider. That means our data and our customers' data falls under European rules, and we have more control ourselves. For you, mainly where you log in and what some apps are called will change. We'll help everyone get started."
Notice what's not in there: no "the old service was bad". Colleagues have worked happily with it for years. Anyone who bad-mouths the old service gets pushback in return.
Step 2: what changes for me?
Everyone first wants to know what it means for them. Make a short overview per group. A cheat sheet helps: a single page with "before" and "now".
| Before | Now | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Mail in the old service's app | Mail in the Mail or Outlook app, new settings | Add the account using the instructions, only remove the old account after the switch |
| Online folders | Files in the new cloud (for example Nextcloud) | Install the desktop app, log in with two-factor authentication (2FA) |
| Online documents | Online office in the new cloud (for example Euro-Office) | Open files as usual; macros won't work (see lesson 6.5) |
| Chat with the team | Chat in the new cloud (for example Talk) | Install the app on your phone; old chat stays readable until a set date |
| Calendar delivery routes | Shared calendar in the new cloud | Add the calendar on your phone (step by step on the cheat sheet) |
Also note what doesn't change. "Your email address stays the same" is, for many people, the most important reassurance.
Step 3: a timeline with fixed moments
Don't communicate just once, but at fixed moments. An example that fits the migration plan from lesson 3.3:
| When | Message | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| 4 weeks before the switch | The why-story, the date, what's expected of you | Team meeting and a short email |
| 2 weeks before | Invitation to the short training and the cheat sheet | Email and a printout in the break room |
| 1 week before | "Tidy up your old folders, don't put anything new in the old service after Friday" | Email, chat |
| The day before | "Tomorrow you'll log in like this", with login details sent via a secure channel | In person or by phone |
| Switchover day | Someone is available for questions (question hour) | On the shop floor |
| 1 week after | "What's still not working?" | Short round or form |
| 4 weeks after | "The old service closes on [date]" |
A good habit: never send passwords and usernames in the same message. And warn everyone that the provider never asks for a password or code. A switch is a prime moment for scammers to send fake messages ("Your new account: log in here").
Step 4: ambassadors and role-based training
Find one or two ambassadors: colleagues who enjoy this, who join the pilot first (lesson 3.3), and who then help others. A question to a colleague feels less daunting than a question to the boss.
Train per role, briefly and practically:
- Everyone (20 minutes): logging in with two-factor authentication (2FA), finding your files, sharing a file, mail and calendar on your phone.
- People with many documents (30 minutes): editing together, restoring versions, fonts and formats (lessons 6.3 and 6.4).
- Admins (an hour or more): creating users, licences, backups, what to do when someone leaves (lessons 7.3 and 8.1).
Let people do it themselves during the training, on their own phone. Someone who has added the calendar once can do it again afterwards.
Think about accessibility: large print on the cheat sheet, a short film instead of long text, and help for colleagues who are less digitally confident or less fluent in the language.
Step 5: take resistance seriously
Resistance is normal and often justified. Listen to what's behind it:
| What you hear | What's often behind it | What helps |
|---|---|---|
| "It worked fine before, didn't it?" | Habit, no problem experienced | The why-story, without bad-mouthing the old service |
| "I don't have time for this" | Being busy | Short training, at a quiet moment, with someone helping along |
| "My macros don't work any more" | A real problem | Take it seriously: fix it, or agree an exception (lesson 6.5) |
| "I'm afraid I'll lose things" | Uncertainty | Show that everything has been copied, and how to restore an old version |
| "That European stuff is probably worse" | An impression, no experience | Demonstrate it; an ambassador who uses it enthusiastically |
A real problem (such as a macro that generates the order list) isn't resistance, it's information. Solve it before moving on.
Step 6: feedback and wrapping up
Keep a list of questions that keep coming back and turn it into a short list of frequently asked questions. Ask after a week and after a month what's still not going well. Also celebrate success: a switch is an achievement of the whole team.
In practice: what it looks like with a provider
Most providers have a guide you can use for your cheat sheet. At WebOké, for example, the Nextcloud guide has an article "Quick start: the five things you do on day one", and the Euro-Office guide has an article on what changes for users switching from the old Nextcloud Office. With other providers, look for a "getting started" or "quick start" page. Link to it rather than writing everything yourself.
Summary
- A switch succeeds or fails with the people: explain why, what changes for them, and what doesn't.
- Make a "before and now" cheat sheet and a timeline with fixed communication moments.
- Work with ambassadors and short role-based training sessions, where people do it themselves.
- Take resistance seriously; a real problem is information, not obstruction.
- Warn people about fake messages during the switch, and never send passwords together with the username.
Quiz
Exercise
Exercise E9.1: Your communication plan. For your own organisation, write a why-story of at most five sentences, a cheat sheet with at least five "before and now" lines, a timeline with at least five communication moments, and appoint one or two ambassadors.
Exercise E9.1: Your communication plan
Write the why story, create the cheat sheet and timeline, and appoint ambassadors.
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Further reading
The steps in these articles apply to WebOké's services; with other providers it works in a similar way.