From aquaculture to space exploration, business is a man-made construct. So when we discuss implementing technology change in businesses, what we’re really talking about is transforming the processes and tools people use to create business value. Ultimately, technology in any business is used to elevate the way humans work, solve problems and improve employee performance.

When contextualised like this, it seems obvious that people are, and should be, at the heart of everything a business does. However, when implementing technology change in the enterprise, the focus on people is often overlooked, often leading to poor outcomes.

In any business transformation, the simplest part of the change equation is often the technology build and implementation. It's taking people on a collective journey that can prove tricky.

When introducing tech programmes, too many companies focus on the shiny new tech itself. What they should actually be focusing on is how it will empower the workforce, customers, stakeholders, and supply chains. By placing significant focus on people, businesses can achieve great outcomes.

Granted, there are ingrained hurdles from the very start. Human beings find it difficult to embrace change. We tend not to like it, even though history has shown we are extremely good at it. Yet even when we know change is necessary for survival, or growth, we are often dragged kicking and screaming into it.

In an enterprise, that presents its own challenges. For example, PWC's global workforce survey, published in June, found nearly half – 47% – of workers are uneasy about the advent of generative AI, believing it will change the nature of their work in a negative way.

This is reinforced by a recent YouGov poll in America which found 82% of respondents thought AI was going to become widespread, with 47% concerned it was going to attack humanity. 

So as we stand at the precipice of significant waves of business transformations enabled by technologies such as AI, quantum, extended reality (XR), spatial computing and biotech advancements, how do we take our people on the journey too?

Here are a couple of suggestions to get started: 

Know your people 

If people are the heart of the business, consciously get to know them. Go beyond marketing personas to deeply understand the operational persona of your enterprise: its culture, the people in the ecosystem, their fears, aspirations and, critically, what motivates them.

Let this data inform the design of your technology adoption roadmap, with robust multi-channel communication and training being the central tenets of this plan. And once the transformation journey has begun, keep updating it to make sure your plan stays relevant to the needs of the people.

The data should assess not only the impact on the people from an operational perspective, but also psychologically. Understanding how a change will affect is good, but knowing why a change is being made is often more important. 

This includes carefully listening to feedback from all the people impacted and adjusting the pace of change according to the bandwidth your people have to accommodate and implement the change. If necessary, slow down the change to address any issues and ensure you are taking your people on the journey with you.

Education, education, education

Change is inherently disruptive – and we now live in an age of constant change.

For example, an IMF report in 2024 found 40% of jobs globally will be affected by AI: replacing some and complimenting others.

The introduction of new technology and processes can create fear of the unknown, reinforce silo mentalities and forge chasms between people and the business objectives. These can wring the death knell for transformation programmes. 

So, to help people understand technology and its capability, go early and hard on education. The training should be scaled according to role and needs and, if appropriate, ensure it covers everyone.

This includes the C-suite. If it is talking about implementing generative AI, leaders should also be acquainted with it. Have they used it, have they played with it? If the answer is no, how can you expect them to sell it to their people, or really understand its capabilities? 

This was demonstrated by Diogo Rau, the chief information and digital officer of Eli Lilly, who in a recent interview said he did an AI course with his CEO to show the whole enterprise that they are constantly growing and honing their skills. 

Technology change is about people, not technology. It should be wrapped up in a fit-for-purpose change management programme that wins the hearts and minds of the workforce and gives it a compelling reason for going on the journey.

From over 25 years’ experience of technology change, I’ve seen that all good tech strategies put people at the heart of them. They focus on how to enable human connections, liberate human creativity and enhance human endeavours.

Ultimately, humans perform best when making meaningful connections, tech can enable this – so it is our role as business leaders to give them the opportunity to be their best.

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