The construction industry is no stranger to challenges — from labor shortages and supply chain disruptions to managing numerous projects and meeting tight deadlines, these obstacles can increase risk exposure and negatively impact bottom lines. For construction financial professionals, these challenges translate into complex financial management scenarios that require precision and efficiency.

To resolve these challenges, many companies are implementing software solutions built to streamline operations, increase efficiency, and drive productivity. This article explores how construction companies can approach software implementation as a comprehensive change management initiative — one that teams can carefully plan, communicate, and execute with buy-in from all levels of the organization.

Identifying Implementation Roadblocks

Implementing new software is often stressful because it’s difficult to execute, almost always takes longer than expected, and rarely goes as planned. In fact, research from Boston Consulting Group found that “up to 70% of digital transformations fail to deliver.”¹

And even the most user-friendly software can fail if organizations don’t adequately prepare for change. Therefore, recognizing common roadblocks from the outset is the first step to keeping your implementation on track.

Organizational Inertia

Employees often find themselves overwhelmed by the upheaval caused by the implementation of new technologies or processes, all while continuing to handle their everyday operational pressures and responsibilities.

This resistance is even stronger in large, long-established organizations that have operated with the same legacy processes and systems for decades. Thus, successful initiatives must take these psychological hurdles into account.

Change Fatigue

Asking for too much too quickly is another reason change initiatives fail. Rushing through one implementation after the next increases the chances of mistakes, limits your team’s ability to adapt to the unexpected, and can lead to burnout for both the implementation team and the wider organization. Eventually, this pace causes change fatigue that can derail even the most well-intentioned initiatives.

Change fatigue also extends to leadership. Research has found that most CEOs are dissatisfied with their current change agendas, with 74% citing that their company is implementing cookie-cutter solutions and almost 70% saying that their company does not prioritize its digital investments.²

Executives often face different pressures when it comes to change, such as:

• How long will it take?
• How much will it cost?
• Will the results be worth it?

If expectations fall short in any of these areas, then the initial excitement can quickly turn to frustration or anxiety.

Insufficient Training

Resource and budget constraints can have a detrimental effect on one of the most critical implementation success factors: training. Investing in new software without dedicating sufficient time and resources to training key stakeholders can undermine adoption and prevent teams from realizing the solution’s full potential.

While 33% of licensed software goes largely unused,³ a key contributing factor is a lack of proper training to effectively leverage these tools’ capabilities. Not only does this represent a missed opportunity, but it also perpetuates the very operational bottlenecks and manual workarounds in which the new software aimed to solve.

Lack of Buy-In

Clearly communicating the “why” is paramount to successfully implementing any plan.

There are cases where a client or executive forces a field or back-office team to adopt a new tool without adequately explaining the reasons for the change, the problems it aims to address, or the tangible benefits it offers your team and the broader organization. However, this top-down approach is no longer considered a best practice for effective change management.

A recent Gartner study revealed that the organizations most successful in implementing transformative changes are those that foster a culture of shared ownership — empowering their entire workforce, not just the executives, to drive the change.⁴

For example, when a trade contractor is implementing a construction billing software, their implementation teams may include folks from accounting, project managers, and executives. Having at least one engaged advocate from every team that will use the tool can go a long way toward reducing friction, cultivating a shared understanding, and securing buy-in across the organization.

Incomplete Screening

Introducing and implementing a product without including the team that will be using the tool is a recipe for disaster. This is especially true during the selection process. After all, who better to raise questions about the software’s capabilities and ensure alignment with the business’s objectives and workflows?

Giving end users a voice in the decision-making process can help prevent investing in a solution that fails to address any real organizational pain points. Even worse, it may introduce new inefficiencies and frustrations that hinder user adoption in the long run, compounding the team’s change fatigue in the process.

Operational Complexity

This particular challenge tends to be more pronounced in larger organizations, as they typically have more complex IT environments with multiple interconnected systems. Unpacking and accounting for all of these interdependencies when implementing new software is an enormous undertaking on its own. It’s like unraveling and reknitting an intricate tapestry of workflows, processes, and datasets across the organization.

One missed stitch can set off a catastrophic ripple effect, bringing core business functions to a halt. That’s why large-scale implementations require such a deep level of cross-functional expertise from the start.

Building an Effective Software Implementation Framework

Recognizing the pitfalls early on is crucial to not only preventing them from happening to you, but also to creating proactive strategies for smoother software adoption.

To that end, the following are some tips for creating an effective software implementation strategy.

1. Maintain Clear & Consistent Communication

Effective, clear, and regular communication is paramount when introducing a significant transformation like new software implementation. It’s particularly crucial to relay the impending changes to all individuals who will be affected such as end-users, managers, and executives.

Open communication aids in managing expectations, addressing concerns, and fostering awareness about the rationale for the change and expected advantages.

A well-structured communication strategy should include the central messages, communication methods, and timelines for disseminating information throughout the implementation process. Regular updates, training sessions, and opportunities for feedback can ensure that everyone remains informed, engaged, and aligned with the change initiatives.

Engaging with your teams early and often encourages a culture of transparency and trust, fostering buy-in, minimizing resistance, and increasing the likelihood of a smooth transition.

2. Leverage Vendor Support

Many businesses purchase new software without understanding the level of support that the vendor provides during the rollout and adoption process. However, vendors are often measured on how successfully their clients utilize their software — your success is their success.

To that end, always inquire about the support that software providers offer during the implementation and onboarding phase to help inform your decision and set expectations.

• Do they conduct training sessions, or are you expected to learn the product independently? If it’s the latter, then what kind of training modules, videos, or help articles do they offer?
• Are there any charges for training support?
• If you’re transitioning from a previous system, then who is in charge of data migration, and what is the timeline? Will both systems be operational during the transition period?
• What is the training procedure for when new features are introduced?