Paredaim Plus

Change Management Boosting Digital Efforts in Nigeria

Paredaim Plus
Why Change Management Matters in Nigeria's Tech Shifts

Nigeria is currently in a vantage position to harness the power of a technology revolution spurred by the increased and enhanced use of IT solutions and support structures. Nigerian startups raised more than one billion dollars in VC funding in 2022, an indication of increased belief in the country’s technology prospects. However, beyond the excitement of funding rounds and innovative product launches lies a critical challenge: managing change effectively.

Never has change management been more important in Nigeria especially as organisations continue to strive to develop effective digital transformation programmes and oftentimes the culture change that goes with them. From implementing AI technology to adopt local enterprises to migrating to the use of cloud services, Nigeria’s technology adoption needs more than possessing advanced technologies. It requires, therefore, a systematic management of change initiatives in the architectural environment of technology for the use of resistance, development of leadership, and integration of technological deployment with human assets.

 

The Rise of Digital Transformation in Nigeria

Nigeria’s digital economy is rapidly expanding like never before in history. It was discovered from the National Bureau of Statistics that ICT also known as Information Communication Technology contributed 16.22% to Nigerian GDP in the second quarter of 2023. Such growth goes to show how central technology can be in the economic progress of the world region. Leveraging strategies like the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), Nigeria sees itself as the world’s digital hub within the next fifteen years.

However, while organizations might have such goals and objectives, digital transformation efforts go beyond the applications of technologies. It means that without proper change management models, organizational initiatives will face challenges, employees will become ineffective, and technology solutions won’t be leveraged to their full potential. For instance, a survey conducted by PwC Nigeria in 2023 showed that 60% of organisations in Nigeria mentioned that their resistance to change inhibited their implementation of technology. This brings into focus, the necessity of having a strategy for IT transition management.

 

image


Understanding Change Management in the Nigerian Context

Change management can be broadly understood as the process of managing the transfer of people and organisations through their process from one state to another. In the context of Nigeria's technology scene, this is about integrating technology endeavors into cultural, economic, and organizational contexts.

1. Cultural Sensitivities: Nigerian employees assert that their organisations maintain a rigid top-down approach to organizational relationships and formal decision-making. Making changes such as; bringing in new working methodologies like agile, and the introduction of pull systems can create resistance since they change the typical organizational graphic.

2. Infrastructure Gaps: Although cities like Lagos and Abuja have relatively developed information and communication technology (ICT) facilities, rural ones are, by far, worse off. Closing this gap, however, involves the use of interventions which are informed by the technologically capable or incapable population.

3. Workforce Development: The Nigerian workplace is now considerably virtual, with young employees belonging to the millennial and Gen Z populations who demand the efficient deployment of technology in the workplace. A major factor connected to acceptance is in managing expectations.

 

Why Organizations Struggle with Change Management

However, few Nigerian organisations appreciate the dynamics of change management during technology adoption. Common pitfalls include:

- Lack of Leadership Buy-in: Most firms have an ineffective approach to disseminating technical change leadership, and key decision-makers have an inadequate perception of the importance of an integrated strategy.

- Insufficient Training: In many organizations, the rollout of new systems is accompanied by minimal guidance to the workers, this breeds frustration and resistance.

- Overemphasis on Tools: Management constantly strives to invest in the latest technology, but often fails to invest in the people and structures that must make the best use of this technology.

 

image


Key Components of Successful Change Management

As a result, change management strategies have to be implemented by business ventures in Nigeria as follows: Here are some key components:

1. Clear Vision and Communication: Business leaders have to be able to identify why they are putting the technology into use. In particular, if a bank decides to implement AI in customer relations, people should comprehend how it improves customers’ experience and processes’ effectiveness.

2. Stakeholder Engagement: As early as now, employing the principle means that the employees will also be willing to take ownership because there will be less resistance to what is being implemented. This can be best done through training sessions, feedback and pilot implementation.

3. Customized Training Programs: Such training guarantees that junior employees through senior employees up to the managerial level are prepared to face the challenges of the Nigerian digital workplace.

4. Monitoring and Adaptation: Evaluation in this case is ongoing and since this enables an organisation to address the challenges that it faces about the change process appropriately in time, then organisational evaluation should be embraced. Benchmark measures like the level of uptake of the system, as well as several employees who report high satisfaction levels, are some of the significant measures that need to be targeted.

 

Real-World Examples of Change Management in Nigeria

Case Study 1: A Financial Institution’s Digital Overhaul

For instance, anticipating the explosive growth in the adoption of Internet services in Nigeria in 2021, a leading Nigerian bank launched what it called a digital transformation programme aimed at improving its online banking services. At the beginning most of the employees especially those who had worked for the bank opposed the formation of the new venture as they were used to the conventional methods of banking. By partnering with a digital change consulting firm, the bank implemented a comprehensive change management plan, which included:

- Holding annual meetings to attend to all the concerns being raised by the employees in town.

- Skill developmental training that is targeted to credentials that is new so that the personnel can be confident when operating new systems.

- They admit the early-mover advantage and associate the benefits with the deployment of the technology.

The result? Doubling of the digital transactions in six months and a stellar increase in the customer satisfaction indices.

 

Case Study 2: Tech Culture Transformation in an SME

A Nigerian retail SME wanted to implement an ERP system as part of business improvement. But in the beginning, this project faced difficulties which mainly emanated from inadequate IT transition management. Nevertheless, with the help of a proper selection of the change manager and commitment to the teamwork approach, the organization achieved the change in the system. Key tactics included:

- Consumerization for the administration of the task of launching an ERP package.

- Organizing activities which can help a team improve interpersonal communications and work in unison.

- The support of related problems after the implementation is another vital factor.

 

image


The Role of Leadership in Driving Change

Management of technological change is considered an important aspect of leadership in change management. Nigerian leaders must be willing to change, understanding, and willing to learn. Managers who engage in training, solicit ideas from subordinates and demonstrate expected new behaviors are instrumental to promoting a tech culture change in the organization.

 

Conclusion

This is a journey Nigeria is still on and therefore, any lesson on change management cannot be overemphasized. From the standpoint of managing change in organizations, change management is the link between vision and reality.

Those organisations that encourage structural models of change will not only measure returns on investments in the new digital transformation processes at optimum levels but also create a greater discourse on the contemporary narrative of Nigerian technology advancement. Culturally sensitive implementations, stakeholders’ involvement, and employee enablement are effective ways by which organizations can overcome the challenges encountered in the successful implementation of technology systems and utilization of sustainable advances in Nigeria, which consequently opens up new business frontiers.