Moving on from old accounting and back-office software and the systems you have built around legacy software
by Charlie Fritsch
Why do we hold onto the past? Whether it’s past experiences or old systems and processes that cause corporate disfunction, we all find it hard to let go. As Tony Robbins, life and business coach explains, “Many of us get stuck in the past because of our need for certainty. Certainty is one of the Six Human Needs and is fundamentally about survival. We need to feel certain that we can avoid pain and, ideally, find some comfort in our lives”. Read more from Team Tony, “How to Let Go of the Past – 9 tips for moving on from the past – for good”.
Without certainty, we feel vulnerable. An employee may be hesitant to switch from a system or process that they know, to a new system or process, especially if there is a history of being criticized for mistakes – EVEN IF THE OLD SYSTEM WASTES THEIR OWN TIME! Alternatively, if employees have been complimented or recognized for good work in the old system, there may be attachment to that legacy software, even though it is not the best solution anymore. When there is emotion tied to a memory, moving on from the past becomes increasingly difficult.
You are ready to implement Hotel Investor Apps ERP and Accounting (HIA) because you realize that holding onto old ways is costing the company. You are ready to embrace a new, more efficient system and processes.
1. Turn letting go of the past into a “must”
The first step in moving forward is to acknowledge what is holding your company back. Are you holding onto failed, inefficient systems and processes simply because they are known, and therefore comfortable? The company must progress and grow, and if the team is stuck holding on to antiquated systems and processes, growth will be stifled.
Once you have identified what is holding your team back, ask yourself: What are the advantages of change? Why must we move on?
How will our business life change when we let go of past systems and processes, and learn a new more efficient system and way of doing things? Maybe your company has adopted inefficient processes as workarounds because of limitations in the current software. Now is the time to think about how letting go of these workarounds and old ways could influence the success of your business.
Thinking through these questions is one of the most important aspects of the implementation process. The answers will help you stay committed to unlearning inefficient processes and learn a better system.
Make sure all team members know why your company must move on, and how Hotel Investor Apps will make jobs and processes easier, at every level of the company, through automations, integrations, and insight.
Best Practice: Ensure all team members participate in an HIA demonstration, afterwards, have a meeting to discuss WHY your company is moving from your old software to Hotel Investor Apps ERP and accounting. Outline how the transition will benefit all team members by giving them more time to focus on high value work and avoid redundant tasks. Stay on track with a clear purpose if the tired old ways try to creep back into your new process. For some, letting go of anything that is known is challenging, but if all team members have a strong enough reason and a purpose, they will stay focused and be successful in quickly implementing Hotel Investor Apps.
The HIA team will help you and your entire team through the transition, and it will be easier than you think, particularly, if everyone can recognize WHY the change is being made, understand how it will help them and the company, and know that there are multiple ways of getting help to make learning the new system easier. We will go over that in training.
2. Address your Corporate Culture
Take some time to think about your corporate culture. How do executives and managers relate to and communicate with the other employees, and vice versa? Are there any aspects of the corporate culture that do not serve the team well? What attitudes and practices may be holding the company back?
Now is a good time to examine workflows, ambiguous roles or task delegation, or contradictory policies, as well as methods to enhance communication.
Best Practice: Have an open company meeting to invite suggestions of how to facilitate communication and uplift the corporate culture to encourage greater success for all.
3. Start Off Right
Letting go of the old ways isn’t easy. Empowering rituals can help you cultivate that thriving corporate culture.
Team Robbins says, “There’s a reason that the world’s most successful people all establish daily routines that include things like yoga, healthy breakfast, meditation, exercise and learning new things. It’s the small rituals that you do every day that build momentum and lead to massive change”.
Best Practice: When implementing HIA, even if you are still using old systems, everyone should work in Hotel Investor Apps or practice in HIA every day. Create a chat room for questions and answers on the implementation of HIA. Have weekly HIA training review sessions. Make sure all team members know the chain of support. Identify who internally will be the product expert to answer common questions and how to reach out to HIA for larger training questions or issues.
4. Shift your Focus
You can’t control the economy, competitors, suppliers, government, etc., but you can control what you do with your business now. Shift your focus to what you can do in your company now to be more successful and how you can leverage Hotel Investor Apps to help.
As Team Robbins says, “Your past does not equal your future”. You can’t go back and recapture past time wasted on routine accounting and operational tasks that could have been automated, but you can save time going forward by letting go of that legacy software and moving to a far more efficient platform. Learning how to let go of the past means breaking old patterns built around legacy systems and focusing on creating the life, job, and business you deserve, not hanging on to that which does not serve you or the company well.
Best Practice: Do a deep discovery with HIA of your current processes, including all the software and systems your company is using, and learn how to leverage more integrated automations through the modern E.R.P. platform HIA is built on.
5. Align Actions with Purpose
Hotel Investor Apps’ experience implementing hotel companies tells us that the easiest and best implementations are those in which the entire company is aligned in its purpose to move to a smarter, better, faster, high value platform; and the company takes swift action, making the transition entirely within a few months. The longer an implementation drags out, the greater the cost in time, money, and patience. Operating a portfolio of hotels on two different systems for any length of time is NEVER recommended by anyone; it is taxing for all, can lead to errors, and slows the process of learning the new platform.
Best Practice: Quickly decide on and provide your chart of accounts, vendor list, and other information and documentation, history, etc., that is needed for implementation. Have your team focus on the HIA training every day and make the move with confidence-You’ve got this and HIA has your back!
6. Stay positive and build positivity in your team
“What separates those who achieve their goals from those who don’t?”, asks Team Robbins, “It isn’t time or skills – it’s knowing how to use the law of attraction to get what they want. They know that what you focus on, you feel and create. The energy you put out into the world is what you get back. And who you surround yourself with is who you become.”
The energy you put into the HIA implementation will quickly generate tenfold rewards.
Best Practice: Consider designating one of your team members as a company HIA super user and implementation project manager. That person should understand the reasons and benefits of moving to HIA’s modern E.R.P. platform for hotels and take charge of the project. If your company doesn’t have the bandwidth to do that, we can refer you to a 3rd party HIA implementation specialist who can work in both your old system and HIA to do the work internally for you and advise on chart of accounts, vendor list, and other best practices for a successful implementation.
To leverage all the many advantages of Hotel Investor Apps Enterprise Resource Planning and Accounting Platform, everyone on your team needs to be able let go of “but this is how we have always done it” mentality. We see companies on legacy software who tell us, “but we always go through these 5 steps to …”, and they want to keep doing those 5 steps, because that’s what they know. In HIA you can do this process in one step, because the other 4 are automated, or unnecessary in our system. That is the purpose of your move to a modern platform, to eliminate unnecessary steps that have only been there because of limitations in old software. The rules and limitations of your legacy software don’t apply to HIA.
Best Practice: Share what you are learning about how your company can benefit from more efficient processes in HIA with others in your company. Facilitate an environment of collective teaching within your company. Make use of HIA recorded trainings for your company for training.
7. Give Back
Robbins says, “When you finally realize that the secret to living is giving, your life will improve dramatically and you will be able to see how to move on from the past.” This applies to companies as well – give knowledge and you will receive it.
Once you and your team become super users and fans of HIA, which we know you will, spread the joy! Our goal is to turn every HIA user into raving fans and referral sources for HIA! Thank You!
For more Hotel Investor Apps tips and tricks, follow our BLOG and remember to use the Help feature in our application that brings up Help guidance specific to the page you are on. Always remember, if you have a question, ask it. We are here to help.
