Why Are Some Companies So Reluctant To Change?
Up until March of this year, I’d worked for the same hotel chain for nearly 8 years. In that time I’d seen a slew of initiatives and trainings that were dreamt up by corporate to keep everyone engaged and “with the times”. The values of innovation and excellence were shoved down our throats and we were encouraged to live and breathe them. But these values were not emulated by the senior leadership team. We were told to innovate and dream big; but new ideas were routinely run down in meetings and we were frequently told “that’s not how we do things”. What is it about some companies that make them so reluctant to actually embrace change, when they have all the corporate literature and financial capability to support new ideas?
Lack of understanding of technology
Many older organizations are operating on systems that were configured years ago. These legacy systems are complicated and slow but they are well known and understood by the users. Often individuals who work at older companies have a lot of tenure and are reluctant to use new technology. They are comfortable with the programs they have and don’t see how other technology may be helpful. Even senior leaders who have the opportunity to introduce new technology likely progressed through their careers with these legacy systems and don’t have the time or energy to invest in researching, learning and implementing a new system. For most companies, embracing new technology is a key element to any major corporate change so if new technologies aren’t a priority it will be trickier to make any moves.
Lack of time
We’re busy. All the time. If everyone is running around making sure the i’s get dotted and t’s get crossed, what time is left to figure out a major corporate change? This is a real problem at hotels because every problem is seen as critical. The flowers in the lobby are wilting — quick, change them out! A guest found a hair on her pillow — quick, change her room! A guest at the bar has been waiting more than 3 minutes for her drink! If you spend all day responding to these small fires, you are not looking at the big picture and figuring out how and where to move the needle.
Not in a growth mindset
While a company may claim they are interested in innovation and pursuing excellence, chances are they probably don’t want to change things too much. Customers are coming every day and paying the appropriate amount for the product or service so things seem to be doing okay. Day to day, the bills are paid, people are generally happy. This is a company that is not in a growth mindset, regardless of what they claim. Things could get incrementally better, but it’s marginal and probably not worth investing in new technologies.
Lack of talent
Legacy companies often employ people who have worked at the same company for 10+ years. There is nothing wrong with this, except that new talent coming into an organization is often what keeps things fresh and relevant. This can be particularly harmful if tenured employees hold high ranking positions, because young talent will see a ceiling that they will hit if they advance with the company. Newcomers to an organization bring different perspectives and experiences and maybe even solutions to problems that a tenured employee didn’t see. It’s hard to convince a young person to take a job if they don’t see the company as invested in their growth.
So what is the answer here? Legacy companies may not immediately see the need to change, but if there is one thing we’ve learned from the pandemic, it’s that change is critical to success. We saw restaurants move to take out or install patios for outdoor dining. We saw companies adopt technology so that their employees could work from the safety of their homes. Institutions like hotels are suffering and part of the problem is a reluctance to change. While business is low right now, there are other things that hotel facilities could be used for. All it takes is a little imagination!
