Communication is a part of the business where even one mishap can lead to catastrophic results. As such, you should do your best to ensure that communication in your company runs without a hitch. However, changes such as moving from one app vendor to another can pose new challenges to your communication structure, making it more susceptible to break down.
To ensure a satisfactory rollout, you should learn about the most common communication threats and what you can do to prevent them. Below, we list some of the most common communication issues that you should watch out for, including not stating your expectations clearly, not informing your employees about the upcoming changes, and not explaining the benefits of the change. Here is what you should not do when changing your app vendor:
Table of Contents
Not Stating Your Expectations Clearly
Did you know that there are two types of expectations? There are those that are clear to both parties, and those that are not. We strongly believe that the former is preferable over the latter as there will be no random misunderstandings or constant back and forths between you and your app vendor.
When writing an RFP, it is important to be clear about your expectations from the beginning. In other words, do not leave anything out but make sure that you also do not say too much. The reason being that if you put everything down on paper, then you will end up with an unnecessarily long document that might discourage some potential vendors from bidding.
Not Communicating Regularly With Your App Vendor
Communication is key when implementing changes in your company or switching app vendors. Unfortunately, many business owners fail to realize this and fail to communicate regularly with their vendors. This lack of communication between you and your app vendor has a negative impact on both parties as neither of you knows what is going on with the project.
To avoid this communication gap, we recommend speaking with your app vendor at least once per week and sending weekly status reports containing key information like new requests, bug fixes, etc. This way, you can effectively prevent any type of miscommunication or misunderstandings from occurring. You can read more about effective communication here.
Not Informing Your Employees About the Upcoming Changes
When you decide to change app vendors, it is only natural that your employees would want to know more about the reasons behind the change. Remember, the people on your end are the ones who will be responsible for using and maintaining your new app, so they deserve some information about what’s going on.
For example, if you are dealing with a vendor who is unresponsive or slow in implementing changes, then you should talk about this problem and explain how you plan to fix it moving forward. You could also mention how you plan to use a different vendor in order to provide better service to your customers.
By explaining why these changes are necessary, you are showing them that you value their input and trust their judgment as they are directly involved in the process.
The best way to inform your employees is by organizing a company-wide meeting where the stakeholders can ask questions and share their thoughts and concerns about the transition. This is one of the best things you can do to ensure that your employees feel involved in the process and understand what is happening.
Not Asking for Help When You Need It
When changing app vendors, it is normal for companies to experience some growing pains as they adjust to a new partner with a different level of expertise. This is particularly true when said partner has a reputation for being very responsive and supportive in comparison with the previous vendor.
As such, it is quite common for companies to struggle with an “information overload” when they start working with a new vendor. Unfortunately, instead of asking for help when they need it, they prefer to deal with the problems themselves – and often fail.
In order to avoid this communication gap, we recommend using an issue tracker so that all important issues can be logged and assigned to someone for further investigation. You could also use tools like Mattermost or Slack for real-time communication, which will allow your team members to ask questions without having to wait for an answer.
Conclusion
Communication is one of the key aspects of running a successful business, but unfortunately, many people fail to understand that. Communication gaps can have a big impact on your company – but they can often happen during significant changes.
To avoid communication issues when changing app vendors, we recommend that you inform your employees about the changes, explain why they are necessary, and communicate with your vendor at least once per week. This way, you can avoid important misunderstandings and make sure that everything runs smoothly as you implement changes in your company.