4 Strategies to Break Through Resistance to Change in Nonprofits

By Amanda L. Cole

Technology can transform nonprofit operations, but too often, new systems lose momentum before they deliver impact. The reason? Resistance to change.

Taylor Wilder, skilled volunteer programs manager at Hands On Powered by United Way of Greater Nashville, labels herself as a “relationships person” passionate about collaborative work, but also noted she’s been the IT director's “worst nightmare” in the past.

“I have been the program staff that doesn't want to adopt the new technology that you're trying to get me to adopt,” she said at Tech Impact’s Tech Forward conference in Nashville, Tennessee, this week. “I'm good with my old pen and paper or 15 Excel spreadsheets.”

Now having helped nonprofits scope, launch and troubleshoot technology projects with skilled IT volunteers, she has been on the other side of that process and has seen the value of these tech upgrade projects. She shared case studies of nonprofit technology failures and offered practical strategies for making projects stick in her session, “Mind the Gap: Making Tech Work Through Better Collaboration.”

“Every time I have these conversations or give a similar presentation, resistance to change is always, always, always No. 1,” Wilder said.

Why Resistance to Change Is So Common

Staff fear new systems. Not only do they have to learn the new system, but they worry it will disrupt service delivery, add complexity and ultimately slow them down as they adapt to the new workflow. In some cases, staff don’t receive the training needed to adapt. On top of that, frontline staff juggle competing priorities.

“If you’re with an organization that’s serving a client population, they come first,” Wilder said. “And it's really difficult, especially when you're implementing new tech, to take a step back and understand it’s a long process to plan and to scope and to get everybody on board to actually adopt and implement new technology.”

Sometimes the problem is deeper: Staff question whether the tech benefits them or is worth their time to do data input instead of direct client services.

“It is worth your time because more data, more funding, more services, right?” Wilder said. “... IT people at your organization are not the bad guys. They're trying to assist you in amplifying your impact by using better tools, having access to better impact.”

Strategies to Overcome Resistance to Change

Here are some of the strategies Wilder has seen nonprofits use to overcome resistance to change.

1. Build Buy-In Early

Projects collapse if decision-makers aren’t at the table early. One case Wilder shared involved a development director tasked with redesigning her organization’s website to improve user experience. Despite months of staff interviews and a terrific plan for the improvements, the project never launched because there was no leadership buy-in.

“And so, ultimately, after all of that work — months and months of interviews and wire framing and setting out a good path to creating a better user experience and user interface — it’s sitting on her desktop in a file somewhere, and they still have the same website,” she said.

The lesson here is to include leaders and other final decision-makers from the kickoff through the handoff. Otherwise, your project may stall, regardless of how strong the work is.

“I think the biggest key here is when you do not have all players that have final decision-making capacity as part of the conversation — even if they're the ones that task you with doing the thing — there's going to be a loss of knowledge with poor handoff,” Wilder said.

2. Prioritize Training and Support

Skills gaps and fear of the unknown feed resistance. In another example, an executive director had a clear vision of how she wanted her organization’s CRM to create a better picture of its constituents. However, it would be the program staff that would use the system, and those employees did not yet have the skills for the upgraded system.

“We did all this work to identify a new system,” Wilder said. “And there was so much pushback that the new system did not end up getting implemented because training of the staff that was actually going to be utilizing the system was not prioritized.”

In this situation, buy-in was required at all levels. But leadership must also understand from the start of the project that staff training is necessary to develop the skills of staff members.

Wilder emphasized the importance of investing in staff development and developing a shared understanding of the support that will be provided.

“[Preface change with,] ‘We know that this is big. We know that it's different. We know that it's going to affect the way that you do your work — the way that you've been doing your work for 20 years,’” she said. “... And helping people understand, ‘I'm here with you. I'm walking through this with you,’ is going to lead to less resistance to change.”

3. Connect Technology to Mission

Resistance eases when staff see how technology supports the organization’s purpose. Usually, nonprofit staff across all departments are in their roles because they identify with the mission, so tying each change back to the mission can help people get past their resistance and see the bigger picture. Wilder said she believes this is the main indicator of overcoming resistance to change.

“Once you understand the new technology, once you've been trained, once you have received the support that you need, picture the benefits of well-implemented technology,” Wilder said. “Obviously, with faster workflows, are more time for service delivery [and] more time for programs. And better data means better stories, which means more funding, which means we better protect our services.”

Nonprofit leaders should find long-term wins to share a few years after the solution’s implementation to drive a stronger message surrounding the benefits of a given tool.

“[Tell your staff,] ‘Here's the impact of this new solution’,” Wilder said. “‘Here's where we got the funding. Here's where service delivery has been improved.’ I think it's huge.”

4. Plan for Sustainability

Resistance grows when systems fade after launch or create frustration with no long-term support. Develop standard operating procedures (SOP) to cover not only how the tool works and who owns the tool, but why it was implemented, Wilder said.

“When different iterations of staff come through, it's really easy for someone to come in and say, ‘Why are we doing it this way?’” she said. “And they might not have an understanding of how everything is interconnected. They want to identify a new program or do it in a different way or yada yada yada. In order for these things to have longevity, you want to document why the decision was made in the first place to use the tool.”

Then, create a transition plan to ensure training and support are in place. Ideally, aim to have a check-in 30 to 60 days after implementation.

“Don't just write up the SOP [and] say, … ‘Good luck, you guys. Have fun using the site that you've never used before and also delivering services,’” Wilder said. “Make sure that you plan for a — I don't want to say ‘long onboarding,’ but it takes time for people to assimilate and have an understanding of something new, especially when that's not how their brain works in the first place.”

For Wilder, resistance is not the end of the road. It’s a signal that staff need clarity, training and a shared sense of purpose.

“Successful tech projects start with clear scoping that bridges program and technical needs — collaboration and communication across roles are just as important as the technology itself,” she said. “Adoption depends on building buy-in early, preparing for sustainability and keeping end-users at the center.”