How to Get Everyone on Your Team Excited About LRM
Psst! Want to know a secret?
Not everyone likes being asked to learn something brand new.That's understandable. In a world where people are juggling kids, long to-do lists, and their own wellbeing, adding one more thing to the to-do list doesn't sound too fun. (Warning!) Some people might even be slightly offended. Just think— if your team members have developed their own work styles and had successes, asking them to take a chance on a new method might raise questions.
If you invested in a Licensing Relationship Management System, you need to get your entire team excited about implementing it (yes, even the skeptics). How you introduce the LRM to your team will affect how they feel about the system forever and how they describe it to others in the group.
If even one person is hostile to the new system, your team won't work cohesively. You need to keep everyone motivated to reach the same goal. So how do you rally your team without micromanaging them day in and day out (a method scientifically proven to suck the happiness out of people)?
It's actually pretty easy. Based on our experience working with hundreds of licensing executives and their teams, here are five easy steps to get employees eager to work with LRM.
Value! Value! Value!
Licensees, licensors and agents know the key to getting fans excited about a new product is explaining its value. It would help if you channeled that energy to sell LRM software to your team — otherwise, they'll tune out like unhappy customers.
Yes, LRM has many benefits for your company as a whole. The solution makes it easy to analyze data, track royalties, and more. But, like customers, your team members need to know why an LRM is beneficial to them as individuals.
Here are a few of the most-loved benefits of LRM:
Catalog partner information in one place
Make sales forecasts based on past performance and analytics
Streamline processes like design approvals and royalty calculations
Champion Collaboration and Communication
At Flowhaven, we love cheerleaders. Especially the getting-my-team-so-excited- they-can't-help-but-win kind. One of the best parts of adding an LRM is gaining the ability to communicate and collaborate with internal teams and external partners. Collaboration is the key to maintaining healthy licensing partnerships. It's also a critical factor in overall business success.
An LRM makes this easy and offers a single location for all teams to communicate and share information. As a leader, you need to grab your pom-poms and cheer your team on every step of the way.
For example, your team needs to be able to communicate with external partners about factors like contract terms, digital assets management, and deadlines.
By encouraging your team to take advantage of this part of the LRM, they'll understand how the software can simplify the more boring tasks that usually take up valuable time. This will also show your team how straightforward internal and external communication can be with an LRM. That time they'd rather spend at home with family, they'll have way more of it. It's never too late to grab your pom-poms and start.
(Learn how Flowhaven helped the Full Colour black team improve communication here.)
Be Realistic!
When breaking your team goals into tasks, and assigning them to team members, make sure action points are not overwhelming. The list should be something an employee can definitely do and ones you're available to help them with. Company goals can be long-term, with due-dates that are a year or more away, but tasks should be short-term and focused.Try breaking things down into weeks. It's easy to track if you were successful in a week. It is also a lot less intimidating. Once you've evaluated what went well, have them plan how to use the LRM to improve in the next week.This is a game-changer when adopting a new system. It makes you feel that you are realistic in your expectations from them. It also gives your team a chance to show that they've learned. Delivering on their promises will make them feel accomplished. It tastes much better than of over-promising and under-delivering.
Keep the Door Open
Learning a new skill can be challenging even in the best work environment. As more people are forced to remote work, you need to be conscious of if someone on your team is having a hard time. Because most communication is taking place over email, video calls, or Flowhaven, it can be hard for your team to know when to ask your for help.
Make your availability clear when you introduce the system and offer-guidelines for how to grab time with you. You might want to hold regular 1:1 meetings until the system has been fully implemented. By leaving the door open for your team to contact you, you let them know that you understand that learning takes time. You also encourage them to share how they're feeling and come to you for help, advice, or celebration.
Saving time for meetings might mean that you have a little less time for your own work. But by setting this time aside, you're helping the entire team get more done.
(Learn how Flowhaven helped the team at Boss Fight Studio communicate when they went remote here.)
Give Out Gold Stars
At Flowhaven, for example, whenever someone helps the company reach its goals (or even gets a cool new haircut), we get recognition publicly. From our CEO to new employees who had a great connection with a fellow team member, they will drop a message in Slack or take time out of a team call to make a special announcement.
Take the time to recognize your team's efforts throughout the implementation process. Show special appreciation to the people who are having the greatest challenges.
Getting recognition like that feels very good. Your team member will know that their efforts didn't go unnoticed. They'll feel like they are tied to the company's success. They will also continue to show that they are valuable to the company.
Say 'No!' To One and Done
When a task is done in some licensing management systems, it goes away, and another one appears. This makes completing tasks feel mechanic. When your team reaches a specific goal or finishes a task, make sure everyone knows. You can use a whiteboard at the office and cross the tasks off with a colorful marker. Or send an email to your group. The Flowhaven system makes sharing successes easy. When you finish a task, a notification goes out to your entire team. Never ask the question 'is this finished?' again.
Pro tip: When your whole team has mastered LRM, celebrate it. It can be anything from sharing a virtual glass of wine or sending small gifts to your team.
(Learn how Flowhaven helped the Art Ask Agency team celebrate their wins here.)
How Flowhaven can help
Flowhaven is a Licensing Relationship Management platform that can help you transform your team dynamics. Using this digital workspace, you can implement changes then measure their effectiveness.
How? We’re happy to break it down.
For starters, you can use our task assignments features to help your team track and view what everyone’s they’re working on, and if the training you gave them was effective. People can easily share status updates and request support from our incredible Customer Success team in an instant.
With the time your team members will save working with their LRM, you’ll have more than enough time to pull reports to prove your team is succeeding.
You’ve got this
Respecting everyone on your team and trusting them (and even yourself) to help each other improve will create a powerful work environment and ensure implementation success.
We know it’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day grind. But spending time helping your team get to know LRM inside and out is priceless.
Now sit back, relax, and watch how much more productive and happier your whole team will be with LRM.
