The Legacy Spreadsheet Workarounds
Northgate Finance is replacing its spreadsheet-based forecasting process with a new ERP planning module in six weeks. The 14-person analyst team has an average tenure of nine years. Two senior analysts have told their manager they will retire rather than learn the new system. Training has been delivered, but the change lead observes analysts continuing to export data into legacy spreadsheets and sharing 'shadow' templates. The finance director is frustrated and wants a firm deadline enforced. The change lead also hears from two mid-level analysts that they agree with the change in principle but fear the new system will expose errors in their historical data. The project team says the technology is ready; the business case assumes full adoption from week one.
1. How would you distinguish between resistance rooted in fear of incompetence and resistance rooted in genuine disagreement or data concerns? What evidence would you gather, and what would you do with it?
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Start by separating willingness from ability. Fear of incompetence usually shows up as avoidance, deflection to 'later', or quiet reliance on old tools. Genuine disagreement tends to come with specific objections and evidence. Use individual interviews, observe training performance, review workaround logs, and ask open questions such as 'What would make this feel safe for you?' Do not treat all non-compliance as attitude. For the senior analysts, the likely barrier is ability and loss of status, so offer low-risk practice, peer coaching, a phased handover, and recognition for expertise. For the mid-level analysts, validate the data-quality concern, give them a role in cleansing historical data, and show how the ERP handles corrections. Record the diagnosis in a simple barrier map so interventions are targeted rather than generic. Enforcing the deadline without addressing capability would harden resistance.
2. What intervention would you recommend for the 'shadow' spreadsheet workarounds, and how would you involve the finance director?
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Treat workarounds as diagnostic feedback, not disobedience. First find out what the spreadsheets provide that the new system does not: speed, familiarity, control, or a way to hide errors. Involve analysts in a short process review and agree a temporary parallel run with explicit exit criteria. Set a planned date to withdraw legacy access only when support is in place. Ask the finance director to sponsor learning and honest reporting, not just the deadline. For example, the director could acknowledge that early error discovery is desirable and ask for issue logs rather than punish them. Use positive deviance by asking analysts who have adopted well to show how they did it. This preserves the deadline while reducing covert workarounds and gives the director a visible role in reinforcing the change.