More and more companies understand the benefits of cloud computing systems. Businesses are migrating at breakneck speeds, and executives are shifting whole models and infrastructures to accommodate the technology.
But is it as easy as it sounds? For one thing, the transition isn’t absolute. In essence, businesses have yet to depart from traditional facilities of hardware and software. While companies that provide cloud-based file server solutions make your cloud migration as seamless as possible, the responsibility still falls on executives to educate their teams. Here’s what they need to take note of:
Before migration – foresight
If the cloud comes off as foreign to your employees, expect to bump into small struggles, if not a full-blown resistance altogether. Practice empathy. Aside from overhauling their knowledge base with new and intricate technology systems, they’re possibly feeling anxious about their job security.
That is why foresight is vital. Plan the migration several months ahead and inform them immediately about the transition. Explain what the cloud is, who will be your service host, how it can potentially double your efficiency, and which particular functions will have to leap. You’re not just looking at your IT or any department that has a large share in the cloud infrastructure; everyone has to be on board with the transition.
Contact your provider about how to conduct the onboarding process and which trainings they will provide. Schedule certification classes in increments, possibly every week, until the actual migration is due. Dole out both specialized, curriculum-based training as well as a general curriculum.
During migration – implementation
What you’re expected to do next is to close the talent gap as best you can. Another understandable reality here is that not everyone will be on the same knowledge level. Yet everyone is expected to still meet their goals as before, except now they have to leverage the cloud. That’s why training is a prerequisite.
Once the cloud infrastructure is in place, you need to gauge how your employee’s understanding improved since their orientation to it. Recalibrate goals to give them time to adapt to the new technology. Establish meaningful milestones to motivate their learning. Encourage collaboration between those who are adept, like your cloud engineers and system developers, and those who might still be getting their grips, like administrative managers, HR, or marketing and sales.
Before resuming full-scale operations, make sure everyone has mastered the fundamental cloud functions like data encryption and information security, analytics, project management, and basic visualization skills.
After migration – reinforcement
So you’re running on the cloud full-time, and day-to-day operations have resumed, with working intently within the cloud. This doesn’t mean you can’t further improve your employee’s knowledge base.
Get to know how your employees are holding up and effectively collaborating with colleagues. Disseminate useful webinars and e-books that they can refer to from time to time in case issues arise. Encourage them to experiment – let them practice functions beyond their own on the platform. They can even earn more certifications for deep-learning other cloud capabilities.
It also helps to invite them to industry-specific conferences and summits to further understand why the transition is relevant. This is also where they can learn about updated ways to optimize work as well as new schemes of cyber-attack and how to prevent them.
As always, the most effective means of educating them is by example. Inform them on how the cloud optimizes work from top to bottom. It also helps to assure your employees about the course of the cloud. In the long run, it aims to enable more functions and not render them obsolete. It is the future, and your positive mindset will help everyone get there as smoothly as possible.
