Considering a new ticketing system? Don’t forget to consider the impact on box office staff too, says Beth Aplin
If you are planning or in the process of implementing a new ticketing system, you will obviously be convinced by the great benefits of the change for your organisation. However, just a word of warning: it is so easy to focus on all the bits of your old ticketing system which don’t work as you would like – all those annoyances and little bugs, that lack of modern functionality – that it’s easy to forget all those reports and elements of functionality that you rely on and take for granted.
A cynic might say that when you move systems you are simply moving from one set of known bugs and glitches to an exciting new set of bugs and glitches! Frequently, the box office is at the forefront of the impact of small but significant differences, yet benefits less from the bigger organisation-wide improvements – so the drive for change needs to be thoroughly explored and explained to the team. Box office managers generally know more about the ticketing system than their team and feel that to some extent their ability to manage successfully is based on their deeper system knowledge, so they have the most to learn during system change. Consider with them how you can give them the space and time to gain confidence with the new system.
• Let staff know why you are changing and what you are hoping to achieve for the whole organisation – exactly how will things be better in the end?
• Let people know how it will impact them (and don’t hold back on the bad news – for example, explain which things which will be more time consuming in future)
• If you experience resistance (i.e. they are not convinced of the value of the change and
are wary of the impact on them) consider who they will listen to, and perhaps connect them up with someone in a similar role at another organisation who has successfully undergone the same change
• Allow people time to adjust and feel ownership
• Allow people to express their concerns and worries and collaboratively agree ways to mitigate them
Your new system may well have much more functionality and will enable you to take advantage of new technology and more sophisticated sales options for customers – it is also very likely to have a huge impact on the box office (they totally rely on the system and every action they take will be impacted). Frequently, simply acknowledging this makes a big difference.
Beth Aplin is Director of Aplin Partnership Ltd.
e beth@aplinpartnership.com