How to create working rules and instructions without making enemies

Let's dilute the series of purely technical materials with the issue of combating user counteraction. If your instructions also read inattentively and do not follow the banal rules of informational hygiene, then be sure to join the discussion.

There is no such system administrator who would not have to develop instructions for the use of corporate systems and participate in the implementation of local IT policies. But the desire to streamline the work of users and avoid a lot of problems for the administrator sometimes encounters a wall of misunderstanding and silent (or violent) protest. Instructions are rarely read, and executed less frequently. Employees use anonymizers to bypass social network locks, stick stickers with passwords to the monitor and otherwise do it in their own way.

In this article, I gathered all the experience of colleagues from Server Mall in working with users and customers, as well as my own set of "rakes in the garden."

It would be just great if you would not only find some useful tips for yourself, but also share your own experience in the comments.

Why do not we listen

When we develop a new regulation or instruction, we want the reader to do so and nothing else. But this desire alone is not enough, and our recommendations with the requirements either do not fulfill at all, or do it somehow.

We will understand the reasons:

• Nobody likes to do someone else's will . We pursue our own interests and do not like being forced to act in strangers.
• The incomprehensible is dangerous and it is better to avoid it . So the brain perceives that can not immediately understand. Here we are talking about any program \ device \ action that is not familiar to the user;
• To read the mountain of the confused text is lazy and long . It's like reading a mortgage contract - no enthusiasm;
• The author of a rule or instruction considers itself better than the reader . Arrogance in one form or another is perfectly felt when reading and forms a negative image for the IT department.

The sadness is that you cannot exclude all the items at once, since we do not live in a perfect spherical world. In addition, corporate systems rarely fit into the crystal framework of the world's best practices.

How to bend your line

I hope you do not prefer corporal punishment and penalties to everything else, so let's talk about constructive methods of convincing the user. These tips are suitable for both instructions and internal company rules. Unless of course the latter are not designed to issue more fines and “optimize” the payroll.

Move from the common good to personal benefit.

Threats of fines and fines are not as effective as the story that the user will receive or will not receive for himself personally. It is much easier for people to do something for their benefit.

For example, this is how you can explain the urgent recommendation not to open suspicious attachments in the mail:

In such a letter it is very likely to meet a virus that is able to stop your work for several days. In addition to uncompleted tasks and missed opportunities, you will lose personal files, music, and even the desktop image.

Agree, much better than a typical example:

Employees are not allowed to open emails from unknown senders, as this may lead to virus infection.

Simplify the life of the user wherever possible

A good administrator is a lazy administrator. But this does not mean that innovation should be made as easy as possible for the IT department. For example, introducing a new company in the CRM company or new mail, do not be lazy to make friends with Active Directory and local telephony. Then you do not have to write instructions for obtaining a whole bunch of accounts, keep separate directories of employees and their phones.

I immediately recall my personal experience in one large international company, where a new employee had to receive more than 5 accounts for using all corporate tools. Among them was a domain account, CRM login, instant messenger, telephony and more on trivia. But all this would be just an annoying inconvenience if each of these systems at least knew about the existence of neighbors and did not require duplicating the same thing in several places.

If something can be automated and made transparent to the user - do it! Efforts will surely pay off.

Do not slip into the basics of nuclear physics

For the engineer there is nothing special about the phrase “enter the domain with your e-mail”, but imagine that someone says this to your mom.

Image taken from ivit.pro

Explain is as accessible as possible and using simple household examples.

Do not give anyone the password from the computer. It's like the keys to the car - if you leave them on the table, then someone will take your swallow to ride, and you will have to pay fines and scratches

Remember that the inability to convey a complex thought in simple words suggests that the narrator himself did not understand well.

If you can not write the text - do not write

Use instead of letters visual pictures, flowcharts and diagrams. A huge sheet of text in the best state traditions can scare away even the most diligent paperwork manager. Such an instruction or regulation will simply be postponed until the last, without any benefit to the cause.

For example, here’s how a TSA company portrayed working with its accounting system for the sale of alcoholic beverages (EGAIS):

Full size block diagram

Now imagine all this in the format of instructions with a long list of actions and variations on the theme of GO TO. The block diagram made it possible to explain all this concisely, clearly and unambiguously.

Most of the people on the planet are visuals, so there are not so many graphics. In addition, with the active use of a graphical representation, you can less often write text . This is a big plus, unless you're a graphoman.

No arrogance and neglect

These properties of communication are perfectly visible in the text. In addition to bad karma, the author will immediately receive a negative attitude of the user to his own initiative. Breaking this bias will subsequently be difficult.

For call-center operators, there is an effective method of demonstrating the openness and friendliness of the interlocutor at the other end of the line. You just need to smile during a conversation, because a smile changes the intonation and tone of voice. The interlocutor hears and distinguishes it on a subconscious level. Something similar can be turned with text. It is enough to imagine that you are writing for a friend or a good friend. Equal communication is the basis of any negotiations and sales. And what are the IT rules, if not selling your ideas and wishes to a wide audience?

The developers of “Tanks” apply testing. And so do you

Internal testing of the new ERP system or warehouse base will allow users to participate in the selection to some extent. And if you participate in the decision-making, then you yourself stand on his side.

A similar example is used in large projects. For example, the mobile operator Yota has built a service on the model of the designer. There is a portal where users speak on future and already implemented services. The operator even listens to some wishes. As a result, you seem to get a personal product, the creation of which had a hand. Criticizing "your" is not so easy.

In the practice of Server Mall, scenarios for introducing a new product performed well, when alpha testing took place on a group of volunteers from the team. As a result, not only was the user-friendly product chosen, but a team of loyal “testers” was assembled.

Try to avoid meaningless initiatives.

Even if the top suggested to close all social networks, news and other distracting from work, you should not immediately run to the proxy server. After all, you are not just a “programmer”, but an IT specialist and you are expected to receive recommendations regarding information systems and Internet use.

The same social networks are actively used in sales and allow employees to “switch”. Without such a switch, work efficiency falls already in the middle of the day. Remember that people will still find a way to get around too intrusive and incomprehensible obstacles, so why grow a negative and take up defense?

Tell us in the comments what methods you use to achieve business goals and how you work with the negative from unpopular measures.