Rolling Out a New System in Your Elevator Business

Every new year, elevator business owners start talking about change. We know we need a new and improved system with a better workflow.

So we begin our hesitant Google search, hoping the right tool that brings everything together will be front and center on the results page.

We find the “end all, be all” system (from a company with very good marketing tactics), we purchase it, excitement builds, and we roll it out to the team.

But by February, the complaints and pushback from the team have made implementation feel impossible.

And we’re too worried about rocking the boat by holding them accountable because the doubt and purchase regret are setting in.

“Maybe this wasn’t the right system for us?”
“If it’s worked for everyone else, why isn’t it working for our elevator business?”

Let’s dig a little deeper here, my friend.

Because it may not be the system, but rather the way you chose to roll it out to your team.

Why most rollouts stall (it’s not the software)

Let’s call out the obvious:

• We overbuild. We spend weeks wiring up the bells and whistles and all the extra features the field will likely never use (or feel too overwhelmed to try).
  
  
• We under-teach. A 30-minute meeting and a slide deck for the team is not training.
  
  
• We skip buy-in. No one was asked for their input, so how can they see themselves in the process?
  
  
• We don’t follow through. Zero cadence to measure, coach, and improve—so unfortunately, everyone drifts back to their earlier habits.
  
  

Having the right tool for your team in an elevator business is only one piece of the puzzle.
The hardest part is getting people to use it (and use it correctly).

Creating a simple, shared, and repeatable process is the most efficient way to make this happen.

The smarter way to roll out change

Begin with: Identify → Document (and simplify) → Package.

Here’s how that plays out when you’re implementing any new system (service tracking, job costing, dispatch, you name it).

1) Identify what matters

Start by looking at this from 30,000 feet in the air.

Which handful of core processes moved the needle for your company this year—service, repair, MOD/NI, customer comms, accounting?

Pick 5–15, not 50. Then for the system you’re rolling out, answer together:

• What’s the objective here? (e.g., “Fewer missed handoffs, faster callbacks closed.”)
  
  
• Where does the process start and end?
  
  
• What results are we not getting now—and why is that?
  
  

If you can’t explain this on one page, your team won’t be able to live it on a busy Tuesday.

2) Document (and simplify) the basics

Document the 20% that drives 80% of results: the who, what, when, where, how. Keep it tight—just 1–5 pages, not a binder.

• Map the flow in plain language.
  
  
• Add a screenshot or photo if needed to prevent confusion.
  
  
• Share the draft a week before the meeting so people come with questions and have time to digest the information.
  
  
• In the meeting, walk through it step by step, adjust it live with everyone in the room, and leave with a marked-up version everyone can get behind.
  
  

Consistency is the goal here, not perfection. You can optimize what you’ve built once the team is actually using it.

3) Package it so people can (and will) use it

Give the system a name your crew will repeat. Put it where they live: an app, shared drive, printed one-pager in the truck or on a cabinet door that gets opened everyday.

• One table of contents covering your core processes.
  
  
• One obvious place to find them.
  
  
• One look and feel across documents so nothing feels out of place for them.
  
  

Your team shouldn’t have to hunt for information they need. It should be easily accessible to them. If they have to hunt for it, they won’t use it.

Then what?

You’ve talked to your people, most (hopefully) are on board, you’ve delegated a member of the leadership team to own this project, and they’ve handed you a printed, organized version of your process that’s ready to go.

And now, the goal is simple: train, measure, lead, and improve without burning out everyone in the process.

Here’s how that looks over the first 90 days:

Weeks 1–2 | Plan + Build
Get your leadership team on the same page about why the new system matters and what success looks like for the team.
Draft the 1–5-page version of the process with just the steps that matter.

Weeks 3–4 | Test + Refine
Walk your trusted peeps through the draft. Let them poke holes in it.
Adjust it live, approve Version 1, and package it up. Give it a clear name and make it easy to find.

Weeks 5–8 | Train + Measure
Train your team in short, focused sessions tied to their work. Then start measuring—five minutes a week is enough.
Ask them: Are we doing it right? Are we doing it often enough? Are we getting the results we want?
Keep the conversation going consistently without being overbearing.

Weeks 9–12 | Lead + Reinforce
Coach the team through the rough spots and celebrate the small wins that come along.
Stay clear in your approach, but firm and patient.
Assign an owner to keep the process updated over time, and plan to revisit it annually.

That’s how you turn change into culture.

Final Thought

A new year with a new system doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel.
All you have to do is slow down long enough to build a structure your team can easily follow.

When you identify what matters, document the basics, and lead your people through the change, you move your company from talk to traction.

This is the structure we help business owners, operators, and managers build every day inside Elevator Strategic Hub—practical systems tailored to their elevator business.

So as you head into the new year, ask yourself:

What’s one system you could finally roll out the right way?