AtriCure, Inc, VP of IT: Soft Skills Are More Important in Change Management

(US and Canada) Michael McCalmont, VP of IT, AtriCure, Inc., speaks with Tim Brooks, Managing Director, WWT about hybrid cloud models, and the skills needed for cultural transformation.

McAlmont says that as companies transition to the cloud, hybrid cloud will be the mainstay for the upcoming years. He emphasizes that the transition doesn't happen like a light switch or overnight.

The transition, in his view, is also an opportunity to re-equip employees who were servicing a traditional environment under standard operating systems and databases and teach them the new cloud environment tools.

Regarding retention issues or people resistant to change, McAlmont says that a best practice is to understand the new assets in an M&A event and compare those. The next step is to ascertain areas of technical debt and then put the roadmap into timing.

Traditionally, first steps include the HRIS systems followed by the collaboration systems and the email environment. Not integrating the collaboration tools makes it difficult for organizations to operate together.

McAlmont says the skill set most valuable for an M&A event is similar to normal requirements. Having solid project and program management and governance structures, and deep knowledge of the applications or systems being integrated,also are critical.

Concluding, McCalmont says soft skills and emotional intelligence are needed to manifest change successfully. He believes that soft skills are more important than technical skills for implementing change. Employees need to know how they're contributing to the organization’s end state, goals and objectives.