How to take your team with you: 5 steps for successful digital approvals - including practical examples and change management tips.
You have made the decision to digitize approval processes - a smart and long overdue step. After all, manual coordination, Excel chaos and a proliferation of tools not only cost nerves, but also valuable time and money.
However, the real challenge often begins after the decision has been made: How do you get your team on board?
After all, digital tools are only as good as the people who use them. If employees reject the new solution, only use it half-heartedly or feel left out, the promised benefits will not materialize. Instead of efficiency gains, there is frustration. Instead of transparency - resistance.
It is often not a question of introducing completely new ways of thinking - but rather of finally making existing specifications, standards and processes practicable. Many companies have long had defined processes for acceptance, documentation or quality checks. However, these often fall by the wayside in day-to-day project work: too time-consuming, too detailed, too far removed from reality. A digital solution can help not only to implement these rules, but also to integrate them into day-to-day business in an understandable, efficient and comprehensible way.
This is exactly where this article comes in: We show you how to win your team over to digital approvals step by step - whether in plant engineering, the automotive industry or municipal utilities. Practical, motivating and with a clear goal: getting your project team on board and making a real impact.
The introduction of a new system such as COMAN Digital Acceptance changes established processes - and that's a good thing. But: every change initially means uncertainty. New click paths, new responsibilities, new ways of thinking. This is precisely why professional change management is not an optional extra, but a must.
Change management refers to all measures that consciously shape change in organizations - especially when introducing new technologies or processes. The aim is to turn those affected into participants. Because according to the international Prosci study (2022) on digital transformation:
Source: Prosci - Best Practices in Change Management, 2022 - Link
Conversely, this means:
The better you accompany change, the greater the chance of success.
Acceptances and approvals are not purely organizational processes - they are highly relevant in legal, financial and procedural terms. They document that a work package has been completed correctly and in full - and are therefore often a prerequisite for:
Payment releases to service providers or suppliers
Internal handovers to other trades or project phases
Obligations to provide evidence to customers, auditors or authorities
Exclusion of liability for work already completed
Auditing and compliance, e.g. in accordance with ISO 9001, VOB or internal QM guidelines
If these processes are not carried out properly or are incompletely documented, it can be expensive. A real-life example from a mechanical engineering project:
🔥 Due to a lack of acceptance protocols, services amounting to over €180,000 were not invoiced on time - this not only put a strain on liquidity, but also led to lengthy clarifications with the customer. 🔥
A common scenario from practice:
Source: COMAN customer interview 2025
The result:
Approval processes are therefore far more than just a checkbox - they are the connecting key between technology, quality, legal and project management. This makes it all the more important that your team understands them and actively supports them.
Before a team commits to a new solution such as digital acceptance, mental hurdles often have to be overcome first. Resistance is nothing unusual - it is a natural part of any change process. It is crucial that you recognize them, take them seriously and actively address them.
🔹 "Yet another new tool - we already have enough!"
Many project participants today experience tool overload: SAP, Outlook, Excel, construction schedules, supplier portals ... The introduction of another system is quickly perceived as an additional burden - even if it may even replace several old tools.
🔹 "I'm losing control of my work."
Transparency is good - but only if it is not misunderstood as control. Employees are often afraid that digital approval processes will make them transparent or that errors will be more visible.
🔹 "That just costs time again."
Every minute counts, especially on the construction site or in assembly. A new system that doesn't work straight away or seems too complex is quickly rejected - even if it helps in the long term.
🔹 "We can manage like this."
Routine provides security. If approvals have "somehow worked" with a piece of paper, Excel and a gut feeling, many people see no acute need for action - even though they regularly suffer from media disruptions and coordination gaps.
🔹 "I don't even know what this has to do with me."
Without targeted communication, it often remains unclear who plays which role in the new approval process. A lack of involvement quickly leads to uncertainty or even passive resistance.
A well-known model to explain these reactions is the "Change Curve" according to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, originally derived from grief research and later transferred to change processes in companies. It describes typical phases such as
Shock / rejection: "This can't work."
Resistance: "I don't want that!"
Rational insight: "Maybe it makes sense after all ..."
Emotional acceptance: "I can see the advantages for me."
Integration: "I use the new system as a matter of course."
👉 Important: Everyone goes through these phases at different speeds. As the project manager, you should help your team to move from rejection to acceptance.
In the next chapter, I will show you a concrete 5-step plan on how you can allay your team's fears and generate genuine enthusiasm - including pilot projects, targeted communication and smart training concepts.
Digital releases are not a sure-fire success - but with the right approach, they can become a real cultural change with a wow effect. The following five steps have been proven in practice to successfully take teams with you:
People accept changes more easily if they are not only affected but also involved. Therefore: Involve key people and future users as early as the selection or pilot phase. This increases acceptance and provides valuable feedback for a tailor-made rollout.
🔧 Practical tip:
Put together a small "digital acceptance project team" - with representatives from all affected areas (e.g. project management, QA, assembly, IT).
What counts for your team is not whether a tool "can do more" - but what it does for them. Formulate benefits specifically from the user's perspective:
"You only have to use one tool instead of four."
"You save on duplicate documentation."
"You no longer have to call the project team to find out the release status."
"You always have the latest version of the approval list - even on your cell phone."
🎯 Remember: What's useful is used. Ask the software provider to give you explanatory information material for your teams or create your own documents.
Start small but visible: a limited use case with clearly defined processes is the perfect way to get started. Your team will immediately recognize the added value - without the complexity of an overall rollout.
📌 Example:
In plant engineering, for example, an acceptance area such as "Electrical installation in hall 2" could serve as a pilot - with clearly defined measures, checkpoints and roles.
🔄 Important: document results, collect and evaluate lessons learned!
Nobody wants to read a manual before they can get started. Keep the barriers to entry low:
Short training videos or in-app tours
Practical instructions with screenshots
Contact person or support chat for everyday questions
💡 This is where tools such as COMAN's "Digital Acceptance" come in - with an intuitive interface, clear workflows and role-based views that are based on the real project structure.
Change is not a one-off event, but a process. Enable your team to give feedback - and show that it is being heard:
Regular retros in the pilot project
Adapt processes or masks where appropriate
Make "quick wins" publicly visible ("We changed this thanks to your feedback ...")
🔁 This creates genuine trust and co-design.
📈Result:
You not only create a new digital system, but also a new attitude in the team: problems are addressed openly, processes are designed together, responsibility is shared. This is the key to long-term acceptance - and successful project work.
Digital approval processes don't just work in theory - they have long since proven themselves in practice. Here we show you how various industries are successfully using digital approval with COMAN - and the specific added value that results:
"Approval of assembly lines during ramp-up of new plants"
An OEM is about to start production (SOP). In final assembly, hundreds of stations have to be approved - sometimes in parallel by different trades. Previously, this was done using Excel lists, manual reports and coordination by email.
🔍 With COMAN:
All open points and measures in one place
Status updates in real time
Audit-proof logs for every approval step
"Functional acceptance by specialist departments and customers"
In a medium-sized special machine construction company, each section had to be approved by the customer and QA before handover. Depending on the assembly, however, the approvals were delayed, in writing and not clearly documented.
🔍 With COMAN:
Clear release instances for each measure (e.g. electrical engineering, pneumatics, mechanics)
Mobile implementation on the tablet
Immediate approval with digital signature and time stamp
📊 Result:
Shorter approval cycles, less coordination effort, transparent communication with the customer.
"Technical acceptance for maintenance and construction projects"
Whether it's a transformer station, substation or grid expansion - utilities are subject to strict QM requirements and documentation obligations. Project managers used to have to fight their way through PDF logs, email histories and local files.
🔍 With COMAN:
All inspection points digitally documented in the hall/location plan
LoP (List of Open Points) can be edited live in the team meeting
Acceptance reports can be exported directly for auditors
General contractors: approvals as part of construction progress reports
Pharma & food: Audit-proof commissioning documentation
Aviation & rail: Digital evidence for approval conformity
These examples show: Digital approvals can be adapted to any industry and any project environment - and they quickly deliver visible success.
Digital approval processes are not an end in themselves. They create structure, transparency and speed - but only if the people who are to work with them are on board. Change management is not an extra, but the decisive lever for success.
In this article, you have learned how you can accompany your team on this journey:
with clear communication and a genuine value proposition,
with small, visible successes instead of large rollout construction sites,
with practical training and open feedback,
and with a tool that adapts to you - not the other way around.
Digitizing approval is more than just a technical upgrade. It's a signal to your team:
"We're making it easier for you to do your job well."
Do you want to know how COMAN's digital acceptance can be introduced in your company?
How to optimize your processes - and get your team on board right from the start?
Then talk to us!
Our experts will show you how to future-proof your projects in a no-obligation demo.
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