Switching from a paper-based to a digital EHS (Environmental, Health and Safety) system can be a game-changer for organisations looking to improve efficiency, accuracy, and compliance. Digital platforms offer powerful advantages – from centralising information and securing sensitive data to streamlining workflows and tracking performance in real time.
Yet despite these benefits, many teams still encounter resistance when proposing this transition. The hesitation often has less to do with the technology itself and more to do with comfort, culture, and fear of change. Understanding the root of these concerns, and how to address them, can make all the difference in gaining buy-in and achieving a smooth rollout.
In this article, we explore the advantages of going digital and unpack the most common objections we hear from teams, along with practical strategies for overcoming them.
Benefits of going digital
- More secure – digital EHS systems help protect data and confidentiality, particularly if the system has Single Sign-On (SSO) and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). Being able to evidence how you are protecting confidential data is an important element of compliance.
- Centralised source of information – storing all your health and safety information in one place is valuable for a number of reasons. It provides instant visibility for all relevant stakeholders and it’s much easier to share a link and direct them towards what they need. You can also see related records, communication threads, and corrective actions all in one place. Plus, it’s much easier to gather evidence to prove compliance when being inspected – particularly useful in highly regulated industries.
- Version control – health and safety documents typically need to be updated frequently to reflect recent events or fluctuating policy. It’s much easier to make these changes via a digital EHS platform, but it also helps make sure you’re all working from the most recent version for standardisation of practice and cross-team alignment.
- Automated follow-up workflows – after reporting an incident, some digital EHS systems will let you directly assign follow up actions from within the platform. The assignee can clearly see all the related information they need in order to perform the corrective action or task. Relevant stakeholders have visibility into the status of an incident and the steps currently under way to resolve.
- Harder to lose, damage, or mismanage – digital documents are much harder to misplace than physical copies (and they also take up a lot less storage space). Paper forms often leave more room for user error as there are fewer guardrails in place for completing them. Digital documents can leverage prompts and conditional logic to help encourage the exact information you need from the respondent.
- Track performance – custom reporting dashboards help you to track the data you need to get insights into health and safety performance. Collating and comparing data from multiple paper sources is a much harder and more time-consuming process – even for just gaining the most basic insights.
Potential resistance points (and how to combat them)
Even with all these compelling benefits, we still find that some of our customers have team members or management who are resistant to the transition to digital. It can be for a number of reasons, but often it is not the digital system itself that they are against but rather the change in culture.
To help make it easier to communicate the advantages to your team and dispel any worries about the switch, we’ve put together some of the most common objections that we hear – and how to respond.
1. “Things are fine as they are”
For a lot of people, change creates feelings of discomfort and apprehension. Even when processes aren’t as efficient as they could be, as long as they’re kind of working, a lot of people are happy to continue with the usual way of doing things. This could stem from a lack of confidence in their ability to pick up new skills, particularly if they’re not used to working with tech.
On the reverse, sometimes ego can be a blocker to people wanting to transition to a digital EHS system. They may see it as an insult and that their current ways of working are not good enough, leading to a replacement solution needing to be brought in.
Whatever side of the coin your team may be on, it ultimately boils down to company culture. Which can be a hard thing to change, but below we’ve listed a few ways you can help embed a digital-first safety culture within your organisation.
Response: Communicating the benefits of the new system is crucial for getting buy-in from your team. Let them know that it’s not a result of any personal shortcomings, but a systematic digitalisation with the goal of making things more efficient.
Organising training in advance can help alleviate any concerns team members may have about not being able to use the software. Plus, put ongoing support sessions in place to ensure there’s a safe space to ask any questions.
2. "It will take too long to learn and implement"
Sometimes the motivations for this objection are similarly rooted in the sentiments we saw in objection 1. However, objections around the time taken to procure, implement, and learn a new software solution are often more practically motivated than emotionally driven.
Senior management can be apprehensive about the time it can take to find and implement a solution and would prefer resources not be diverted from daily tasks.
There also may be concerns about how steep the learning curve could be and whether operations will have to pause whilst the team gets up to speed with the new tech.
Response: Being clear on timeframes for implementation and how resource will be allocated during this adjustment period will help reassure stakeholders that there will be business continuity during the transition.
It’s also worth emphasising that the long term value and time saved on admin tasks in the future will far outweigh any potential short term disruption.
3. “How do I know our data will be secure?”
We also speak with teams who distrust software because of the fear of potential data breaches. These teams often feel more secure managing physical documents – being able to store them in locked cabinets, maintain full visibility, and control exactly who can access them. They may feel a tangible sense of security in knowing that sensitive information isn’t stored in a cloud or on a server they don’t control.
They also may worry that their system could be hacked and sensitive information leaked, or if the system crashes they won’t be able to access the information they need.
Response: Let your team know that EHS software is designed with robust security features to protect sensitive information. It allows you to set user roles and access permissions, ensuring that only authorised personnel can view or modify critical data.
Additionally, secure login protocols – such as multi-factor authentication and encrypted connections – add an extra layer of protection against unauthorised access.
To further reassure your team, choose a software provider that is ISO 27001 certified, the international standard for information security management.
Conclusion
Change is never easy, especially when it involves shifting long-standing habits and workflows. But with thoughtful communication, structured training, and a focus on long-term gains, organisations can overcome resistance and unlock the full potential of digital EHS systems.
By addressing concerns around usability, implementation, and data security head-on, you’re not only helping your team adapt – you’re building a stronger, safer, and more future-ready safety culture. The key is to guide your team through the transition with empathy, clarity, and the right support at every step.
