Creating a Culture That Embraces and Drives Automation Forward

For many MSPs, automation starts off strong: Workflows are launched, repetitive tasks get streamlined, and teams enjoy the initial relief. For a while, everything runs as intended.

But then things start to unravel. Rules are forgotten, exceptions pile up, and team members begin to rely on workarounds. Soon, the documentation no longer matches reality. Processes that once felt smooth start to feel rigid or unclear. The team scrambles to rework what was once working, only to face the same breakdown months later.

It’s easy to blame the tools. But the real bottleneck is often embedded in the team’s culture: how decisions are made, how collaboration happens, and how ownership of automation is distributed. We’ve explored this in a previous article on MSP automation challenges, and the takeaway remains clear: if automation isn’t supported by the way your team operates, even the most powerful systems will fall short.

This blog takes a deeper look at how the culture around automation within IT teams influences its success or failure. More importantly, it offers practical insights into building an environment where automation is not just adopted but actively driven forward by empowered teams.

What’s Really Holding Automation Back?

Even when the right platforms are deployed, processes are documented, and tasks are scripted, many teams still find themselves asking: why isn’t this working like we thought it would?

There’s often a gap between introducing automation and seeing it actually embedded into day-to-day operations. Instead of improving productivity, automation becomes a patchwork: used inconsistently, maintained by a few, and bypassed by many.

Before we look at how to shift this, it’s worth examining the early signs of friction that point to something deeper at play.

Scripts are written, but underused

Automations are deployed but rarely adopted, often due to poor documentation, limited visibility, or lack of trust in the output.  They often fall out of sync due to lack of change management. Without clear ownership, scripts gather dust.

We’ve seen how this kind of underuse signals deeper risks, especially when automation is introduced without reinforcing the processes around it. It’s a common blind spot for MSPs that we’ve covered before.

Automation knowledge sits with one person

If only one team member understands or maintains the automations, it creates a single point of failure. This not only makes the system unsustainable but also signals that automation hasn’t been embedded into team workflows or knowledge-sharing practices.

Workarounds remain the norm

Despite having automation in place, teams still default to manual methods, rebuilding the wheel with every ticket or process. These habits persist because the current way feels faster or more familiar, even if it's inefficient in the long run.

These are common MSP automation adoption challenges, early friction points that signal deeper issues beneath the surface. And the following are what typically causes that:

• Fear of job displacement – Teams may view automation as a threat to their roles, creating resistance and passive disengagement.
• “We’ve always done it this way” thinking – Legacy habits are hard to break, especially without strong leadership advocating for change.
• No shared incentives to automate – When success metrics don’t align with automation outcomes, there’s little motivation to adopt or optimize them.

It’s rarely the software or the scripts that fall short. It’s the context in which they’re introduced; one that doesn’t always support trust, collaboration, or clarity. Until those human factors are addressed, even the most promising automation efforts can stall.

How to Embed Automation Into Team Culture

Getting MSP automation to stick is about getting the whole team on board. That means shifting habits, updating workflows, and ensuring automation fits naturally into how people already work. Here’s how MSPs can turn scattered efforts into a team-driven, long-term success:

Map the Mindset: From Sceptics to Super-Users

Not everyone will respond to automation the same way. Some team members may dive right in, while others hesitate, concerned about job security or struggling to trust the technology. Recognizing these differences is key to creating a thoughtful rollout.

A helpful way to understand this is through Rogers’ Adoption Curve, a model that categorizes people by how quickly they embrace new ideas:

• Sceptics worry automation will replace their role or disrupt what works. They need reassurance, often through transparent conversations about how automation is designed to support, not sideline.
• Curious observers are cautiously optimistic. They benefit from seeing real-world examples: case studies or internal success stories that prove automation actually makes things easier.
• Willing users are ready to try but still need guidance. They thrive when given space to experiment, backed by clear documentation and low-stakes tasks.
• Super-users or champions are early adopters who can lead by example. Empower them with autonomy, access to the right tools, and time to innovate. They’ll often become your strongest internal advocates.

Actionable tip: Run a quick pulse survey to find out where your team stands on the adoption curve. Use that insight to tailor your training and rollout plans.

Make Automation Everyone’s Job, Not Just Tech’s

Automation can’t live in a silo. When only one department is responsible for identifying, building, and maintaining automation, opportunities get missed and enthusiasm fades. A truly embedded automation culture gives every team a role in shaping how work gets done.

Every department has something to automate. For instance:

• Support teams can streamline ticket routing and status updates.
• Admin staff can set up invoice reminders or document tracking.
• Sales can automate CRM follow-ups and lead scoring.

This kind of cross-functional automation planning brings fresh ideas forward and closes gaps a single team might overlook. This collaboration also brings fresh ideas that a single team might overlook.

More importantly, measure success in ways that matter to everyone, not just script count or hours saved. Tie automation wins to cross-department KPIs like faster onboarding times, reduced error rates, or improved response times.

As we've discussed in earlier work on workflow design, the most effective automations are shaped by input from those closest to the process, not just the builders behind it.

Actionable tip: Create a shared automation board (Kanban or digital tracker) where any team member can suggest ideas, see what’s in progress, and celebrate what’s been launched.

Turn ‘What If’ Into ‘What’s Next’

Automation shouldn’t be a one-off project. It works best when it becomes a habit of improvement. That means creating space for teams to reflect, iterate, and stay curious about what can be improved next.

Regular automation retrospectives are a great start. They don’t have to be formal or time-consuming. Just gather your team and ask:

• What worked well recently?
• What didn’t go as planned?
• What should we try next?

Encourage small, fast pilots that test new workflows without needing full rollouts. Keep the feedback loop short and simple and never underestimate the power of small wins. When teams see something they created actually make a difference, they become more invested in doing it again.

Actionable tip: Try ‘Automation Thursdays’, a 30-minute weekly session where one team member shares a simple automation they’ve built or refined. It keeps the momentum alive and turns improvement into routine.

What Happens When Culture and Automation Work Together

When automation becomes second nature across your MSP, everything starts to shift. Technicians begin identifying automation opportunities without being prompted. Support tickets are resolved faster, repetitive tasks shrink, and human errors become less frequent. Time-to-resolution drops not just because of better tools, but because your team is working in sync with those tools.

More importantly, the people behind the processes feel the change. Morale lifts. Teams feel a sense of ownership over improvements. Automation stops being something imposed from the top. It becomes part of how the business runs every day, at every level.

This is what a culture-driven automation environment looks like: proactive, empowered, and constantly improving. And it doesn’t happen by accident. It takes deliberate action to align people, processes, and technology in a way that makes automation stick.

It’s not always the complexity of the toolset that holds teams back. Often, it comes down to whether the environment supports the shift. When culture and capability grow together, automation can finally deliver on its full potential.

At MSP+, we help MSPs move beyond quick fixes and integrate automation into the core of their operations. Our Automation consulting services focus not just on the technical setup, but on the people and processes that make automation work. Because without team alignment and day-to-day application, even the best practices rarely translate into real results.