Regardless of its size or industry, every enterprise feels compelled to upgrade its on-premises infrastructure to stay on the floating line. Yet even after successful implementation, some new tools don’t live up to the buzz. In fact, the failure rate of new technology adoption in the workplace has reached 70% in some cases.
Why? Because when new systems are deployed, organizations do not focus on employee adoption. More often than not, employees accustomed to using specific software and following certain procedures tend to be resistant to new methods.
What do they need? In every reasonable workplace environment, skeptical employees need leadership, training, and even rewards to adopt new technologies. The sooner they embrace “the new”, the sooner the company will begin to see a strong ROI.
Once you procure new technological components, the next step usually involves investing or creating online courses and seminars to educate teams on how to use these properly.
Traditionally, most software training must focus on critical features and functionality and answer questions such as how to access and operate necessary data or how to complete a certain task. But more often than not, this type of training misses the point.
It doesn’t educate teams on how to use software to improve the flow of their work. Companies place so much importance on the training aspect that they forget the initial reason for getting new software in the first place. Software isn’t about marking to-dos but increasing everyone’s productivity or keeping them safe in some cases.
When employees refuse to adopt new technologies, businesses risk:
Despite these risks, businesses consider new software components in the workplace pretty often. And they have all the reasons to do so. New technologies bring incredible opportunities to counter concerns:
Yet, these advantages don’t come without internal and shared effort. Convincing your employees to adopt new EHS software, collaboration software, or marketing automation software requires a plan.
More often than not, companies focus on costs and features rather than the ease of use when implementing new technologies. Yet, what they don’t know is that more sophisticated tools will require more training and research.
Adoption of the latest digital tools may never be taken for granted or fully appreciated if people find them difficult to use and understand. Team projects may run into delays when the newly implemented software requires extensive configuration or has a confusing array of features.
Ideally, newly implemented software should involve minimal training. They should be straightforward and intuitive. At its best, your new software should make it easy and natural for users to navigate among features in performing their tasks. Look for technologies that are easily understood and applied.
If teams can’t find a convincing reason to use the new software, you can almost guarantee they won’t even think about it.
Help them understand what the tool is, what it does, and why you need it. Familiarise teams early in the implementation process or find those who will be naturally comfortable with the software’s works and convince them to advocate on its behalf.
You could make the first phase of the new software deployment a limited release to the department where it’s likely to have the most positive effect.
Plan how to boost the adoption rate of new technology and budget for it right from the beginning. That means you should educate your staff on the unique features of the software. Training sessions should take place in small groups so people can get customized guidance and acquire hands-on experience. Give employees enough time for questions. Those who feel technically challenged and have a harder time adjusting to new products shouldn’t feel overwhelmed or leave the training class feeling poorly instructed. In order to speed the adoption rate, make sure teams who excel with the new software are rewarded.
Attitude is a game-changer. Teams may feel pressured to learn how new systems work solely for the profit of the organization or to rationalize someone else’s decisions. If that’s the case, they will be less fascinated by the idea and less likely to realize its full benefits.
Don’t make them think the adoption of new technology is a mandatory shift in the company’s policy. Instead, present the tools as something that will make their work easier. Obviously, the latest EHS software pricing might be a good enough reason to emphasize this adoption, but employees too must know the reasons behind this adoption and how it can benefit them in their jobs. They will be more likely to agree with the new software if they feel that it serves a real need and will benefit them in the long run.
Successful digital implementation is something you can always improve. The latest cloud-based technologies evolve quickly and release new functionality features all the time. And you should do the same with your training.
Make sure you adapt your training process to the actual software cycles. The key here is to update your training sessions for the new software without putting too much strain on your teams and resources. To boost the adoption rate you want to avoid distracting everyone from their normal workflow.
