Adoption – How do you get your team to buy in?

One of the biggest challenges companies face is getting the whole team to buy in when they move over to a new system or start using new technology.

It is not uncommon for new customers to tell us about tech that has become the “white elephant” – sometimes discarded altogether because the staff refuse to use it.

Expensive in time and money, but also frustrating, because it doesn’t have to be that way.

So, just how do you get team buy in?

The first step is to involve them from the start. Regardless of who in the business is instigating new systems and IT – you need to share what it is, why you are doing it, how to use it and what the effects will be with everyone.

The reality is, like it or not, it’s important your IT delivers exactly what the people who use it every day, day in day out, need, not what you might like.

Ultimately, it’s ideal if it delivers on all fronts, and with some good planning and mapping everything out at the start, that is very possible.

White board, large sheets of paper, post it notes on the wall, or an app – whatever works for your business. Encourage users from every department of the business to say what they would like to achieve. Pull all of this together and you will start to notice themes.

This is where we know we add value. At this stage in the process we can start to visualise what technology and applications are needed to overcome the current challenges.

Then demonstrate the proposed solution. Share with your team what is being recommended and get their feedback. Do they believe it will work for your business? What are their concerns? Can you overcome any issues, or do you need to reconsider?

To get true buy in the technology changes must be seen to solve a problem.

That could be a strategic change, like ramping up security, but equally could be streamlining/improving processes. If you can demonstrate it saves time – looking for data, doing a manual task etc, then it’s worth its weight in gold.

Once you’ve made the decision, make sure you have a clear plan for implementation. Share the timescales with everybody in the business, and ensure you keep them updated on progress. If there are delays communicate those as quickly as possible – that keeps everybody on side.

When the system is ready, ask for people to test it – from every part of the business. Capture the snagging list and share that – remaining transparent is key.

Before you press the go live button, make sure everybody has been trained. One of the key failings for new tech is not helping the users get up to speed. They resent it, because they don’t know how to use it.

So, the mantra needs to be train, train and train again…

Train before the system goes live, have plenty of support in the first few weeks of launch, and again once the dust has settled a little – so the team gets to grips with the more subtle nuances and features.

Think of it like a scratch card… reveal more of the system as the team gets used to it and it’s starting to work for them.

Remember – the system shouldn’t feel cumbersome. Technology shouldn’t be controlling the business – it should be enabling it to perform better.

Inevitably there are going to be little niggles – it’s human nature. Again, capture these and share them. Talk to the technical team about ironing out those niggles, and what might need to be part of phase two.

Phase two?

Yep – realistically you should be building in the capacity to refine the system once you have used it for a while. That might just be implementing system upgrades as they become available, or it might mean additional development.

But either way, technology should never stand still. But then again, neither should your business…

If you would like to learn more about how we support customers with team adoption, please contact us on 01784 437 123.