How to Successfully Drive Technology Adoption

The majority of people have been in a situation where they are unsure how to use a new technology solution to maximum effect. This can apply to a new smartphone, web services, a cloud video conferencing platform and nearly every aspect of modern IT.

Whatever the application, the situation is daunting, frustrating and time-consuming for the end-user – for example, the solution might be unintuitive, poorly integrated with other services or too different to what the individual is familiar with.

Investing in new technology without planning how to introduce staff to new working models is often counter-productive. Businesses that overlook this critical stage of the deployment process could find that the new technology is ignored.

When staff are unsure of a new application’s business purpose or how to incorporate it into their own routine, indifference can be the outcome. To counter this, each business needs a specific technology usage and adoption strategy tailored to their organisation.

The first step should be for management to discuss and explain the upcoming changes with staff. This will ensure the entire company understands how the new solution will be implemented and its value for each group of users. What works and is easily adopted by one group might be faced with reluctance by another, so creating a tailored strategy that works cross-departmentally will ease these issues.

One of the most important stages is user on-boarding. Adjusting routines and altering working habits cannot happen overnight. Providing technical training will prepare staff and enable IT departments to pre-empt concerns and in the long-run prevent solution abandonment. Ensuring staff understand the business benefits with easy-to-understand user guides also eases the process.

The support process should not stop there. Staff will always have queries and as their experience with the solution progresses they could require additional, more advanced training and support. Some staff will take more time than others to understand new systems, so consider preparing additional resources to ensure certain users do not feel left behind or constantly out of their depth.

You can learn more about our end-user adoption services here.