This month I want to write about some helpful tips for User Adoption.
As with any changes, all humans (users) fear the change of technologies and have push-back, even more so with changes that are not continually discussed and communicated to all end users.
Some of these steps will assist your users in adopting the changes your organization is looking to implement. It also doesn’t hurt to remember, communication is key.
5 Steps for Increasing End-User Adoption
- Build Anticipation and Excitement: If you are bringing change to an organization, lay the groundwork for success early. Weeks or months before you flip the switch on a new process or system, begin marketing the change to your employees. Catch their attention on what is being planned. Offer to answer any questions they might have, and be responsive! Smartly worded email subject lines can go a long way to engage employees’ attention. The key is to start advertising your initiative early and to market the project’s benefits for the company and for employees.
- Set Specific Improvement Goals & Communicate Results: Do you want your organization to buy into your savings goals & process improvements? Then make sure employees know what your goals are and how your operational performance is tracking against those preset targets. Engage employees in a conversation. Openly share your goals for the project.
- Invest in Training: Having engaged and interested employees isn’t enough, they also need to know what to do. This is the step most organizations feel isn’t necessary, even though it can be one of the most effective ways to increase user adoption. Make sure your users are trained on all key aspects of the new e-Procurement or VoIP system well before the go-live date. Make it fun; people dread training because most sessions are boring. Be incremental about training. Train employees on what they need to know to be successful in the next 6 months, not the next 6 years. Don’t overwhelm them with detail or with procedures that don’t apply to them. Train the groups who will go live with the new process first. Don’t let too much time pass between training and go-live. And be pragmatic about what you cover; respect your employees’ intelligence and their time.
- Don’t be scared. Empower Employees: Empowerment isn’t just a buzz-word, or a feel good word that is used to quell the fear of employees. It’s an approach to business that actively engages employees in their jobs in a way that causes those employees to see themselves as important to the business.
- Reward Good Behavior (yes, just like a good kid or puppy): The best way to get anyone to do anything is through positive reinforcement, and the best positive reinforcement that a business can give an employee is a reward.
And above all, remember, communication and transparency is a must for a successful change adoption.
Beth Zange-Sellers, PEI
