Introducing new technology, especially to a dispersed staff, can be difficult. But when investing thousands, if not millions, of dollars into new tech, utilization and engagement are essential pillars to the success of implementation.
Part of what makes a successful tech rollout is remembering that your teams are people. By truly understanding staff challenges and wins, business leaders begin to understand what motivates employees to use tech in their everyday work.
Design thinking frameworks and strategic communication are powerful tools to build a robust implementation strategy. With the right strategy in place, nondesk employees will see the value of the new tech, understand how to use it, and encourage their teammates to adopt it.
Below are six ways to encourage tech adoption at your organization.
#1. Launch a pilot program first
When developing your rollout strategy, consider beginning with a pilot program. A pilot program allows your team to test out the tech on a small scale and how to best integrate it into current systems.
Identify high-priority use cases and a key user group. Gather feedback from your sample users and use those insights as you develop your larger rollout plan. Be sure to address challenges transparently and with clear solutions to ensure a positive rollout experience.
#2. Find your super users
Super users are an important ally when it comes to technology adoption. Super users are your employees who consistently and enthusiastically use the tools provided to execute their roles. Identify high performers and train them on the tool early on. Perhaps, include some of these users in your pilot program. Make sure you have a mix of leadership levels to ensure different use cases are represented.
Train super users to advocate for the platform. Ask for their feedback and get them involved with the implementation process. When your high performing employees feel like part of the project, they have a better understanding of the technology goals, value, and intent. Often, in turn, they advocate for the platform and encourage their peers to adopt it.
#3. Implement a flexible training program
If your company is struggling with tech adoption, develop a training program that employees can access at any time. Scheduled trainings can be great for initial rollouts, but accessible training content makes it easier for employees to answer questions on their own, advance their learning, and gain a greater appreciation for tech.
With Konverse, you can develop content and training libraries that are accessible at any time, anywhere.
#4. Communicate consistently
Of course, communication is essential to any change management in an organization. Ensure high engagement and tech utilization by clearly communicating the value and purpose of the tool. Identify clear resources to get help and encourage questions from teams. Consistently publish content about the tool, create check-ins among managers and their teams, and be sure leadership communicates the importance of the tech across the organization.
Related: 6 Principles to Great Internal Communication
With clear communication, you can create a shared understanding of the purpose of the tool. This shared understanding encourages employees to utilize the technology to its fullest extent.
#5. Gamify the tool
Gamification applies game elements and principles to non-game contexts. For example, one gamification strategy may be to create a “challenge” in your tool where employees have to check back and comment on content or create their own to gain points towards a reward. This can be a powerful strategy to encourage tech adoption and helps teams learn a tool.
Konverse is a great platform to invite gamification strategies, because teams can engage with one another, admins can see who has viewed, liked, and completed content, and more.
There are a lot of gamification strategies out there, so get creative and have fun with it.
#6. Never forget to measure success
Of course, setting and measuring goals is essential when implementing technology tools. Measure success by comparing adoption rates before and after implementing the tool. Review completion rates of onboarding or daily to-do tasks. Measure engagement rates of content.
Share these insights and goal tracking with employees to emphasize the importance of the technology and invite further utilization.
