The Rollout Action Tips for Encouraging User Adoption

June 16, 2015

User adoption is crucial to making your new IT solutions effective. It’s also one of the most difficult components of upgrading your technology products or systems. No matter who is involved—IT staff, day-to-day workers, or new users—IT solutions that are convoluted, confusing, and otherwise hard to use will never provide the results you’re looking for. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to check that your systems make sense. Here’s how companies and partners promote user adoption to guarantee a positive experience:

Internal Marketing 

If you’re planning on rolling out a new software platform, don’t wait to announce it and begin preparing your staff. Assimilating new technology in the workplace should start well before it launches. Even as early as the ideation process, start promoting what the new tool is for, what issue you’re looking to solve, and how it will make life easier for your employees. Use internal marketing to build hype around the new product, and your team will be that much more excited when it’s available.

Easy Access to Training

If a new tool will make life easier for your employees but the learning process is too difficult, your team may attempt to slide back into their old processes. Here are some ways to prevent technophobia:

• Make sure training tools and learning programs are easy to access and understand.
• Consider incentivizing employees who work through training to increase the likelihood of successful adoption. If you’re wondering how to develop these programs, you can consult with an IT service provider to nail down and implement the best training tools possible.
• Send out a monthly e-newsletter with tips and tricks to make the transition easier.
• Maintain a constant back and forth conversation with your users about their successes and sticking points.

IT Specialists Onsite 

Of course, training and experience are two different practices. Even if your team has gone through every IT drill possible for your systems, once they’re performing actual work on the clock, they may get nervous and forget a step. That’s when you need specialists on-site who can step in to remind employees of key protocols so that valuable time and work aren’t wasted. Many managed service providers, like ITS, can augment your staff with certified technicians who work to make the adoption process as seamless as possible.

The Bottom Line

Regardless of how technically sound a new IT program is, or how much revenue it’s projected to save, it will only succeed if it’s widely adopted by your staff. This requires promoting it early on, having accessible training programs in place, and having IT specialists available to help with any questions or problems. And, of course, you don’t have to go it alone. Reach out to an IT provider accomplished in these areas to ensure the highest adoption rate possible.

Thanks for reading,

Rob Connary, President - COO

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