You’ve finally found the tech you’ve been looking for! You’ve made a clear case for the benefits, you get budget approval, it rolls out smoothly and you're delighted! So is your boss. But then something strange happens. Hardly anyone uses it. You are perplexed as everyone is asking for something to help them. How did this happen?
IT-led change initiatives can often end up with well-meaning solutions but little usage. We frequently have customers who tell us that tech just appears in their system with no knowledge of why or how to use it and so they ignore it. According to the Harvard Business review, "89% of large companies globally have a digital and AI transformation underway, but they have only captured 31% of the expected revenue lift and 25% of expected cost savings from the effort".
If you want to make sure your people and your company are getting the benefits from the the technology you’re providing to them, there are 3 key steps you must take to embed any new technology into a company:
1. Lead it. Sounds obvious right, but the secret to implementing technology according to Paul Leonardi and Tsedal Neeley “is promoting the heck out of it, then getting out of peoples’ way”! Leaders MUST be clear on why you want people to use this technology and how you will use it. Change comes from the top and humans are driven by why. Make sure the why comes from the top. Our brains are efficient engines and race to a conclusion and the “why” makes that conclusion much faster to adopt and implement.
Tech implementations need to start with the why.
Do tell people:
○ Why is this happening?
○ What problem are we trying to solve?
○ How is this particular technology solving the problem?
○ Who will use it and how will they use it?
○ How will I use it, as a manager?
○ What data will I see as a manager and how will I action it?
○ How will this benefit you as the user?
○ Where is the evidence I expect this to work (case studies of others)?
Don’t tell people:
● Just use it!
2. Support people. How many people run towards being uncomfortable? - Not many!
Anything new is outside is our comfort zone and is thus uncomfortable, so we resist. So make it really easy for people to adopt the new tech.
Think of it like a pull strategy - encourage people to pull the new tech towards themselves.
Do:
● champion and ambassador networks,
● loads and loads of communication,
● demonstrations,
● real-life examples/case studies of how it can make people’s working lives better (case studies)
● be available to answer questions
And then repeat
Don’t:
● Expect people to get it by osmsis
3. Change the work to fit the tech. Right now everything works without the tech, so why would people use new tech?. Even if people are grumbling and asking for something different, their efficient brains like working the same way everyday. So if you jam new tech in without making room in the work practices, it won't fit and you’re wasting your time and money.
30% of IT implementations fail due to employee resistance!
Do update these work practices to fit the tech:
● Meeting
● Regular Routines
● performance goals/incentives/reviews
● recruitment
● Training
● leadership practices
● sales scripts
● hybrid working etc etc. Incorporate the tech into everything you do and then it will
always be the way that you work.
● Agile development
● Project management etc
Don’t:
● Expect people just to use it on top of all they’re currently doing.
Remember tech is about people and good tech implementation uses people's behaviours and
habits to be effective. Follow our do’s and don’ts and that new system will be part of the
furniture in no time.
Coach Indie can help you engage and empower your people to give your implementation every chance of success. Check it out here.
Good luck!
