ADOPTION
Using technology the way it was intended
Technology can bring a species to the moon and back. But only if its astronauts know that there are buttons they can push, that will get them there…
That is what adoption is all about: You can spend all the time and money in the world on shiny new devices, systems and applications. But if you fail to open your users’ minds to what they can do with the new tools, they will continue to work the same way they always have.
Things to consider
Adoption is about people, not technology
Technology adoption is not about technology. It’s about people: People as individuals, and people as part of a culture, or in fact: many cultures.
The people you want to see enthusiastically embrace the lovely new tools you invested in, are influenced by a lot of interconnecting and interchangeable cultures: Their personal background; the culture of the company, and of their specific department; and how they connect with the person they sit next to at lunch every day.
Maybe their auto-response to new ideas is “Yes, please”. Maybe it’s “Oh no, not again”.
Bottom line is: If you want your users to love the new tools and use them properly, so you get the full return on your investment, and a workforce who reaches their full potential, you have to:
meet them where they are, talk to them in a language they speak, and lead them forward by example.
You benefit from taking adoption seriously
“We’re a small outfit/our people understand IT/we’re grown-ups/we introduce new technology all the time.”
These are the usual reasons why businesses do not take the time to train their users in how to make full use of new technology. And this approach is why so many resources and capabilities are not utilized.
If you don’t lead your users to use their tools right, they’ll end up finding their own more or less rational way to use it – or, work around it.
Our experience is, that without a good adoption strategy, your organization will only benefit from 20% of the true potential of new technology and systems. On the other hand, a good adoption strategy will get you to 80%.
And yes, adoption is for every type and size of organization.
Map culture, history and processes
A CTGlobal Adoption project builds on two primary considerations: Who are your users and what technologies do you need them to adopt.
We then look at the nature of and culture in your organization: Your decision-making processes; your change management history; the urgency that drives the change – perceived and real; and the rewards your organization and the users do and can expect, once adoption is successful.
Once we have mapped and analyzed risk and potential, we put together a staged strategy with KPIs, that comprises everything from introduction, to roll-out, to continuous assessment.
Because an adoption project is always more about the people and the culture, than it is about the technology it is important to have buy-in from all internal stakeholders, and from experienced advisors, to ensure accept, enthusiasm and success.
