5 Ways To Speed Up Technology Adoption On Your Team

5 Ways To Speed Up Technology Adoption On Your Team
Summary: One of the HR challenges when introducing new technology is making sure employees use and benefit from it. To maximize the ROI on your technology investment, involve your team in the selection process, choose tools that are easy to use, gamify the onboarding process, and share their successes.

How To Speed Up Technology Adoption On Your Team

Getting your office to adopt new technology can sometimes feel like a struggle. You spend hours researching vendors, testing products, selecting the best one, and securing funding for it. And when you introduce the new tool to your team, you find that while they love it, they’re not using it as much as you’d hoped.

According to a study by MIT Sloan Management Review, the majority of managers agree that digital transformation is critical to their organizations. However, 63% reported that technological change isn’t happening fast enough in their workplaces. Fortunately, there are tricks and techniques that will speed up the process of technology adoption and motivate your staff.

1. Involve Your People In Tech Acquisition

Before you start shopping around, ask your employees what their needs are and what challenges they’re having with their current technology. You might hear some things you’ve never heard before. Then, let them experiment and test out a few different solutions. Most software companies offer free trials before purchase.

Having a chance to test it out and give their input before a decision is made will help your team feel respected and know that they had a hand in the process. It will also ensure that you pick a product that’s a good fit for them. The result of both is that your team will jump more enthusiastically into the learning process than if you simply implement new tools without consulting them. Enlist early adopters to try things out, pinpoint strengths and weaknesses and offer other solutions.

Let your early adopters experiment with blended learning technologies by starting a 30 day trial with Speexx today.

2. Choose Approachable Products

If you’ve ever bought an iPhone, did it come with a 500-page instruction manual and a two week online training module? Of course it didn’t. You probably knew how to use it within moments of picking it up, and company software and tech tools should be no different. Nothing will make employees drag their feet more than lengthy readings and boring training sessions. When products and tools are intuitive and user friendly, adoption will come naturally.

For instance, Speexx’s language learning tools are available through the programs users are already familiar with like PC, Mac, Android, iOS and Linux. Students can seamlessly switch between devices without affecting the learning experience. There is no special system or new hardware to purchase and Speexx’s cloud-based technology makes it easy to access from anywhere at any time.

The Speexx portal makes it easy for learners to switch from one device to another, without loosing progress on their course.

3. Sell The Benefits To Your Team

Communicate to your team how adopting the new technology will make their job simpler and their work better. Will it increase productivity so that leaving at 5 o’clock is possible? Does it free up sales people to do more effective selling and reach their bonuses faster? When they know how the product enhances their individual lives, they won’t just accept the change; they’ll embrace it.

4. Make Technology Adoption Fun

Rewarding cooperative behavior is much more effective than penalizing uncooperative behavior, and blended training can help. We like the 70:20:10 model. Learn what motivates each member of your team and use it to create valuable incentives. Which rewards do they want most? Is it financial bonuses, perks, personal recognition, or a promotion? Respond by creating a rewards program with points or gamifying it with team competitions. Consider creating a leaderboard or a wall of fame to celebrate those who are helping the team move toward change.

5. Share Success Stories

When shopping for your next tech tool, look for stories and testimonials about how the product has helped employees in a company like yours. Facts and figures can bore your staff, but stories make the technology personal. Once the product is in place, highlight quick wins. “Karen reached her sales call quota by 3:30 each day this week using our new sales software. That’s a full hour before her time prior to introducing the program!” Or, “Justin successfully resolved a help ticket fully in Spanish!” Broadcasting these wins makes a strong case for change.

Imagine personalized language learning: Communities of practice, private trainers and tailor-made content, all available on any Internet device. We call it the Perfect Blend.

Many people prefer routine to new methods because it reduces stress and requires less energy than change does. But routine can take us into deep ruts that don’t allow our businesses to move forward and prosper. Sell the vision of a user-friendly and advantageous product to the people who use the technology every day. You’ll boost technology adoption and create a culture of people who celebrate the change that takes your company forward.

To learn more about teaching your team to embrace tech, check out our blog post on Breaking Down Barriers to eLearning.

Speexx can help you build a consistent and scalable platform for improving cross border collaboration throughout your entire organization. Find out more here.

Originally published on July 2, 2017