Getting your team to embrace new technology can be a challenge. In fact, the failure rate of new technology adoption in the workplace has ranged from 50% to as high as 70%, in some instances.
Lack of adoption poses both internal and external risks.
When new technology fails, businesses risk:
- Losing money on the investment
- Decreasing employee engagement
- Lowering productivity
- Becoming less competitive in the industry
- Risking attrition of resistant employees
Despite these concerns, companies consider new technological components in the workplace every day. This is because technology brings incredible opportunity to counter concerns:
- Streamlines communication
- Improves sales
- Enhances productivity
- Positively impacts the bottom line
But these benefits don’t come without internal efforts. Getting your team to adopt new technology requires a plan.
When your plan is solid, adoption rates can improve drastically.
These six principles are rooted in data and proven to successfully help your team adopt new software in the workplace.
Rule #1: Track Software Installation
Create a strategy for getting your team to install the software in the first place. To do this, treat your internal users like customers — sell the value of your app to them, track their usage, and gather feedback to improve your implementation process
Specifically, download and usage data are vital when evaluating the ROI of your application. To improve these rates, it’s imperative to internally promote your initiative.
How to accomplish: Opt for a provider who provides analytics so you can track who has installed the app, and who hasn’t. By having this intelligence, you can reach out to employees individually, and request they install the app
Rule #2: Practice Makes Perfect
Rinse and repeat. Introducing new technology can be intimidating to your less tech-savvy employees.
After introducing a new application to your team, don’t expect immediate understanding.
You can’t give your team a Swiss Army knife and expect them to build a house. Provide an opportunity for your team to practice and learn the tool as it directly applies to their job.
We’ve seen that most employees need to master anywhere from 3-10 actions with the technology before incorporating into everyday practice. So when you’re training your sales team, recommend 3-10 ways they can use the app, specific to their sales process so they can assimilate in a low-risk way, and not in front of the client.
For instance, how to use the app to:
- Cross-sell
- Conduct in-person demos
- Leverage during trade shows
Once they’ve practiced with the app enough, it will become more natural for them to use it in the field.
How to accomplish: Offer online and in-person training sessions which are focused on getting reps to take these 3-10 actions. Get analytics that show who has or hasn’t practiced with the app. Understanding who your early adopters are and who is more resistant can help you customize training and encourage continued use of the software.
Rule #3: Don’t Disrupt the Process
People don’t like change, that’s why high adoption rates are difficult to achieve. So when positioning the new application to your team, make sure to show how it will fit into the current process. Or as we like to say, do no harm.
Reiterate the goal of the application is not to fix or redo a process, but to improve it.
According to “What Separates the Strongest Sales People from the Weakest,” from the Harvard Business Review, when comparing high-performing salespeople who exceed their quota from under-performers who miss their targets by more than 25%, the difference often is utilizing technology to achieve higher success.
Focus on this messaging for adoption success. If new technology can increase commissions, your team will have more incentive to adopt.
How to accomplish: To drive the message home get buy-in from upper management. This way, as resistance inevitably comes, there is a support team to demonstrate the value of the process enhancement, on-the-fly training opportunities, and decreased friction while acclimating.
Extra points if your technology easily integrates with other platforms you use, like Salesforce.
Rule #4: Update Your Content
If your application becomes stale, your team will lose interest and forget its value.
We have noticed that when companies keep their content fresh, the buzz around the app grows, and adoption rates continue to increase. When reps stop perceiving value, they will neglect the tech accordingly.
Additionally, mobile apps can help you collect qualitative data on sales trends. If you arm your sales team with the right collateral and product information, not only will they have happier prospects and more sales, but you can learn what collateral is working by looking at the numbers. This intel can help you broaden your marketing collateral with strategy
How to accomplish: Update your app with relevant content at least quarterly. Your specific frequency will depend on the user feedback and data you receive, as well as your team size.
Rule #5: Move and Pivot Quickly
Technology moves quickly, can you keep up?
When technology moves slowly, it is more difficult to adopt in the workplace. Additionally, companies must be able to pivot and iterate on technology quickly.
How to accomplish: If a new product releases, a merger happens, or there is a change in regulatory compliance, act swiftly and implement changes to your technology quickly to maintain its value and credibility. Without fast movements, an app can become out-of-date and unusable.
Rule #6: Leveraging Your Resources
Pick a solution that provides customized support throughout your application’s entire lifetime.
A third-party customer success team should:
- Assist with initial training
- Provide suggestions for continued use of your application
- Answer questions that arise throughout the continued use of the program
- Help answer questions related to reporting and automating
Your customer success manager should be available when you need them.
How to accomplish: If you need help getting your team to adopt new software, FatStax can help.
While adoption of new technology can be a challenge, adhering to these rules can encourage your team to consider the benefits of the technology and minimize friction during the introduction phase.
The end goal, of course, is to improve your adoption rate.
