A lot is at stake when implementing new technology or process improvement. You wouldn’t be going through the expense or disruption to your business if you didn’t know it was needed to be competitive. After the project is complete, nothing is more frustrating than to see your people not using the new technology or process and going back to how they previously did their jobs.
How do you prevent poor user adoption? Here are two pitfalls to avoid.
Pitfall #1: Trying to do too much too quickly
While small changes can be implemented quickly when managed correctly, large, and complex changes take time. Even with robust change management strategies and plans, you must allow people the time to change. This concept can be seen in a project I worked on many years ago.
I was brought onto the project after the system went live. The project team had a successful technical release; however, user adoption was abysmal. Executive management threatened to fire anyone who did not use the new system, but it was an empty threat as more than half of the intended users were bypassing the system.
I was brought on with one goal in mind: increase user adoption. I began assessing the situation. I talked to the employees who were supposed to be using the new system. I talked to those who were successfully using the new system. I talked to their managers and others who worked with them.
Several issues came out of the assessment, but there was one overarching theme. It was a HUGE change! These employees had been doing their jobs the same way for over 20 years. They had been using paper and pencil to produce their work. They were now expected to use a complicated computer drafting application. Many of these employees were not very proficient on a computer and it was a real struggle.
To bridge the huge gap, we created a tiered user program: bronze, silver, gold, and platinum. At the bronze level, the employee was only expected to use the new system for certain functions and could use the old method for the rest of the process. At silver, more system functions were included, while removing old methods. At the gold level, the old methods were only used for some of the most difficult functions. Finally, the platinum level meant 100% usage of the new system.
This tiered approach helped break down the enormous change from the employees’ perspective. Those that moved to platinum quickly were rewarded. Those that needed more time could get comfortable with part of the system before having to advance. Each time they progressed to the next level; they were rewarded. They could see a clear pathway and were given the time to learn and use the new system.
Through this method of breaking down the huge change into smaller, more manageable changes, we were able to significantly increase user adoption.
Pitfall #2: Focusing only on the technology or system changes
Technology is a leading driver of change in business. While a new computer application can lead to improved business results, this cannot be accomplished without improved business processes and practices.
Many new system implementations are focused only on the system itself. This is especially true if the application vendor is providing the training. Rarely will an application vendor create a robust training plan focused on how the system is used in the business process. They usually focus on training impacted users only on how to use the system.
This was the approach on a past project. The project team and the system vendor were focused on a successful go-live. They were focused on making sure everyone knew how to use the system. The system go-live was a success… or so they thought.
Turns out, the user adoption was low and inconsistent. The ways the new system was being used were wildly different. Many of the users continued to use the old manual processes because they didn’t know how the system fit into their daily routine. This became very frustrating to the employees and escalated to executive management.
A new team was created, and a new project began. This time, the goal was to create an end-to-end process and to train the employees from start to finish. The focus was not on the system, but on their job. By focusing on the entire process, the team was successful in transitioning the employees to using the new system. The company finally started seeing the benefits that were initially expected.
High user adoption should be the goal of any new program in your business. Remember to avoid these two pitfalls. Don’t force a big change too quickly. Take the time required to help employees get through a large change. Don’t only focus on the system. Your employees work in a larger process and the system should be seen as part of it.
These and other organizational change management practices will help you be successful in your next project.