Getting the Team On Board

Handing time-poor workers a tool that is designed to make their lives easier should be a no brainer. Yet, time and again, businesses are taken by surprise at just how reticent some workers can be to adopting new technologies.

This can be for various reasons - it is an alien, complicated interface to use; they feel threatened by others’ apparent ability to use it for fear it casts them in a bad light or, the system itself looks like it could make their role redundant.

In reality, these three issues hardly ever have substance, but it’s vital to manage employee perceptions and expectations in order to get them to use the new system successfully. Communicating with employees, demonstrating, using internal advocates and, above all, choosing an ‘employee first’ system will determine an implementation’s success.

Solve for Today, with An Eye on Tomorrow

Unless your solution is absolutely bespoke, most software will either have a few gaps or redundancies. The best software fit will be the one whose gaps can easily be filled with light customization or supported by your existing solutions. It’s a bit like buying clothes. Don’t buy an outfit that you have to spend twice as much accessorizing for it to look right. Buy something you know will look great with that belt you’ve already got at home.

That said, don’t exclude what might be needed in the future. Extra features that might not be business critical today but that you can easily see the business ‘growing into’ are worth keeping an eye on.

Draw Up an Action Plan

To keep your choice of software and then its implementation on track, it is necessary to draw up a detailed plan ahead of the start of the project. First and foremost, the plans must outline the ideal specification and the challenges you need it to solve. It must also consider those who must be involved at which stages and why. This helps you to timetable the implementation, making sure you’ll have the resources you need, enough time with vital implementation functions such as IT, and the right pace for essential training and brainstorming among core user groups.

In particular, these user groups will be part of the implementation iteration process. Power users and advocates from across the business should typically help to identify potential uses and challenges, as well as working with the organization and solutions providers to mold the solution to its best fit.

Get Support from Your Provider

Whatever your level of service agreement, it is vital to involve your vendor in the implementation process. They are able to identify underexploited features, improve user onboarding, and respond to any challenges. As a result, keeping your vendor closely involved helps to identify struggles quickly, speeding up the process and improving satisfaction.

Of course, best practice implementations assume the best possible operating conditions, which is something that businesses in full flow rarely experience. In most cases, this introduces a few extra challenges but nothing that can’t be overcome - too many demands on staff time preventing breakout planning meetings or slipping timescales due to other, more critical, priorities. Again, this is where having a well thought through implementation plan will support you.