Organizational Adoption of New Technologies

Organizations now more than ever have been adopting new technology to enhance their business and attract new customers. Technology can provide organizations with the ability to become more agile and efficient when integrated properly. Microsoft© SharePoint is one application that many organizations are gravitating toward to enhance communication and effectiveness.

Though new technologies are greatly sought after, the process of adoption is not as simple as some may think. The adopting of new software is an organizational change process that typically affects a large portion of an organization’s employee population. Many people struggle with change for various reasons, which can be a burden to an organizational change initiative. In fact, approximately 70% of all organizational change initiatives are unsuccessful.

When an organization follows the adoption process for implementing a new software application such as SharePoint, they are more likely to be successful than organizations that do not use or skip steps within the adoption process. There are a few key things to consider when it comes to executing a successful adoption.

Involve the Stakeholders

There are different types of stakeholders who must be support the process of adopting a new technology. If at any level there is resistance or lack of buy-in, the process can be subject to failure.

• Executive Sponsors – The executive leadership team needs to be onboard with the technology and support the change. It is important to have communications about the change come from the executive sponsors so that everyone in the organization understands that the change is important.
• Champions – Develop a champion program and recruit champions to help influence other organizational members. Champions are team members who are typically early adopters of new technology and who easily embrace change. It is important that the champions are a combination of employees who are influencers across the entirety of the organization. Make sure there is representation from all departments and all markets so that all employees have someone local to use as a resource throughout the change process.

Create Awareness

Communication is essential to the success of any change process and should be carefully planned and executed. The communication plan should help to raise awareness, inform employees, and build interest in the technology through various communication channels.

Communication Stages

Stage 1 – Pre-Launch: Teasers and advertisements to build employee interest and excitement around the new technology. There should be communication around the training plan as well so employees know that training will take place.

Stage 2 – At Launch: Live launch announcements and communications along with contests to help users with utilizing the new technology.

Stage 3 – Post Launch: Ongoing communication with tips, tricks, and ongoing training resources.

Provide Training

Training is essential for ensuring successful adoption of any technology by organizational employees. For employees to embrace a new technology, they must first understand the technology and how it will provide value to them and their work. Remember, most change initiatives fail.

Training is a process and should be provided in phases to ensure that users can adequately adapt to the new technology.

Phase 1 – Initial Training: In this phase of training, users should be provided with tools that help them with understanding the purpose behind the tool and why it is important to them and the organization. During this phase, there should be more guided training to show users the basic functions of SharePoint as it relates to their job function.

Phase 2 – Advanced Training: After the initial training phase is completed and users have had the opportunity to start utilizing the software, make sure to have follow-up training that allows users to ask questions and provides them with training on more advanced features as it relates to their role.

Phase 3 – Ongoing Training and Resources: Remember that training should never really end, makes sure to have a plan in place for training on newly added features and updates as the software evolves overtime. Additionally, make sure there are quick resource guides available to support users while they are utilizing the tool.

When developing the training, keep in mind the varying audiences who will be using SharePoint. It is important not to overtrain employees on functions that they will not be utilizing. Overtraining could lead to employees who become confused and overwhelmed before they even start using the software.

Assess Adoption and Resolve Issues

After the software has been implemented, it is important for organizational leaders to conduct pulse checks to gather feedback. The feedback should be utilized to determine if there are any adoption issues, whether they are in pockets or more global. If there are issues, leaders should take appropriate steps to understand the resistance and provide support to overcome the challenges. No change process is perfect, but if an issue is left unaddressed, there could be a snowball effect that could prevent full organizational adoption of the new technology. 

Remember the key to a successful technology adoption requires following all the steps to the in the adoption process.