Introduction:

New technology can definitely make your organization more effective and productive, but only if the people within your organization actually use the new technology.

If users don’t adapt to and adopt the new technology, it is wasted money, effort, and time. Your ROI sinks. User adoption is not just achieved by training users on how to use the new technology, it is achieved by gaining buy-in and commitment.

Is it important to Involve employees in selection? Yes, they are the ones who implement technologies and confirm the benefits or key areas to improve. Let’s see the important benefits of Employees.

• They will be more open to the idea of a new IT system.
• They will be able to provide insights on what will work for them and what won’t.
• Employees will be more open to providing inputs from their end
• This will increase their feeling of self-worth
• Employee involvement increases their feeling of security that they won’t lose their job or lag behind because of new technologies.

To involve them in decision making take inputs via votes, opinions of supervisors and compile the ideas and concerns to make a proper strategy for implementation.

Here are the tips for a successful technology adoption, that I have compiled after reviewing too-many-to-count technology projects.

• Select the Right Technology– Study the data (not the sales literature). If you do not select the right technology, you will spend a great deal of time trying to “make the shoe fit.”
• Check References– Before finalizing the solution, network with other users similar to your company. Don’t short change this process!
• Employee Involvement– Take bench marking trips with key operational supervisors, senior management, maintenance personnel, and cross-departmental staff (no one thinks of everything).
• Get all Personnel Involved Once a New Technology is Selected– Use of video, streaming PowerPoint, posters, and other methods can help create a positive buzz throughout the work place. Town Hall meetings can also be effective if you are prepared to discuss the effect this change might have on overall employment.
• Focus on Training– Select key peer leaders for early training, so they can help sell new technologies internally. Also, never shortchange the training period as unsuccessful implementations commonly happen when training is brushed over. It is also important to track who has been trained so no one is missed.
• Document Everything– Training should be video recorded and documented on your company’s Intranet (if one is available) for future reference.
• Create Short Terms Wins– Set goals that are initially easy to achieve. Demonstrate patience in this roll out.
• Demonstrate No Fear– If you are confident in your choice of technology then you cannot demonstrate any fear. If you doubt your selection, so will others. Be proud of the contributions you have made and know that through successful change management your company will quickly recognize your contribution

Planning, implementing, and managing change is undoubtedly a difficult task if left to circumstance; nevertheless, these responsibilities are something many of us now face.  We must meet these challenges in an assertive manner in order to help our companies implement necessary change and thus excel in our respective markets for years to come.

Now let’s find out few Facts why owners do not attempt to adopt the change in their business.

• The reasons people do not embrace change is commonly covered in fear, including the fear of failure, the fear of the unknown, fear of peer acceptance, and even fear of success.Many times there are also internal power struggles that need to be considered.  All of these reasons can be addressed if the risks associated with change are properly mitigated
• By implementing new technology, you are disrupting the daily routine of users. This causes frustration and resistance. If this is not addressed it leads to delays, slows customer response time, and creates employee and customer satisfaction issues.

Summary:

Once implementation has begun, do not assume that things will run on their own. Develop measurable success factors and performance metrics. Assess and evaluate regularly, keeping the goals you set at the start in the forefront.

When implementing new technology, if you want to be successful you need to plan for, identify and address implementation challenges early, and gain the buy-in and commitment for technology, driving engagement, enhancing efficiencies and improving user adoption – enabling you to maximize your return on investment. Otherwise, your technology is just an expensive tool that no one uses effectively.

A solid change management plan will make the implementation of new technologies much easier.