Dustin Johnson is the CTO at Seeq, responsible for the advanced technology infrastructure, vision and roadmap of Seeq software solutions.
Paving the way for a successful technology adoption ideally starts pre-contract with executive-level buy-in, designated champions equipped to bridge the gap between IT and users and a practical plan for how an organization will get from inception to value with the new investment in a specified amount of time.
But the adoption process from inception to fruition can be difficult for a company, especially one that’s experienced decades of failed transformation projects. Past stagnated technology adoption and teammates’ negative experiences around new automation can also create obstacles that will need to be overcome to achieve success.
To avoid repeating these mistakes, companies must adequately incorporate a value-centric project management model for technology adoption that helps teams build a practical road to value and supports users with concrete action items and timelines.
A comprehensive technology adoption program should include these five steps:
1. Proactively identify use cases and ROI metrics.
A practical technology adoption plan includes evaluating and elevating the most valuable use cases and return on investment (ROI) metrics across an organization.
Identifying use cases with the quickest ROI can lead to leadership buy-in prior to contract negotiations. It can also help organizations determine which departments or groups of users to train on the technology first.
Once these early users are trained and begin seeing fast value from the technology, they will begin to find additional use cases on their own and encourage colleagues to use it as well.
But it’s also essential to establish specific metrics for what a successful implementation looks like for an organization across all departments.
Does the company want to reach a certain threshold of users? Does it want to have users across sites and geographic locations? Does it want to quantify ROI in terms of time savings or revenue generation? And by what timelines does it look to achieve these metrics?
Documenting clear goals for technology adoption gives a clear path for developing tactics that organizations will use to achieve them.
2. Train champions how to champion.
Just because a user sees the value of a technology doesn’t mean they automatically have the inherent skills of a champion.
A champion needs to work with many people. End users, IT team members, stakeholders and sponsors, to name a few, are all impacted when new technology is adopted. It is important for champions to clearly and effectively communicate the value of the technology and tailor the message to different audiences in all these interactions. They need to be able to influence change and solicit user feedback. Empowering champions with the leadership and other skills they need for their new role is critical to ensure the success of the rollout and adoption.
Once properly trained at scale, champions can then leverage their initial accomplishments with the technology to motivate other users.
3. Communicate individual value.
Demonstrating how a new technology will solve an immediate problem is typically the fastest and easiest way to ensure buy-in and encourage adoption. Communicate to users why the technology is relevant to their role and industry, how it will address their biggest pain points, how it will save them time and why it’s usable and realistic to incorporate into their workflows.
According to Deloitte’s 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report, organizations prioritizing human sustainability are nearly twice as likely to achieve desired business and human outcomes.
Tackle individual fears directly by naming them, such as “I’ve heard there’s a fear that folks will be replaced or let go as a result of this technology.” Then addressing them: “We aren’t intending to replace anyone but instead expect employees to do x with the new technology,” or “This technology presents greater opportunities for this team, such as allowing you more time to do more meaningful tasks or find other areas for promotions.”
These tactics can help users build the initial trust and interest needed to pursue future work with the technology.
4. Collaborate with tech CSMs.
While it’s critical for the customer and its champions to own the adoption, certified ScrumMasters (CSMs) have a vested interest in supporting adoption endeavors, making them great partners. From their work with other customers and across industries, CSMs can also often share best practices to ensure your teams embrace the new technology.
According to Elgar Online: Collaboration for Digital Transformation, collaboration is crucial in digital transformation initiatives, emphasizing leadership and stakeholder involvement.
It might make sense to have a few people from the vendor team focused on supporting different aspects of the rollout and identifying new strategic business areas where the technology can be leveraged.
This part of your journey may include implementing a monthly user forum, in-product training, comprehensive training programs or other programs that resonate with users.
5. Develop growth plans and get creative.
To provide growth paths and continued adoption, set aside the necessary resources to support a continuing upskilling program. This includes upfront monetary investment in the technology itself, fees for required third-party support teams, as required, and dedicated time for hands-on learning and follow-up.
And don’t be afraid to get creative. Gamify product use or use prompt explorers that help users understand and articulate the different kinds of tasks they can do with the product to focus on user experience.
Conclusion
Each individual, ultimately, must adopt a company’s technology to make for a successful rollout. But it’s on the company to present a comprehensive value-add and plan for the technology adoption to make it the “easy choice” for users so the entire organization can reap the benefits as individuals.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
