Ensuring the tools you invest in work for your employees
Getting your employees on board with tool adoption is no small task.
They might be reluctant to the changes you’re bringing in, more familiar with traditional methods or simply technologically unsure.
Fortunately, encouraging tool adoption in your small business is simple and inexpensive.
The key to successful tool adoption is to promote the benefits, provide ongoing support and take feedback seriously. In this article, we cover four essential tips to get your employees using the tools you've invested in.
Test tools to ensure that they work seamlessly
We’ve all been there—a menu that won’t drop down, an application that freezes, a text box you can’t type anything into. There’s nothing more frustrating than a digital system that won’t work properly.
Imagine how disinterested your employees will become with tools that they can’t get to function. A bad first impression of a new system will leave a lasting legacy that may prove impossible to turn around.
Ensure that you’re only investing in positively-reviewed and industry-respected tools, and gather a mixed group of employees to test any new software before it’s rolled out to the wider organisation.
Prioritise promoting the benefits
Many employers just like you make the error of simply mandating tool use. They simply declare that the business has invested in new digital software and that employees are required to start using new tools as a matter of contractual obligation.
This ignores the important rule of properly including employees in the conversation and taking them on any new venture with you. For a new tool to be adopted willingly and positively, it’s important to highlight the benefits it will provide not only to the company but the employee themselves.
If a new digital tool will reduce an employee’s workload, let them know. If it will reduce human error and thus decrease an employee’s risk of making a mistake, let them know. If it will free up an employee’s time for other, more exciting, tasks, let them know.
Your employees will value your investment in software that improves their jobs and appreciate you keeping them in the loop about tool adoption. Plus, low employee engagement costs the global economy US$8.8 trillion, and so keeping employees informed is vital in boosting efficiency and profit.
Ensure support is easy to access
Not every employee will adopt new tools quickly. For some of your staff, it will take them significantly longer to adapt to changing software. As a small business owner, it’s important to be patient with all your employees and ensure that technical support is available throughout the adoption process and beyond.
There are two key methods through which to achieve this. Firstly, make sure that a member of your technical support team is prioritising software learning and equip them to manage an influx of support tickets about the new tool.
While most support for a new piece of software or system will be required during the rollout, technical staff will need to be able to provide ongoing support to existing employees and be on hand for new staff members who join your small business.
Alongside this, it’s wise to create or source how-to resources for the new tool you’re rolling out. The new software or system itself may include how-to guides or you could request that your technical support team create these for distribution among your employees.
If you find that workshops are an effective way of training staff in your workplace, use employee scheduling to plan who will attend classes and when. These seminars should be led by the same technical support expert who will act as the main point of contact for those requiring assistance.
Remember to diversify the resources you make to ensure that they’re engaging and suit different learning styles within your organisation. Ensure that you invest in well-designed software that is easy to set up, giving the staff member responsible for technical support plenty of time to create how-to guides and provide ongoing support.
Provide opportunities for feedback
As a small business owner, it’s vital to realise that, in most cases, your employees will come to have a better understanding of new tools than you. That’s why it’s so important to gather their feedback.
As the ones who will actually be using the system, your staff will be locating glitches and shortcuts. Formally acknowledging these incidents is important in fixing problems and boosting efficiency, and so enabling opportunities for feedback benefits everybody in the business.
User feedback, especially concerning glitches, helps to drive software development—improving tools for both your business and the wider industry.
Following these simple and inexpensive methods will ensure that you experience a smooth and effective tool adoption period, making investment in new systems and software hassle-free.