Change is scary. Especially when it takes time and money. But, let’s be honest. Change also means growth, in business and life. Changing or adopting technology is daunting, but the right solution can positively impact your team.
New technology can mean increased collaboration, productivity or even profit, and a slew of other benefits. Lucky for you, we’ve taken the guesswork out of getting your team to adopt and use new tech.
1. What’s your WHY?
Adapting to any change is tough, and changing the way your team works is not easy. Before you invite everyone to access the new technology, make sure you have a compelling answer to “why.” Your team needs to understand why you’re incorporating a new technology and what’s in it for them. Establishing a solid reason why and outlining clear benefits will keep your team motivated.
First, envision success. Imagine your ideal world where your team is fully using the new tech and what you’ll achieve. Ask:
- What goals will this new tech help you achieve?
- What are your priorities?
- What projects will you work on in the new tech?
- What processes will you run in the new tech?
Next, identify clear pain points the new tech will help solve. Make sure these pain points resonate with your team. For example:
After identifying what success looks like using the new tech and what pain points it’s solving, write out your WHY, a.k.a. your goal feabie uygulaması statement. For example:
As a property management team, we want to use this technology as a single place to manage work and communication with tenants, prospects and vendors and easily collaborate as a team. We’ll know this is successful when our team uses the new tech daily to get work done.
2. Design your adoption plan
Now that you know your purpose for using the new technology, it’s time to create an adoption plan. The plan should set expectations and give your team a timeline, with a clear go live date so you can gauge if adoption is on track. HINT HINT: You can create this as a board in Aptly with tasks for each step.
- Looping in influential stakeholders (team leads, executives) that can promote and reinforce technology use.
- Picking the first process you want to try in the new tech.
- Inviting teammates to the new tech.
- Having a kickoff meeting to set expectations and announce that you’re trying a new technology.
- Establishing a clear go live date and timeline with key milestones. For example, everyone will complete a specific action in the new tech by week 2.
3. Pick your first process
With your plan ready to go, roll out your new technology to a test team of people first, before inviting your entire team. The specific process you try depends on your team, but aim to pick a process that:
After you’ve set up your account and established your first process, teammates should play around with the new tech to get familiar with features.
Once your test team is ready, invite your whole team and host a kickoff meeting to cover the information from step one and introduce them to the new tech and your first process.
4. Build Healthy Habits
Make sure to train your team on how to use the new tech. Most technology solutions offer training like webinars, live sessions, help articles, videos or product tours. Share these training resources with your team and ask them to learn about the tech. Consider using an engaging training format like a “Lunch and Learn” to encourage a sense of community and a positive environment.
As your team gets up and running, create and enforce conventions for how to use the new tech. That way, people feel comfortable they’re “doing it right” and everybody agrees on the “right way.”
Some teams hit roadblocks, not because their team can’t learn to use the features, but because they’re not sure when and why to use them. Establish conventions that address when, why and who does what in the new tech.
5. Maintain engagement and expand use
If you follow the steps above, your team should be well on their way to adopting the new tech. When you’re ready, reflect back on what you wrote in step one and see how you’re tracking. Did you accomplish your goal? Are new processes running smoothly? How effective is the new tech relative to your expectations?
If you’ve been successful and completed your timeline, communicate your wins and progress to your executive stakeholders. Now that you’ve nailed your first process, your team can start expanding their use by adding more processes and using additional features.
With an effective plan in place to drive technology adoption, your team is well equipped to handle any new software. Sign up for a demo with Aptly to see how your team can create positive change in your organization.
Not using Aptly?
Aptly is a task management tool specifically designed for property teams. We integrate task boards with your inbox, phone, and property management software (PMS) giving teams a single place to collaborate and manage all work.
Contact us to get a free trial of Aptly and learn more about the future of work for property teams.