The importance of user adoption and 5 steps to improve it.

Whilst flicking through my BBC News app, I came across this story of a lawyer who had a filter applied to his Zoom account and wasn't able to turn it off. The filter changed his face to that of a cat (a pretty cute one may I add), which is fine if you've joined (yet another) family quiz or an animal-themed online party (I'm not judging), but not when you're the lawyer in a virtual court case! Link here in case you missed the story.

Whilst I found this highly amusing, it did get me thinking about user adoption and the need to ensure that your organisation understands how to use the technology available to them to avoid these mishaps.

In my experience, user adoption at the start of a project is highly important, however it's seems to get instantly 'squeezed' as technology issues puts pressure on the go live date. It can be easy to start to dilute some of the initiatives that were planned to hit the go-live date and ensure the project is delivered on time, however the most important part of any enterprise software is not the functionality, performance or UI (User Interface), its user adoption - if no one is able to successfully use it, then what's the point?

So, let’s start by being clear on what I mean by user adoption. User adoption is more than just training, it’s about creating an environment where users adopt a new system which helps them realise benefit and is executed as seamlessly as possible. While this may sound "easy" it can often be more complex than that. Unfortunately, as humans we are a creature of habit, we become familiar and comfortable with systems, processes and tools and be reluctant to change, even if the new system is better than what we are using today.

So how can you successfully improve your user adoption within your organisation? Well, here are my 5 steps to help:

1. Identify and engage with your stakeholder early. Identify the key users, senior managers, and influencers early in your project so that you can start to devise their key learning objectives, which will help you get management buy-in early so that they can help support the change.

2. Recruit change champions and bring them on the journey. Look to identify a small number of "change champions" and bring them into the project as you start to develop the product and build out your training and communications strategy and collateral. Change champions are individuals who support the change and can help champion the change from "within". These individuals can be important in helping the project team gain a user perspective with regards to functionality, requirement and to help shape the change effort. More so, they can help deliver the change and drive the excitement and buzz around the change.

3. Analyse, analyse, analyse. Ensure that your user adoption team put the right processes and support in place to be able to accurately track the adoption rate of the new solution. This is more than counting the number of people who have attended a training course. User adoption goals should be established upfront, with baselines captured (where appropriate) and the systems/processes/data in place to be able to capture, analyse and track progress towards the goals. 

For example, you may be rolling out a new unified communications system and want to ensure that all users are using the new tool, rather than going back to old habits and using their old system or an alternative solution. As part of the user adoption process, the project may measure the level of engagement of the communications material sent out, the level of attendance in training, how many have signed onto the new system within x hours of being issued their credentials, etc. All the metrics along the way can act as indicators as to the level of engagement users have with the change allowing the project to make changes to their strategy in an informed manner.

4. Make it fun and engaging. Different people respond to and engage in change differently. Whilst some may prefer to have a PDF manual/user guide sent to them to read, others prefer a more interactive approach. Whatever the medium, the key is to create a buzz within the organisation and make the change engaging and fun. Some ideas on what’s worked well for me in the past:

• Live demonstrations and roadshows - there is nothing like showing users the new solutions or system and allowing them to have a play. This allows users to ask questions, get an early peak at the product and help to create a buzz which they will hopefully take back to their colleagues and get them excited about the change.
• Invite a senior executive to speak - either at a live demonstration or a pre-recorded message sent out via communications channels such as SharePoint, a message from a senior executive can be a powerful way to get attention to your project or product, and for them to help highlight the benefits and "sell the change".
• User friendly guides and training materials - Consider investing in professional change materials and collateral. Often asking the technical resources who are familiar with the product to write user guides aimed at non-technical users is not a great idea. The messages can get lost and the presentation styles may not be easily accessible. Consider bringing someone in to help develop and shape materials which will be well received by your organisation, don't forget your change champions who can provide invaluable input and feedback!

5. Don't stop! Once your project is over the line and users are successfully using the product or service don't just stop there! Consider what the on-going adoption will look like for either new features which may be available down the line, or for new joiners. Ensure that this defined and successfully handed over so that the high levels of adoption are maintained.