It’s not just Adoption but both Adoption AND Usage you should be measuring!

Let’s start with this … too many Change Managers and by extension, the organisations they serve continue to treat Adoption as the single barometer of change success. You know, a typical tick in the box and job done. But NO, it’s not done, not by a long shot.

Adoption ≠ Usage — here’s why that matters

Let’s get definitions out of the way first.

Why focusing on Adoption alone is dangerous

Here’s what happens when you measure only adoption:

• You get false positives … people may log in once and never return. You think the change is “adopted,” but you’re not seeing the dropout rate.

• You miss value leakage … if someone “adopts” a new process but still does 70% of their work the old way, the benefits realisation evaporates — silently.

• You reward the wrong metrics … dashboards light up green, sponsors celebrate, and change teams disband… while the actual business outcome lags far behind.

• You don’t identify retraining or reinforcement needs … because you’re not looking at actual performance, only initial buy-in.

For the sake of repetition:

It’s the same in real life so why ignore it at work?

We understand this distinction intuitively in our everyday lives. Think about:

• Gym memberships ... signing up (adoption) is easy but going 3 x a week for six months (usage) is the hard part.

• New software ... we download the app. That’s adoption, but if we never explore its features, integrate it into our workflow, or rely on it so we haven’t truly used it.

• Hybrid cars ... you might “adopt” one for its green credentials but if you drive it in petrol-only mode because you never charge it, the intended benefit is lost.

If we know this as consumers and citizens, why do we forget it as professionals?

Why Change Managers keep getting it wrong

Let me ruffle a few feathers (as I like to do) by saying Change Managers (and often their Project Sponsors) are still seduced by Adoption only because:

• It’s easier to measure … Adoption can be seen on Day 1 but Usage takes time, effort, and patience.

• It aligns with project deadlines … “We hit go-live and people logged in” is a lovely milestone, but usage usually starts after the project ends after Change Managers have left the building.

• It makes for cleaner reporting … Adoption rates are binary e.g. yes or no, however Usage is fuzzy e.g. how often, how deep, how well?

But convenience isn’t an excuse because, as a profession, we’re letting ourselves off the hook.

The dual metric mindset: what to measure and how

So how can we move to a dual-metric mindset, you know, the one that values both adoption and usage?

1. Define Success Early and Clearly

At the outset of the change, ask:

•  What does adoption look like? (e.g., attending training, logging into the new system, completing onboarding)

• What does usage look like? (e.g., completing key tasks in the new system, retiring old processes, achieving proficiency levels)

• Make it role-specific. A Finance user might need to complete a monthly close in the new ERP system. A Sales rep might need to log 90% of their calls in the CRM.

2. Use behavioural metrics, not just activity logs

Look beyond surface-level logins and measure things like:

• Frequency and depth of system use

• Completion of real-world tasks in the new environment

• Number of helpdesk calls related to new processes (falling numbers may indicate rising proficiency)

• Time to complete key tasks pre- and post-change

• Peer-to-peer help or mentoring behaviour (often a sign of embedded change)

3. Track longitudinal progress

Usage is a long game so you need:

• Pulse checks 30, 60, 90, 180 days post-implementation

• Surveys or interviews assessing confidence, barriers, and workaround behaviour

• Data triangulation (e.g., compare usage analytics with qualitative feedback)

 4. Reinforce and re-train

Many Change Managers stop reinforcing once adoption is achieved which is a mistake.

• People need time to unlearn old behaviours.

• Reinforcement should include nudges, coaching, and performance support tools.

• Celebrate deep usage, not just early compliance.

• Usage in the Context of Business Readiness

5. Combine both Adoption and Usage

In the article in which I explored the idea of combining Business Readiness with Adoption and Usage into a unified measurement framework I suggested why?

Because readiness is not just about willingness or awareness, rather it’s about capability, support structures, and momentum and that’s where usage really tells the story.

Let’s say a business unit reports 95% readiness and 90% adoption … sounds great, right? But if only 40% of users are actually using the new system as intended after three months, your business readiness was either overstated or not sustained.

What the change profession needs to do differently

It’s time to stop treating Usage as the forgotten cousin of Adoption because change success depends on both. So here’s what we need to do differently:

1. Reframe Adoption as a gateway, not a goal … Adoption is not the end of the journey. It’s the start of usage. Change teams must build measurement plans that track the full lifecycle.

2. Educate Sponsors and Stakeholders … we need to help executives understand that adoption alone doesn’t deliver ROI. Just like buying a Ferrari and leaving it in the garage doesn’t win any races.

3. Build Usage into the Business Case … link usage metrics to actual business value. For example:

• “80% usage of the new digital workflow will reduce processing time by 30%”

• “Full usage of the CRM will enable predictive sales analytics”

• “Embedded usage will reduce manual workarounds and compliance risk”

Remember Usage = outcome.

4. Hold Change Managers accountable for more than go-live … we must redefine the role. If a Change Manager walks away after adoption, we’re missing the critical stage of entrenchment, where real change is won or lost.

Stop settling for half the story

Adoption without Usage is like buying a book and never reading it. You may own the change, but you haven’t lived it. We’ve all seen change programs declared “successful” because people clicked a button or attended a training session only for old behaviours to resurface weeks later. So come on fellow Change Managers let’s stop measuring applause at the launch party and let’s start measuring the encore. That’s what Usage is.

Over to you:

•  Are you measuring both Adoption and Usage in your change initiatives?

• What metrics have helped you see the difference?

• Have you ever celebrated early success, only to realise Usage never took off?

Agree, disagree, challenge but please don’t tell me Adoption is enough. I won’t buy it and tbh neither should you.

Don't think about it ...