When you’re introducing a new technology that promises to increase productivity and make everyone’s work easier, it’s tempting to assume that everyone is on board. But the reality is people tend to resist change, at least initially, even when a change is in their rational best interest. That’s why you need to keep the needs of both early adopters and technophobes in mind to improve user adoption with technology initiatives.
Ideally, you want to accommodate valuable personnel who need more time to adjust to new technologies without holding the larger organization back in terms of productivity. For example, if you’ve recently implemented SharePoint 2013, some portion of organization is probably avoiding this new tool subconsciously, while others may be outspoken in their resistance to it. Are you able to force employees to use this new software, and is that likely to be successful in the long run? Probably not. But with the right combination of software and workflow integration, you don’t have to force technology laggards to change.
Someone doesn’t want to use SharePoint? No problem. The functionalities of Office 365 include OneDrive for Business and document sync throughout SharePoint, which means users are able to sync SharePoint document library site structures to the desktop. Once these documents are synced to a user’s hard drive, people who are more comfortable accessing their documents the way they have been, through a folder structure or an application like Word, are able to access their documents the same exact way they used to.
So, how does allowing people to stick to old ways improve productivity? Partly, it’s because this sync means even the laggards are participating in the new system, whether they’re aware of the difference or not. Laggards end up working on the same files as the early adopters, who may want to set attributes on the documents and use the additional SharePoint features. These different types of users are able to work together in the ways they find most comfortable, while allowing some to take advantage of features beyond those provided in a normal file-sharing system.
This practical middle road helps to reduce duplication of efforts and confusion, and it keeps slower learners from causing productivity problems. If you don’t offer some sort of a bridge to the new technology, the laggards have a propensity to dig in their heels and complain, frustrating early adopters and possibly derailing a new technology initiative.
Of course, there’s no simple black-and-white divide between people who resist new technology and people who rally to it. Valuable employees lead in a variety of ways without being proactive about adopting new productivity platforms. Leaders in other areas of the company may be followers when it comes to a new technology; if you make them feel comfortable that they’re doing their part, it makes everyone else’s life easier. And that’s good enough to drive an overall productivity gain, as a majority of people build momentum and carry the adoption forward.
Learn more about helping your organization leverage today’s digital workplace capabilities by contacting Portal Solutions.
