Influence culture to drive user adoption
OBSERVATION
People often talk about corporate culture but they really don’t know how to sufficiently explain / define it, how to influence it, or how it can influence an IT project implementation. You may have tried to define what the culture of your client’s organization is today, but have you given thought to the readiness of your client’s organization to accept a new technology? You should, as this readiness is a key influencing aspect of your culture, and will influence the adoption of the technology you are implementing (User Adoption).Low adoption of the technology will keep the organization from getting the most value out of its investment. Without driving adoption, you might see:
- Limited usage of the new technology
- Users expressing frustration and difficulty with the new system
- Poor performance results at the individual and division level Let’s think about the technology implementation for your client. You may encounter resistance to the new technology.
- Leadership: Do leaders promote and support the new technology?
- Processes: Are there multiple or conflicting processes in the way?
- Training: Are staff properly trained, including and beyond technical training?
- Project overload: Are there simultaneous projects competing for end-users’ time and attention?
CONSIDER THIS
If your client’s technology is great but the level of readiness to apply the technology is low, you will not see much user adoption. In the below diagram, one can see a direct correlation between organizational readiness and end-user adoption. Your goal is to focus on increasing readiness by utilizing and acting on the assessment criteria stated above. This will put you on the way to creating a culture of increased readiness and improved user adoption, the goal for any technology implementation. 
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Have you thought about user readiness for new technology when trying to assess the culture of an organization?RELATED RESOURCES
Check out these other resources for more information related to this topic:- Take the Tri Tuns User Adoption Challenge - a free online assessment tool
- Read: “Accelerating User Adoption”
- Read: “Motivating User Adoption: Commitment, Compliance Or Wiifm?”
How to sustain high CRM User Adoption
OBSERVATION
We have found that the best way for organizations to “boost” and then “sustain” high CRM user adoption is to develop and implement a comprehensive user adoption strategy. Most CRM failures occur when organizations take a Go-Live centric approach to CRM (on-time & on-budget delivery of technology) without taking the necessary actions to drive and sustain user adoption over the life of the system.
It is important to recognize that user adoption is all about changing user behaviors; it is not about technology. The skills and methods you use to change behavior are very different than those required to build and deliver effective CRM systems. This means that the people who lead and manage your CRM system implementation may not be (and probably are not) the right people to lead the user adoption program.
CONSIDER THIS
Here are some (though not all) key elements of a CRM user adoption program:-
ASSIGN OWNERSHIP FOR CRM ADOPTION - Give a senior executive overall accountability, authority, and required resources to drive and sustain CRM adoption. Make this a meaningful portion of the executive’s performance & bonus criteria to ensure they are properly motivated to put in the time and resources required to make the CRM project a success.
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DEFINE CRM SUCCESS – Define success in terms of user adoption, business value creation, and ROI. Determine specific CRM success measures (quantitative and qualitative) and align all employees’ performance management plans (and rewards) to these goals.
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ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS – Conduct a comprehensive analysis of your organization to identify all of the key factors that encourage or inhibit CRM adoption. This includes looking at policies, processes, reward systems, communication activities, job descriptions, leadership, and existing user attitudes and behaviors. Use this information to shape your overall CRM adoption strategy.
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SHIFT FROM "USER RESISTANCE" TO "REMOVE BARRIERS" – Make clear distinctions between instances of user resistance vs. organizational barriers that prevent adoption. Many people fall in the trap of “blaming the users” for not adopting CRM when often times there are organizational barriers – that fall outside of the users’ control – that prevent users from adopting the CRM system.
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FACILITATE ADOPTION – Take specific actions before, during, and after go-live to facilitate full and effective user adoption. Communications and training are necessary, but not even close to sufficient, for driving effective user adoption. (This is an example where you may need a different skill set to drive adoption. If you are not sure what else you need to do to “facilitate adoption” this may mean that you do not have the right skills and/or right methodology for driving user adoption.
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Implementing an effective CRM adoption program is not easy and it does take time, resources, and User Adoption expertise. Nonetheless, with a commonly reported CRM failure rate near 70%, it is clear that organizations need to take action to protect their CRM investments. In the future, you will find more organizations implementing comprehensive CRM user adoption programs as part of all CRM initiatives.RELATED RESOURCES
Check out these other resources for more information related to this topic:- Check out MyUserAdoptionPlan.com - an all-in-one User Adoption Portal
- Take the Tri Tuns User Adoption Challenge - a free online assessment tool
- Read: “What is IT "Success"?
Can’t I Just Email Them? Why User Adoption cannot occur remotely.
OBSERVATION
Do you remember when there was no email system? When you had only two choices of either meeting by phone or in person to conduct business? As amazing as technology is – along with its conveniences – it also has the potential to take away value that we otherwise would get from more direct means of communication. Consultants especially lose value when they interact with their clients primarily through email. Not only can a consultant lose time awaiting client responses, that consultant does not get the opportunity to explore a more accurate assessment of a client’s current state, in order to provide the best recommended solution.CONSIDER THIS
Generally, a consultant’s success can be measured in three main categories:- How accurately the consultant has assessed the client’s current situation.
- How much trust the consultant has built with the client to accept the consultant’s recommendations.
- How well and quickly the consultant can execute all aspects of the contract (assessment, recommendations, development, delivery, etc.).
Category 1: Assessment Email correspondences provide a very narrow perspective of the client situation. A good consultant assesses a client’s current situation through a variety of mechanisms, in order to form a complete understanding of what the client will ultimately need for the consultant to help them. This variety of data gathering mechanisms (known as triangulation) includes surveys, interviews with client members, project team meetings, review of client documentation, among others. As emails may only share the perspective of a couple client members, the alternative/additional mechanisms gather insight from multiple client members; a truer picture of the client situation is revealed.
Category 2: Trust in Recommendations Once the consultant has a better understanding of the client’s true needs, the consultant can propose a more specific recommendation(s) unique to that client. However, what is to assure the client will agree to such recommendations? This is where trust is key. Have you ever formed a relationship - rooted in trust - via email? Of course not, the basis of all relationships occur through repeated conversations and in a variety of venues – mainly in person. The same is true when forming trust with clients. Working with clients more directly and in person allows the consultant a chance to learn about the client; but it also provides the client to learn about the consultant. The more the client understands the consultant’s intentions and feels the consultant understands their situation, the more likely the client will accept the consultant’s recommendations. The goal is achieved!
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
As you think about your daily consulting practice – particularly when you are assessing a client’s situation or are developing particular client recommendations: 1. How much time passes between the back-and-forth emails that could be quickly resolved by a phone call or meeting? 2. What level of insight are you getting about your client’s situation through email correspondences vs. alternate means of communication? 3. Note the level of acceptance to your recommendations vs. “push-back” you receive from your clients when interacting face-to-face vs. email. What is the ratio difference?RELATED RESOURCES
Check out these other resources for more information related to this topic:- Take the Tri Tuns User Adoption Challenge - a free online assessment tool
- Read: “Does Your User Adoption Methodology Remove Barriers To Adoption?"
Why User Adoption activities should start before go-live
OBSERVATION
CONSIDER THIS
Completion of technical system build does not equate to business nor system success. The system may be ready for use, but the organization may not be ready to use it. New systems often bring new functionality, and this leads to new processes. Organizational practices need revising to align with using the new system, and these changes affect user performance with the new system.THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Which is the higher priority? Getting the system live on time, or getting the organization prepared to use the system as designed? If the answer is both, then your project team must include pre go-live activities that address both needs.RELATED RESOURCES
Check out these other resources for more information related to this topic:- Check out MyUserAdoptionPlan.com - an all-in-one User Adoption Portal
- Take the Tri Tuns User Adoption Challenge - a free online assessment tool
- Read: “Does Your User Adoption Methodology Remove Barriers To Adoption?”
- Read: “The Myth Of User Resistance”
Return on Relationships
OBSERVATION
It is a common trap on many IT projects that team members are so focused on ensuring project “success” (typically defined as on-time and on-budget delivery) that team members forget the critical importance of developing and maintaining effective relationships. Ironically, forgoing the relationship building elements of the project (e.g. developing trust, ensuring effective project team interaction, etc.) often causes project delays, disagreements, and quality problems which ultimately lead to the project running late, over budget, or otherwise being deemed a failure.When project teams skip the critical step of building effective relationships:
- Project timelines are increased due to extensive time being wasted resolving disagreements, such as different views on scope of work, bugs vs. enhancements and performance measurements
- Stakeholders are unwilling to divulge important information with consultants and/or internal project team members, leading to ineffective solutions being developed and implemented
- Problems slowly escalate and disagreements become more intense as the project go-live date nears.
CONSIDER THIS
Investing time and energy to develop effective, trusting relationships with team members, clients, partners and others will deliver benefits that far exceed the costs. This is realized through proactive collaboration and teamwork, streamlined problem resolution, improved customer satisfaction, increased referrals and references, and maintaining long-term, profitable relationships (a positive Return on Relationships). Project team members should view time spent relationship building as an investment that will deliver future benefits. The perceived benefits of skipping or short-changing relationship building efforts are much lower than the very real costs when the project encounters the inevitable stress and disagreements that emerge (a negative Return on Relationships).THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
- Do you typically have a positive or negative Return on Relationships? What could you do to ensure you have a positive Return on Relationships? What additional benefits would you get from spending more time developing positive relationships with each stakeholder? What problems could be avoided by doing so?
- Do your project team members know how to develop effective relationships? Can they repair damaged relationships? Are they comfortable working with clients? Other departments? Senior executives? Many times project team members are great subject matter experts in their field, but they do not know how to develop and maintain effective professional relationships. Team members – even senior members – may need help learning to develop productive professional relationships.
- What can you do to build trust with each stakeholder? Trust is the ultimate tool for relationships. This tool can neither be granted nor created during a single meeting; it is built slowly and steadily over time through repeated interactions. What can you do to ensure that once it is earned, you maintain the trust of others?
RELATED RESOURCES
Check out these other resources for more information related to this topic:- Take the Tri Tuns User Adoption Challenge - a free online assessment tool
- Read: “Leadership: Are You Really Committed?”
- Read: “Does Your User Adoption Methodology Remove Barriers To Adoption?”
- Read: “Motivating User Adoption: Commitment, Compliance or WIIFM?”
- Read: “The Myth Of User Resistance”
Resistance is a Judgment, Not an Action
OBSERVATION
When talking about user adoption of major IT systems – CRM, ERP, HRIS, etc – at some point the discussion always focuses on overcoming “user resistance”. When I probe deeper and ask clients to define exactly what they mean by “user resistance” (what form it takes, what causes it, and what they do to “overcome” it) they often struggle to provide specific answers. If we cannot accurately articulate the problem, how can we recognize and solve it?The term “user resistance” has become a vague concept - a convenient short-hand of sorts – that is used to justify poor user adoption. Implicit in this term are the ideas that 1.) user adoption is solely at the discretion of the end-user and 2.) if the end-user does not adopt your system it is an act of defiance. If you accept this to be true, it follows that the responsibility for overcoming user resistance lies completing at the feet of the end-user. This just isn’t true.
In a previous blog entry on leadership, I shared the quote, “We judge others by their actions, but we judge ourselves by our intentions.” When discussing user resistance it is very important to recognize that we observe discrete actions (user behaviors), but it is not until we assign our judgment that they become “user resistance”.
When we judge an action to be “user resistance” it has serious implications:
- It blames the user. By shifting responsibility for IT adoption from the implementation & management team to the end-user, we have created a convenient scapegoat if the system is deemed a failure.
- It helps us save face. By focusing all the attention on the users, we don’t need to examine where we might have done something wrong or lacked the skills to perform our jobs.
- It creates blind-spots. Our approach to change management might have been inappropriate, and as a result we might have ignored barriers to adoption that fall outside the users’ control. These organizational barriers could be what are preventing users from adopting the system.
- It ignores root-causes & contributing factors. Focusing on user behaviors may cause us to miss other technical, organizational, functional, process, data, or other factors that prevent user adoption.
CONSIDER THIS
Whenever the label “user resistance” is assigned, this is a signal that YOU have more work to do.- Stop and clarify what are the specific actions you observed.
- Identify what made you determine that these are instances of “resistance”.
- Determine if there are other explanations or contributing factors for these actions. Share your observations with the actual end-users and ask for their help in understanding what caused the behaviors, while requesting specific alternative behaviors they should take in the future.
- Look at other issues, contributing factors, and root-causes for undesirable behavior
- Find new solutions where before we might not have seen alternatives
- Take ownership and action for driving user adoption – without abdicating this responsibility to the end-users
- Help move things forward and drive success
THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
- What made you decide that the problem was “user resistance”? What specific actions/behaviors did you observe that led you to this conclusion?
- What causes the users to demonstrate this behavior? Was this an act of defiance? Were users not clear on what behavior was expected of them? Did you share your observations and suggest specific alternative actions they should take in the future?
- Are there other causes/drivers for the action (or inaction)? Are there organizational barriers that prevent users from acting as desired? Are there misaligned rewards or incentives that are encouraging the problem behavior?
- Is there something that YOU can do to change user behavior? Is there something YOU need to do differently to drive desired behavior? Is there something about your change or user adoption methodology that is encouraging the behavior that you labeled “resistance”?
RELATED RESOURCES
Check out these other resources for more information related to this topic:- Take the Tri Tuns User Adoption Challenge - a free online assessment tool
- Read: “Leadership: Are You Really Committed?”
- Read: “Does Your User Adoption Methodology Remove Barriers To Adoption?”
- Read: “Motivating User Adoption: Commitment, Compliance or WIIFM?”
- Read: “The Myth Of User Resistance”