5 Ways To Integrate New Workplace Technology Without Disrupting Work Productivity
As a business, the best software for your needs is constantly evolving. You may find new software that better meets your company’s best practices, or your business may grow, requiring a more robust piece of technology. For example, a product like Microsoft Dynamic 365 can help share data throughout an entire organization – but not everyone within your company may understand why a new approach is necessary. After all, whenever you implement something new, you run the risk of disrupting work productivity. The good news is this disruption can be mitigated or eliminated if you plan carefully.
Communication
Communicating with your team is always essential. Give them plenty of notice about the new rollout, and let them know how it will affect them. Will systems be down a day? Will staff need to migrate to the new system immediately? Let them know what to expect.
Find Your Advocates
Every technology has early adopters, people who are thrilled to get a chance to take the new tech out for a spin. Identify these people within your organisation and get them excited. They’ll help to build company-wide enthusiasm.
It may be worthwhile to consider a managed IT solution such as Productiv, to help you communicate with your staff and advocate for the benefits of technology upgrades.
Be Clear About Benefits
It’s easier to deal with change when you know why it’s happening. Let your employees know what benefits you expect to see from this new piece of technology. Will it make their job easier? Can it give customers a more concise view of their accounts or requests? How will it unify departments and break down silos, letting sales see what customer service needs and vice versa? Will it speed up systems across the board?
The more concrete benefits you can share with your teams, the more likely they are to stay engaged with the roll-out. This will keep their productivity high.
Give Adequate Training
This cannot be stressed enough. If your workers are moving to a new system, you absolutely must give them enough training to understand the system. It’s important to know your individual workers; one person may learn after one demonstration and another might need several examples to grasp the concepts. A third might think they understand immediately, but need more training. Know what to expect from your employees and plan training sessions accordingly.
Demonstrate Results Early and Often
You expect to get great results from your new tech, or you wouldn’t be phasing it in. When you see those results, tell your employees! Let them see how their workflow is improving, where the efficiencies are happening, and what’s going more smoothly. If specific employees are sharing stories of how the new system is helping them do their jobs, ask them to share those stories widely.
Implementation of new tech is always challenging, but with planning, communication, and training, you can make sure that workflow is hardly affected – if at all.
