5 Best Practices for Getting Your Team to Adopt New HR Technology

A sponsored guest column from Devin Foster, a member of Phenom People’s product marketing team.

Investing in new HR technology is exciting—but driving adoption among team members can quickly take the wind out of the sails of even its biggest supporters. Luckily, this doesn’t have to be the case if the right people are involved from the start. 

Before choosing a solution provider, HR teams partake in a thorough vetting process—attending demos, consulting with other departments and finding room in their budget. Unfortunately, a critical group is often overlooked until after the contract is signed: the employees who will be using the product.

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To properly implement new software and increase the odds that employees will embrace rather than abandon new technology, managers must educate their teams on how to use it, as well as the long-term value it brings. 

The Trouble with Making New Technology Stick

When employees don’t understand how they will benefit from new HR software such as a CRM or experience management platform for talent, it’s easy for it to fall by the wayside. 

First, there’s the threat of technology fatigue. Companies that frequently switch tools have to  overcome the perception that this is “just another flavor of the month” product forced on employees. Then there’s the issue of time spent learning something new.

Whether employees lack the bandwidth required for training or simply feel indifferent about using new software, the repercussions are costly. Not only does this prevent a company from experiencing a return on its investment, it also prevents improvements to efficiency and productivity. 

So what do employees need to help them overcome these challenges? One study found that there are three key motivators to using technology:

• It helps them advance their careers or gain status (37 percent)
• It promises to improve efficiency and teamwork (34 percent)
• It helps them do their work more easily (29 percent)

But employees won’t get there on their own. Direction and education need to come from the top down. 

Getting Buy-In Through Consistent Messaging and Relevant Training  

To drive adoption of new HR technology, consider creating platform training and employee engagement initiatives that encourage long-term use. These five best practices can help get you started.

1. Launch a “training champion” program. From the start, focus on unifying the team. Whether it’s a large global brand with hundreds of HR practitioners or a small group, it’s critical that everyone hears the same consistent message. One way to do this is by creating a training program that’s led by the top HR leaders in the organization. When you teach a few to become experts on the technology, they can educate their peers on how to maximize it, as well. Empowering leaders in the organization with the education, tools and resources needed to conduct personalized training for individual teams makes it possible to scale education. 
2. Provide real examples for use cases. After talent leaders become experts on the new technology, encourage them to provide authentic use cases that will resonate with their peers. This will allow them to personalize the learning experience so employees can understand exactly how they can benefit from the technology. 
3. Host regular office hours calls. After conducting initial education among teams, ongoing training and education will be just as important. Think about hosting regular calls to answer questions, talk strategy and identify where the tech is lacking in order to continue improving the experience for everyone. Whether once a week or monthly, encourage everyone to join the call to learn, share ideas and ask questions. Be sure to leave time for open discussions to keep the conversation flowing.
4. Share team success stories. To promote continued use of the tool, share individual success stories with the wider team. Not only does this drive conversations and inspire others, it reinforces the impact of technology at both the individual and organizational level. 
5. Gamify the experience. To encourage participation, consider making adoption fun. Create mini-competitions by dividing larger departments into smaller teams, and offer rewards to winners. This encourages people to use the product, promotes camaraderie and breaks down silos.

To keep the competition top of mind, send weekly or bi-weekly updates to employees so they can see where they stand. This can motivate them to improve or give them the encouragement necessary to keep up the good work. Management also gains valuable insight into who’s  adopting the tool and who’s not.  

Helping teams overcome technology adoption challenges requires dedication and time. Consistent training and communication around the benefits and successes can go a long way in not only driving usage of the tool, but also improving efficiency and productivity.  

Interested in learning more about HR tech adoption and getting teams on board? Join us at IAMPHENOM, the #1 talent experience conference! Use code HCM2020 when you buy one pass to get one free. 

Devin Foster works in product marketing at Phenom People. Previously, he worked in talent acquisition for sales and recruiting at Beacon Hill Staffing and PLS Logistics.

Phenom People is a global HR technology company with a mission to help a billion people find the right job. It does this through an AI-based SaaS platform called Talent Experience Management.

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