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Taking control of your organization’s adoption of a new software enables your users to succeed and positions your program to accomplish the goals you have outlined.
In this article:
As your partner in recognition, Semos Cloud has taken the experience of millions of users and identified 5 practices we view as essential when laying the groundwork for your recognition platform’s successful adoption into your company’s daily life and culture. These practices are communicating your vision, planning and budgeting for adoption, developing ambassadors to champion the new software, providing accessible training, and finally, the periodic check-in on employee engagement.
Communication Vision
No two recognition programs are the same and no two organizations implementing a recognition software have the same culture. Your approach to adoption requires the incorporation of unique, organization specific elements to be truly successful. As you work to define your vision and build your own adoption plan, there are a few questions you should ask yourself:
- Have you defined and put words to your vision for this program?
- What does successful recognition look like to you?
- How will you know when your platform is successful?
- How will you communicate these ideas to members of your leadership team?
- How do you communicate the value of employee engagement to these stakeholders?
- How will you communicate these ideas to all members of your organization?
Cultivate Sponsorship and Champions
One point that is consistent across every piece of research done on the subject of adoption is the instruction to develop product ambassadors; influential individuals in your organization who can drive adoption. While executive buy-in is important, this champion sponsorship is critical. Identifying champions does not have to be a difficult task and should be done in collaboration with senior leaders around the organization.
The champions chosen should be representative of your organization as a whole and should include employees from all departments and levels. These individuals need to be able to influence usage of the software at all levels. While managers and employees in company leadership may certainly be chosen, consider high performers and those who are looked up to on their respective teams as potential champions for your software. Select those who have strong communication skills and who are proven networkers. You want champions who will be early adopters in your recognition technology, who will lead by example, and who will eagerly assist users with software questions.
Plan and Budget for Adoption
Take steps to defend against natural recoil from a proposed change of process by anticipating the way your organization will react. This is done by outlining how your training efforts will be approached and funded. Successful deployment of any action is fought and won in the planning stages. During this planning stage, we recommend discussing the following points with your team:
- Define success - what metrics will you rely on as you evaluate the success of your JobPts platform?
- Determine time and budget - how much time does your team have to work on this project? Who will own which areas of adoption? What funds are available for utilization as you train employees and reinforce process change?
- Identify the product support network - who and what will you make available to employees who have questions about the new technology?
- Finalize target dates to transition - how long will the adoption period last? When will you transition from training to maintaining?
Develop and Provide Training
Making trainings available in several mediums will improve employee engagement as employees seek out methods of learning that match their preferred learning styles. Recorded walkthroughs, marketing pamphlets, and one-on-one or team walkthroughs are the most common methods used to train employees in the initial roll-out of the JobPts software. We strongly recommend incorporating the Why, What, and How of recognition into your trainings.
- The Why of Recognition – This principle is tied closely with your vision for your recognition program. Help your managers and employees understand what you are setting out to accomplish, why it matters, and how their day-to-day experience will improve by utilizing this tool.
- The What of Recognition – This principle is the substance of the recognition. What makes a workplace recognition truly meaningful? This is one of the most important topics to cover with your managers as you train them on successful recognition. The what of recognition is a training topic that should be refreshed often in your managers’ minds. Incorporate the following four vital elements of that recognition needs to be tied to values, to be earned, to be timely, and to be sincere.
- The How of Recognition – This principle covers the functional knowledge an employee or manager needs to successfully navigate the JobPts platform to recognize their peers and employees. Trainings for this final step should be tailored to the individual programs and roles available in your platform. Work closely with our customer success team as you build this ‘how’ module.
Periodic Program Evaluations
Scheduling periodic check-ins on program health and platform operation is the final piece of our critical adoption practices. During initial trainings and program launch, there may be an elevated level of excitement surrounding the software’s rollout. On average, it takes about three months for an organization to correct and see a standard develop for their platform’s usage. At this three month mark, we recommend working with our customer success team to assess the initial health of your program using several platform usage reports.
Using the data collected, work with your account manager to make critical adjustments to ensure the continued success of your platform. This review may outline needed revisions in trainings or highlight the users’ desire for expanded redemption options. Whatever the identified pain points may be, by taking the temperature of your program early on and identifying possible issues, any required adjustments to your platform will be more easily implemented and adopted by your users when done soon after the launch of the platform.
In addition to using platform usage data generated by the JobPts software, we recommend conducting surveys with your employees to uncover what they enjoy most about the platform and what they would like to see improved. Is there a demand for expanded recognition program types? Do employees need additional training resources developed?
Utilize these platform usage reports and employee surveys to ensure you have all the information you need as you make decisions about your organization’s recognition program. Whether you would like to design and schedule a survey, learn more about specific platform functions, or discuss industry benchmarks, our customer success team will be happy to help.
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