AMTRA Solutions

Adoption Change Management is Important! Here’s why.

An intentional and complete end user adoption and change management process will help maximize the use of new technology.


What is End User Adoption
It’s one thing to provide a new technology to end users. It's quite another to get them to use the tool, and still different for them to use the new tool proficiently. Its getting to proficiency that's the hard part, but the part that truly matters ... and where an Adoption Change Management strategy can help.

Why do you need an Adoption Change Management Process?
Some would argue that new technology should be so easy to use that no training is needed. However, any technology that offers more than simple capabilities requires education to utilize the technology to its full potential.

Yes, the user interface should be simple and intuitive. But communication and collaboration tools must meet many different types of user needs, and feature depth introduces complexity.

An intentional and complete end user adoption and change management process will help maximize the use of new technology. 

Benefits of a Formal End User Adoption Process
A formal Adoption Change Management plan can:

  • Influence (and increase) project success and perception
  • Increase user engagement
  • Reduce turnover
  • Streamline (or decrease) the burden on support staff

The Experts Agree 

Other sources agree that an adoption and change management is important to projects. 

  • Organizations with an excellent change management strategy are 6 times more likely to meet or exceed objectives. (Prosci)
  • Companies are 5 times more likely to financially outperform their peers when a good change management practice is in place. (Towers Watson
  • Businesses move twice as fast on their digital transformation journey once the staff and management collectively understand the importance of the digital path ahead. (Gartner)
  • 143% of the expected ROI is achieved from organizations with an effective change management program, while organizations with little or no change management only achieved 35% of expected ROI. (McKinsey

Increasing End User Adoption 
There are four parts to the ACM process.

1. Discovery
2.
Planning
3. Execution
4. Reinforcement

Each phase takes the user perspective into account. The process requires interviews with staff to understand their technology, communication requirements and preferences. 

The ACM process aligns with a typical project process, AND focuses on the human side of project management, rather than just the technology.

In the end, the intent of any new technology is to improve the user experience. This requires an understanding of the various ways the current technology is used, and how the new tool will impact users.

While the technical part of the transition must be done correctly, the project will ultimately fail if the new tool is not used correctly. The ACM process focuses on the users and on what is needed to promote the adoption of the new technology and ensure project success.

What's Next 
If you're about to start a technology project, or are midway through a technical implementation and need some help with an ACM plan, then send us a note.

To get a full overview of AMTRA’s ACM services, download our ACM Practice Overview.

And if you want to get to know our ACM Practitioners and learn a few free tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Microsoft 365, check out our Tech Tip Tuesday series on LinkedIn and subscribe to our YouTube channel. 

Sources:

Tim Creasey, 'Understanding Why People Resist Change', prosci.com 

'Why Change Management', prosci.com

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