Most of them were very much aware of the Salesforce capabilities, even before the implementation. Due to that awareness, the business leaders often shared Cloud Orca’s enthusiasm for Salesforce technology. However, we have also witnessed how getting the company workforce to share the same feelings, is a task within itself.
The truth is – some people don’t like change, even when the change is for the absolute best. Moreover, implementing a new CRM or MAP system is an enormous change for end-users. And since low system adoption rate can have a massive negative impact on the business, we believe it’s critical to talk about it.
When the issue is out in the open, we can finally start addressing it and think of the best approach to solve it.
So what do we mean when we say user adoption?
User adoption or user onboarding is the process of settling into the new technology. User adoption includes educating the users on the new solution, training them and getting them used to it. This way the impact of the technology on the business can be maximised.
When users start to adapt to the new system – aside from having to change their usual routines – it also means they have a lot to learn. This steep learning curve, understandably, from a user’s point of view looks like – work.
They would have to attend workshops, get trained, spend time shadowing someone, and none of this sounds particularly appealing. We see statistics constantly confirming how companies struggle to get the users to fully adapt to new technology solutions. Even today, when CRM’s are universally accepted as a must-have tool for all business types, the adoption process keeps lagging behind.
CSO Insights has published a study in which they shared how only 47% of study participants reported an adoption rate of greater than 90%. We firmly believe it’s vital to notice the signs of adoption hiccups early on and address them accordingly.
Aside from training your workforce on the new system, there are several things you could do.
Here, we bring you five tips on how to achieve a high user adoption rate and maximise your system for business success.
5 tips to get users to adopt the new technology
1. Prepare a user adoption strategy
Having a plan on how the new technology will be adopted is something most people overlook. In this instance, we often see how training and onboarding are done just so the team leaders can tick a box and move on. However, having a user adoption strategy is something that will keep you focused on the final goal and save you a lot of pain in the process.
Get familiar with Salesforce educational materials and industry best practices to create a clear and efficient user adoption strategy.
2. Get your users excited about the new technology
As mentioned above, the users tend to dislike the idea of change along with the extra work they have to put in to get used to it. So, how do you avoid the displeasure? Make it fun!
Have a company-wide event, come up with fun incentives or team competitions. Reward the innovative use of the new system, and you will see adoption rise steadily.
3. Explain to the users why they should care about the new system
Simply generating buzz around the new technology is not enough, you must get the users buy-in as well.
First, come up with convincing answers to the following user questions:
- Why should I care?
- How will this impact me?
And then, communicate the answers to your end-users.
4. Support the users in the adoption process
Supporting the users in the process of adoption is crucial; otherwise, you might see the enthusiasm die out after a short period of time.
Provide a safe space where the users can share challenges and objections. A lot of companies use Salesforce Chatter for this exact purpose of connecting the workforce.
Give the high performing users time and space where they can discuss how the system can be used for the company benefit. Act on the feedback your users provide by creating best practice how-tos and user success stories.
5. Track the adoption metrics
Most companies come up with their own metrics on user adoption. For this purpose, you can monitor the discussions, have a user survey or simply pull a report from the system. The critical thing to remember is – tracking is necessary.
To get a better insight into user adoption, you can use the new system to track the following metrics:
- User activity: User login and account completion
- User engagement: Calls documented, time taken to complete something
- Number of duplicate data entries
After a while, your metrics should evolve, just like the use of the system.
Conclusion
We believe how user adoption is highly important to your digital transformation, which is why we will keep emphasising it to our clients.
After all, what good is an effective CRM system if its features are misused or ignored?
If you struggle to get your users to adopt the new technology, reach out to our team.
We have achieved great success with our clients so far and would love to share our wisdom with you.
