Full article with thanks to: forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/10/25/how-to-properly-use-data-to-boost-your-tech-adoption/?sh=76569a4e7e1c
Data has become an essential resource for companies everywhere. A recent McKinsey survey found that more than 60% of businesses from all over the world believe they need to turn themselves into digital-first enterprises through the use of data analytics. It makes sense, though I expected that number to be higher. Why? Because digital transformation in post-pandemic times is a must, I can’t think of a better way to tackle that process than a data-driven approach.
Think about it. Remember when the Covid-19 pandemic first hit, forcing a lot of companies to quickly adopt new technologies to meet the demands of a disrupted world? A lot of those processes were hurried and lacked a proper strategy. Thus, many companies saw how the technologies they adopted were useless, cost way more than they had to or completely derailed normal operations that weren’t broken to begin with.
All those failed attempts were missing a crucial factor: a data-driven strategy to support tech adoption. What does that mean? And how can you implement one in your company? Here are some of the things to keep in mind.
Respond to employees’ needs.
A recent report from Productiv found out that, on average, a company uses over 200 apps, with most departments using between 40 and 60 different applications. That means that people in an average business have to learn how to use many different tools, which implies hours of training to properly handle them.
How To Properly Use Data To Boost Your Tech Adoption
Forbes Councils Member
COUNCIL POST| Membership (Fee-Based)
Oct 25, 2022,07:30am EDT
Nacho is CEO of BairesDev, a leading nearshore tech solutions company, and General Partner at BDev Ventures, a VC fund for B2B businesses.
Data has become an essential resource for companies everywhere. A recent McKinsey survey found that more than 60% of businesses from all over the world believe they need to turn themselves into digital-first enterprises through the use of data analytics. It makes sense, though I expected that number to be higher. Why? Because digital transformation in post-pandemic times is a must, I can’t think of a better way to tackle that process than a data-driven approach.
Think about it. Remember when the Covid-19 pandemic first hit, forcing a lot of companies to quickly adopt new technologies to meet the demands of a disrupted world? A lot of those processes were hurried and lacked a proper strategy. Thus, many companies saw how the technologies they adopted were useless, cost way more than they had to or completely derailed normal operations that weren’t broken to begin with.
All those failed attempts were missing a crucial factor: a data-driven strategy to support tech adoption. What does that mean? And how can you implement one in your company? Here are some of the things to keep in mind.
Respond to employees’ needs.
A recent report from Productiv found out that, on average, a company uses over 200 apps, with most departments using between 40 and 60 different applications. That means that people in an average business have to learn how to use many different tools, which implies hours of training to properly handle them.
That fact explains why 54% of companies found that their employees are resistant to adopting new technologies—it’s hard to get accustomed to so many different technologies. Does that mean you should halt your digital adoption? Of course not. It just means that you need to consider your employees’ needs.
Consider this: Productiv also found that employees are more engaged with the apps bought and managed by their departments than with the digital technologies provisioned by IT departments. The takeaway here is clear: Each team knows best which kind of tools will work for them. Trying to impose new technologies from the top down will surely find friction, which can derail the whole process.
That’s why you need to listen to what your employees are saying about the tech you want to adopt. Their feedback is a data source you can take into consideration for further analysis. But that’s just one piece of the puzzle.
Establish measurable goals.
I’ve seen many companies that wanted to adopt a new solution or cutting-edge technology to boost their operations but without any measurable goal. It was as if those businesses wanted to get the associated benefits they were promised but without thinking about how they could measure if they were getting those benefits.
That’s why we always tell our clients that they must have a clear goal for the tech adoption itself. That goal could be anything from “expect half the company to be using a CRM in six months” to “reduce the response time of social media by half through marketing automation.” The idea is that you need an objective you can organise your tech adoption plan around.
Once you have that base goal, you can list related objectives (how many new users are adopting the solution per week, how well they are using it, etc.) that can help you better understand how your tech adoption process is going. Data is essential for that, especially if you can gather it almost in real time. By getting frequent snapshots of the adoption level in your workforce, you’ll be able to see whether you’re fulfilling your objectives or if you need to tweak something about your strategy (such as providing further training or offering better support).
Consider using a digital adoption platform.
A digital adoption platform (DAP) can be an invaluable tool when adopting new tech. That’s because this solution uses artificial intelligence to track what applications your employees are using—and how they are using them. All of that results in relevant data that you can later analyse to obtain insights that can lead to improvements in the digital adoption process.
I know that suggesting the implementation of yet another platform to overcome the friction of tech adoption might seem counterintuitive. Yet, if you properly implement a DAP, you’ll benefit from in-depth information that will better inform your digital adoption plan and can lead to more efficient decisions about which digital solutions to adopt.
You can leverage the features of a DAP to generate reports within the platform itself. That way, you’ll centralise your tech adoption efforts in one place that will serve as a hub to harness and examine adoption-related data.
Be transparent about the data you have.
Finally, it’s important to remember that your team needs to understand why you’re adopting the tech solutions you’re choosing. Since you’ll be collecting data directly from your team, the best course of action is to share the conclusions you get with them. Being that transparent can get your employees involved in the process, as they’ll better understand why you’re changing the operations with technology.
What’s more, transparency can lead to a healthier relationship with your employees and drive workforce engagement up, as everyone will see your strategy and can even contribute to it. Opening up your plan will also allow you to get better feedback from your team, which ultimately will enhance the quality of the information you reap.
All in all, increased digital adoption in the workplace will only happen when you choose the right tools to integrate into your infrastructure, and you can only decide properly with data by your side.
Full article with thanks to: forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2022/10/25/how-to-properly-use-data-to-boost-your-tech-adoption/?sh=76569a4e7e1c
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