Three Ways To Successfully Integrate New Technology Into Employee Workflow

Founder and President at Advertise Purple, Inc.

Asking your team to completely rethink how they do things can be hard, and it can take time, especially when they’ve grown accustomed to old processes. But in the end, providing them with tools to do their jobs better and more efficiently is your responsibility as a manager.

In the case of my team, a prime example comes in the form of our new proprietary automation technology that took over a year to develop and is now here. Needless to say, we’re thrilled, but now we face a new challenge. Of course, it’s not as simple as “getting it done.” We’ve completed a lot of the work: concept, architecture, development, design, quality assurance, optimization, troubleshooting, A/B testing and more. Our team of experienced designers and developers, as well as our data and accounts leads, has worked tirelessly to get us here.

But now, it’s on the rest of our team to get comfortable with a bit of an upheaval in their workflow, utilizing something that should make their lives easier. However, these are team members who’ve grown accustomed to doing things their way.

In the case of the new product we’re introducing to our team and clients alike, the workaround would be, for example, using Excel and other dashboards to complete work that is now much more efficiently handled by our new tech.

We’re well aware it will take months and maybe even years for the product to reach its full potential. Surely, it can be frustrating to work using a product that is great but certainly new and in need of some enhancements. Simply put, there’s always going to be a learning curve.

But there are lessons from the way we’ve handled integrating this new tech into our employee workflow that any business leader can take away. So, without further ado, here are three helpful tips for successfully onboarding some new, exciting tech.

1. Empower your employees and make them ‘beta’ testers.

Galvanize your employees into being a part of the process of enhancing this new tech. Give them the chance to feel as if they are making the product better — because they are.

Take this opportunity to perhaps allow certain employees to take the lead on reporting bugs or other similar necessary tasks. Essentially, make the process less about you, the manager, and more about us, the team.

Your managerial goals should be the same as your team’s goals. The very moment that those two things no longer align is the time that you’ve lost your team. Give your entire staff that opportunity to be owners and you’ll see a much speedier adoption to whatever technology you’ve put in place.

2. Hold training sessions, and set aside time to make the learning curve less steep.

As soon as our tech product launched, we held periodic meetings to train our staff on how to use the product, set weekly goals, give opportunities for suggestions and feedback, and communicate all new information about the tech. Setting aside time to discuss and think about the new tech kept it clear in people’s minds that it was high-priority.

Of course, with Covid-19, this has become slightly more difficult. However, we still hold Zoom meetings about our new product and continue to emphasize its importance. We’ve found that creating a chat channel and emphasizing the communication of all things that come up throughout the day surrounding our new product is incredibly useful in keeping everyone up to speed.

It takes a team effort to make a new product work to the best of its ability. Understand there will be a learning curve, but it's possible to successfully get your team on board and excited about something new and different.

3. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

No matter what change you're introducing — whether it be new tech or switching up another aspect of your business process — don't lose sight of what you and your employees do best. In our case, we’re still working in the affiliate space, a field if which our team is experts. The more we emphasize that this is something that could save them time in the day and save the whole company time and money, the more people get on board.

Any company wants to empower their staff and not make things more confusing or difficult for them. So, no, I’m not suggesting revamping your whole company for the heck of it. But I do think that when you go ahead and bite the bullet on something you truly believe in, you have to prepare.

Sure, that means focusing on the budget, but it also means you must give it some of your time. Weather the storm of the little bit of education that it will take to allow your team to understand how they should now operate. Remember to guide and lead them to the light. Then, when your team is operating more efficiently, that two- or three-month period of a little bit of lag and frustration will be well worth it. 

All of this is true with new technology. However, I think this lesson applies as well if you’re making a major change in your business model. Either way, when adjusting your team's workflow, remember that you’re asking a lot of your employees. Allow them to have some skin in the game. Give them necessary information, and remind them that their role will not change significantly and that they’re still CEOs of their roles. That is how you can successfully integrate new tech or business practices into your organization.

Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?

Comments are closed.