Measure what is measurable, and make measurable what is not so (Galileo Galilei)
Fact: we live in a world of measurement where we use a number to determine – positively or negatively – how we, someone, or something has done. From our first school tests, to hearing about who’s made it to number one in the music chart, to where colleagues have placed in the company incentive scheme. Throughout life, there’s a number that measures performance; and, it’s been ingrained into our DNA from a young age.
Measurement matters. It tells a story of success, failure or being a little bit ‘blah’ in the middle. When it comes to technology adoption, putting a measurement system in place to determine the level of adoption is non-negotiable. Why?
Without any measures, you won’t realise if there’s been any business benefits. You also won’t be able to quantify employee engagement and establish whether employees have adopted the technology or not. This means stakeholders won’t receive credibility for their investment in the technology; and, you won’t know what did and didn’t work, so you can adapt your approach to the ongoing programme, or a future one for greater success.
How should you measure a technology adoption programme?
Set your measures before kick-off
Gather executives and programme stakeholders to determine the measures from the start. Do this for two reasons: 1) you need to know where you began to measure against how far you have progressed. The end-goal is an upward curve of adoption and the trend is usually a slow start. This is because you need to wait for your technology champions to start having an impact on the networks they’re tasked with influencing. 2) It will keep you focused. Knowing what you need to achieve will help you to determine what you need to do, to get there.
Align your measures to your organisation’s objectives
This approach ensures you grab the attention of stakeholders at all levels – executives, management and employees – and helps them to recognise and understand the importance of the initiative. If what you are doing is aiding your organisation to meet its objectives, employees are more likely to get on-board and be committed to a new way of working.
Prove your measures by going small before you go large
To prove that your intended programme will drive adoption and you have the correct measures in place, it’s best to test your approach and predictions in a controlled group environment. For example, with one client – Mott MacDonald – we ran a technology adoption proof of concept involving two controlled groups made up of 15 users in each group. One group experienced training, testing and received support content, and the other didn’t. Following an evaluation, 62% of users who had participated in the ‘technology adoption’ experience were quicker at completing activities using Skype for Business, and 42% said they had increased their confidence in using Skype for Business.
A small controlled environment gives you the opportunity to test your proposed measures, and based on the outcome, adapt your tactics before rolling out the programme to a wider audience.
Reach out to employees so you know their real sentiment
To know whether your employees have really adopted the technology you must find out what they think about it. Include questions in employee engagement surveys to gauge their thoughts and experiences; and run poll-votes and short on-line surveys – with open and closed answers – for quick pulse checks. Your employees’ thoughts and sentiment on the subject are what really counts as they’re driving the new way of working.
What types of things should you measure?
Think about employee, business and technology measures! Beyond asking employees, check your communication channels for further evidence – what content has been liked, read and shared. Are employees able to get more business activities done as the technology helps to save time completing simple tasks? Have you reduced business travel costs and associated overheads? Technology-wise, don’t just think about cost reduction, but usage levels and the positive impact this has on employees.
The Inform Team has helped global brands and government departments to successfully adopt technology, and we’ve armed them with the numbers to prove it! Find out more about how we do it.
