Successfully getting your whole team to agree on a decision can be tricky at the best of times.
But getting full agreement on new technology which is going to cost your team money, time, resource, and impacts the wider business? That’s a whole different challenge.
And it’s one that’s shared with many businesses.
Therefore, if you are approaching implementing new technology into your team, it’s essential that you get appropriate buy-in from the very start. Else face negativity, questioning, and a lack of engagement further down the line.
At Bright Dials, we have helped countless businesses implement technology into their teams. And we’ve learned a few things along the way.
So here are our top tips to help you get team buy-in for new technology.
Teams can become anxious spending their limited resources on technology that might not generate results or benefits.
Even when the budget is available, businesses can struggle to justify investing in new technology and the implementation process that accompanies this.
To address these concerns, the technology needs to fit into your team’s goals.
For example, if a key goal is to improve lead nurturing, then a CRM can achieve exactly that through managing data and automating communications. Whilst also reducing time spent on fiddly, manual tasks.
You can complement this approach by offering tangible benefits to the wider team. For example, hours saved, contacts that could be communicated with automatically, and estimates of leads that will convert into customers.
By presenting these metrics you will be proving that the technology is not only beneficial to the team. It is actually essential.
This brings us neatly onto our second point.
Key goals and strategic focus areas bring a lot of benefits to a business. But for the individuals, their own pain points are often what they are most keen to address.
So dig out these pain points and showcase how your new technology can address them. Offering real-life examples, and identifying the features and functionality that specific team members will get the most benefit from.
You can even ask your technology provider for relevant examples, case studies, and references to offer additional proof of how other businesses have had these pain points resolved.
And once you have buy-in, encourage these advocates to share their enthusiasm with other team members with similar pain points to theirs.
Depending on the size of your team or business, there may be a lot of individuals you need to get buy-in from.
By developing a pitch to sell this technology internally, you will be able to offer a description of the technology, its key highlights, and the benefits it brings. All in a straightforward and concise way.
Consider using the information you have gathered already, such as an overview of key goals and pain points for the business, and present how the technology addresses these.
You can even tie in success stories from brands who have benefited from the technology with your case study examples.
Communication is key for any collaborative process. So when implementing a new technology, keep everyone involved as up to date as possible.
Involve them in your conversations prior to purchasing the technology, encouraging them to help you define scope and usage. And ensure you continue a regular check-in process during and post implementation.
Regular check-ins offer users a chance to voice any concerns or queries, before complacency and lack of engagement kicks in. They also offer you a chance to showcase new features, functionality, and updates to improve usage and buy-in.
Check-ins shouldn’t just be internal. They should also be with your technology provider. Make sure they are engaging with you regularly to review your progress with the technology, any work that has been completed, and to offer strategic solutions moving forward.
After all, businesses and technology are constantly evolving. So it’s important to address and maximise changes as and when they occur.
Greater adoption of technology produces greater ROI. And collaboration between users is where the real power and ROI of technology is seen.
That’s why technology buy-in isn’t just important prior to implementation. It’s essential during and post-implementation too.
So to keep others engaged in the process, offer ongoing training from the very start. After all, what better way to get others using the technology than by showing them exactly how to.
Training can be done internally in a variety of formats. Group sessions, webinars, one-to-one, and even cheat sheets.
But also ensure you have ongoing support from your technology provider. That there is someone on-hand to fix any problems, answer your questions, support with strategy and challenges. And generally be an extra pair of hands to do the work for you.
If you are looking to implement new technology into your team or business, but need some support in getting everyone engaged, we can help. Simply email hello@brightdials.com or book a free Discovery Call. All we need is 45 minutes of your time.