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+---
+title: Strategies To Help Employees Adapt to New Technology in the Workplace
+published: 2024-07-17
+description: 'Strategies To Help Employees Adapt to New Technology in the Workplace'
+image: './cover.png'
+tags: ["Leadership", "Technologies"]
+category: 'Leadership'
+draft: false 
+---
+
+Companies should digitally transform themselves to thrive in today's rapidly-changing world. However, they may face
+stiff resistance from employees when adopting new tech.
+
+There are many reasons workers resist new technology, including:
+
+- Feeling excluded from the decision-making process.
+- Lack of communication from management.
+- Failing to see the benefits.
+- Resenting perceived interference from management.
+- Lack of confidence around technology.
+- Failing to see a use for it.
+- Feeling threatened and unappreciated.
+
+Asking Employees for Their Input
+--------------------------------
+
+Let's start by tackling the first reason workers resist new technology: feeling excluded from the decision-making
+process.
+
+Before you rush out and buy new tech, you need to consult your employees. This doesn't have to be a formal interview.
+For instance, you could:
+
+- **Send a questionnaire to employees** about the tech they currently use and what would make their job easier. Is their
+  solution the same as yours? Your idea of the best team task management software may not be the same as that of your
+  employees. Use software such as Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey to create easily accessible surveys that can be sent across
+  the company. By sending a questionnaire straight to employees' inboxes, you can quickly collect valuable feedback on
+  what software would benefit them most.
+- **Optimize tech for each employee**
+
+Asking employees for their input not only increases the likelihood of them using the new tech but also shows that you
+appreciate them. And employees who feel appreciated are more productive.
+
+Communicating the Benefits
+--------------------------
+
+This strategy combats two causes of worker resistance:
+
+- Lack of communication from management.
+- Failing to see the benefits of new technology.
+
+Transparency is vital when bringing in tech that affects how employees do their job. Open dialog is the best way to
+promote transparency and ease the transition from old to new.
+
+Consider hosting a video meeting to communicate the benefits of the new technology and encourage questions and feedback
+so you can deal with any issues that may arise.
+
+After the meeting, provide a place where employees can continue to ask questions and where you can provide updates.
+Create a group on the instant messaging software you use in-house and send regular email updates to keep employees in
+the loop.
+
+But many businesses are failing to promote transparency through open dialog. There's a big difference between companies
+that outperform their rivals and those that don't.
+
+Employees are more likely to accept new tech if you answer the question, "What's in it for me?" So, if you think cloud
+computing will make remote sales management easier, tell people! Explain how the new tech will benefit them, and do your
+best to address their concerns.
+
+This is particularly important with less tech-savvy employees since they're the ones who'll feel the most unsettled.
+
+Recruiting Tech-Savvy Volunteers
+--------------------------------
+
+Let's imagine you're looking to adopt software to help build your affiliate marketing sales funnel. Recruiting a few
+volunteers from your marketing team to try out the software could answer questions like:
+
+- How easy is it to use the software?
+- How will the software benefit the marketing team?
+- What's the best way to sell it to the rest of the team?
+- Will it create new challenges or address existing ones?
+
+Use these insights to shape how you go about the rest of your rollout.
+
+You can also use these tech-savvy volunteers to promote the new technology to their colleagues. Maybe they could be the
+ones to host the video meeting to introduce the technology to the team. This will minimize any resentment employees feel
+about your perceived interference in how they work. These volunteers can also help with the next strategy: providing
+adequate training.
+
+Providing Adequate Training
+---------------------------
+
+Training boosts employees' confidence around unfamiliar tech and makes them more likely to accept it. You should
+schedule training sessions both during and after the introduction of the new tech to help everyone get familiar with it.
+But remember - when it comes to learning, there's no such thing as one-size-fits-all
+
+Here are some more training tips to think about:
+
+- **Make training fun**. Employees will retain more information if the training is enjoyable. They're also more likely
+  to attend!
+- **Split training up**. Don't give employees all the training in one go. Splitting training into shorter chunks will
+  help keep them engaged. Consider using microlearning software as employees can learn and test their knowledge in small
+  bite-size chunks.
+- **Create an SOP**. Create a standard operating procedure document that employees can refer to if they forget any of
+  the training.
+
+If in doubt, think about what helps you learn. And then do that.
+
+Use Guided Learning
+-------------------
+
+Don't sit employees down and talk at them for two hours. Hold workshops that combine training with doing. For example,
+instructors could give employees bite-sized chunks of information. Then employees could try it out for themselves. This
+kind of guided learning helps employees remember what to do because they've actually done it.
+
+Tailor workshops by individual, so employees only learn what they need for their job, not everyone else's.
+
+You should also bear in mind that some employees are less tech-savvy than others. If your company is adopting a cloud
+communications platform, some employees will know all about it, while others will be wondering, "what is cloud
+communications"?
+
+This is a good time to bring in your tech-savvy volunteers. Pair them with colleagues who are less confident with
+technology so they can help their colleagues get up to speed.
+
+Let Employees Learn on Their Own
+--------------------------------
+
+Some employees need hand-holding at every stage during training. Others learn best on their own. In fact, more and more
+workers in all age groups want fully independent learning.
+
+So it's important to facilitate self-guided learning. You can do this by:
+
+- Creating playground environment
+- **Providing online resources** for employees to work through if they need a refresher. Try to provide a mixture of
+  resources, like step-by-step guides, infographics, audio recordings, and videos. All of these could be managed through
+  a learning management system (LMS) which will help keep track of all training and enable you to identify any areas
+  where you can improve.
+
+Giving Employees a Reason to Use It
+-----------------------------------
+
+Sometimes employees may still need convincing of the need to use new technology. Ongoing training can help with this,
+but so can applying the principles of A/B testing ideas (comparing one version of an asset with another) to your
+rollout. You might try:
+
+- **Holding a workshop** where everyone tries out the new tech and compares it to the old. A virtual classroom is a
+  useful option. It provides an engaging environment for learners to develop their skills and enables you to gather
+  vital data on how successful the training is.
+- **Having a friendly competition** where one team uses the old tech and one team uses the new tech to see which is
+  better. Use training software with integrated gamification with leaderboards and reward badges for encouraging
+  employees to participate.
+
+Providing incentives for people to use the new tech can also help. A small bonus or even an office trophy could be all
+it takes to encourage people to try it out. And keeping up a dialog will help you quickly address any concerns or
+issues.
+
+Celebrating Success
+-------------------
+
+Just as your company should have a customer-centric culture, it should also have an employee-centric culture. This means
+celebrating success, no matter how small. If an employee does something in record time because of the new tech, make
+sure everyone knows about it! Your marketing department can promote your business to employees as well as customers.
+
+It's also important to reward employees for their contributions. Employees who make the best use of the new tech should
+be paid accordingly, especially if they boost the business's revenue.
+
+If employees know you reward success, they'll be more motivated to adopt the new tech. They'll also be more likely to
+adopt new tech in the future.
+
+Employees resist new technology for all sorts of reasons. Understanding those reasons is the first step to helping them
+adapt to new technology. The next step is using the tried-and-tested strategies outlined in this post