Helping your employees embrace and become experts with technology in the workplace can help improve efficiency and productivity. As the demand for superior customer service keeps rising, companies are depending heavily on technology in order to bring remarkable service to their customers. The use of technology saves people time and allows employees to take on more tasks while things like automation do the work for them.
Not only are new technological advances helpful around the office, but when emergencies like the one we are living through right now arise, technology becomes an essential tool. A lot of people are working from home right now which is an incredible advantage for urgent situations. Although their employers have let them continue working from home, some people are not as comfortable with technology as others.
So how can you encourage your employees to embrace technology and help them feel confident enough to use this tool? Let's take a look.
1. Talk About it as Soon as Possible
When you are implementing new technology to the workplace, it needs to be done carefully so your employees can have a positive attitude about it. Ask them to provide their feedback from the start. This will help the new implementation slowly gain acceptance by the people who will use it on a daily basis.
Letting your employees know that these changes will help them in the long-run is also a good way to ensure them. Involve them in every step of the decision making and talk to them about the importance of this new change and its influence on business growth.
2. Teach your Team Leaders First
New practices bring a lot of questions. In order to master a new technological change, introduce it to your team leaders first. Then, they'll be able to explain it to the members of their team. Ask your team leaders for feedback on this new program that is being introduced and encourage them to be patient when teaching others.
Make sure your team leaders fully understand the ins and outs of this new implementation so they can answer any questions from their team members. Let them know why this is being introduced in the first place and the intended outcome. This will prepare them better for questions and obstacles that their team members may encounter.
3. Training is Essential
Proper training is what will make or break your employees. You can't expect your employees to know what to do with a new program without being taught. Giving your employees enough time to get familiar with and adapt to this new change will make them feel more comfortable and secure when performing their jobs.
Implement training according to each employee's responsibility in order for it to be adequate with what they do. Make sure your employees feel comfortable and take into consideration that not everyone learns in the same way so it might come easier to some than others.
4. Be Patient
New practices can be difficult for your team. Assuming that your employees will easily integrate to this new technology is grounds for failure. Set long-term expectations and make sure you or your team leaders are always available for questions. Work on it together in order to reinforce the meaning of teamwork in your business and ease the pressure from your employees of having to learn this new practice immediately.
In order to avoid falling behind with the training, set guidelines and due dates that are realistic. If you rush your employees not only will they not adapt and learn this new practice well enough, but the implementation of this new idea will be to no avail.
5. Track Performance
Once all the training is done and your employees are fully live, it's time to measure performance. Keep track of results, ROI, the impact on your employees, and how the company is functioning overall. By keeping track of this data you'll be able to easily identify problem areas or things that need minor improvement.
Make sure to compare the before and after in order to determine how much the new implementation has helped. Continue to be open to any feedback your employees may bring since they are the ones using this new technology on a daily basis.
If it's necessary, communicate the new changes to your customers and the expected results. Encourage them to also give feedback and offer any suggestions. This will not only make your customers feel valuable, but you'll also see this new change from a customer's perspective as well.