7 Strategies to Help Employees Adapt to New Technology in the Workplace

Businesses must constantly update technologies to remain competitive in our rapidly changing world. However, it can be an uphill battle as they face resistance from employees when it comes to adopting new tech. In this article, Mark Finney, Co-Founder and Facilitator at Keystroke Learning, outlines some proven strategies to help overcome this resistance.

For many businesses these days, remote and hybrid working has become the norm. This has massively accelerated the pace of technologic change, and the growth of collaborative technologies like cloud computing, automation, and AI, along with the need for digital literacy. For example, Zoom now has over 300 million daily meeting participants, up from just 10 million in December 2019. This represents an exponential 2900% increase!

Technology is constantly transforming the workplace, and can improve many aspects of your business operations, from scaling your business to increasing employee efficiency. But many businesses struggle when adopting emerging technologies like cloud computing. And users are often under more pressure than ever to perform.

Time and again, during our discussions and training sessions over many years, we’ve seen businesses struggle with the issue. One reason for this could be worker resistance. 

There are lots of reasons workers are resistant to new technologies, including: 

• Not being included in the decision-making process.
• Lack of communication from management.
• Not seeing any benefits.
• Lack of confidence with technology.
• Failing to see a use for it.
• Only just becoming comfortable with existing technology.
• Feeling threatened or unappreciated.

Overcoming employee resistance to changes in the workplace can seem a daunting task, but you’re not alone. By adopting the right strategies, you can help employees to not only adapt, but to thrive. And if your employees thrive, your business will too.   

This article outlines seven proven strategies to help your employees adapt to new technology in the workplace

1. Ask Employees for their Input

Let’s begin by considering one of the key reasons that employees are often resistant to new workplace technology: they feel excluded from the decision-making process. 

Before you invest in that fancy new application you’ve been hearing about, you should make a point of consulting your employees. After all, they’re the people who will be most affected. This can (and perhaps should) be an informal process, and it should be well in advance. Don’t leave this until the last minute, since this will be perceived as an afterthought. For example, you could:

• Ask department heads what they think.  Will this make employees’ jobs easier, and is it even necessary? If your employees are already under the pump, they probably won’t appreciate yet another new tool – unless it makes coffee or picks up the kids from school! 
• Create a survey or have an informal meeting to ask your staff what would make their job easier. You may find that your idea of the best software is not what they had in mind. I had some personal experience of this a while ago during an informal meeting with a manager and their staff. They had completely different ideas about the required solution, so it was great to get this out in the open before making a buying decision.
• Work across departments to determine how to utilise technology for each department. This makes far more sense than working in silos. The sales department will typically have different needs from your HR department, but there is usually some common ground. This approach has the added benefit of breaking down perceived barriers between departments.

Asking employees for their input will not only increase the likelihood that they will make use of your new technologies, but also sends a clear message that they’re appreciated.

2. Clearly Outline the Benefits

This strategy covers two common causes of resistance: 

• Lack of communication from management.
• Failure to see any benefits. 

Clear communication is critical when introducing any new tools that affect how employees do their day-to-day work, even if those technologies will help make their work easier. Keeping an open dialog is a great way to promote transparency and ease the transition. 

Regular meetings can help to communicate the benefits of the technology and encourage questions and feedback from employees to allow you to deal with any issues that may come up. 

After these meetings, make sure employees have a forum where they can ask further questions and where you can provide them with updates. For example, this could be a Microsoft Teams Channel you use to share ideas and keep employees in the loop.

Employees are more likely to accept new tech if you put yourself in their shoes, and ask “What’s in it for me?” If you believe that a cloud solution is going to improve workflow, go ahead and tell your staff.  By clearly outlining the benefits, you help address their concerns. In my personal experience, this makes the transition so much easier.

3. Ask Super Users to Volunteer

This is a strategy that we’ve seen work extremely well when implemented. Recruiting a few volunteers from your team can really help to make any transition smoother. In any organisation, there are always a few folks who enjoy learning and are willing to try out your fancy new software or hardware. You probably already know a few, so get them involved. They can become the “go to” people for your employees whenever they have questions, before, during and after your technology upgrade. Our clients usually refer to these folks as “Super Users”, or “Champions”, but however you like to refer to them, they’re good to have around.

Because these folks tend to be naturally enthusiastic, they can help to promote the new technology to their colleagues. They could even be the ones to host meetings to introduce the technology to the team. Because it’s coming from their peers, this approach can help to minimize any resentment employees feel about the changes.

4. Provide Adequate Workplace Training

Now, I’ll admit to some bias here; I’m a training facilitator and co-founder of a software training business. If you’re reading this, you probably already figured that one out! That being said, I can genuinely say that providing proper training for technology upgrades is one of those things that makes everything better! I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve spoken to people who have been provided with some new software or hardware, but zero training to go along with it! Then they’re expected to magically be experts by the end of the week. That’s like handing someone the keys to a car and saying “off you go” without teaching them to drive. Ok, maybe not that dangerous, but you get the idea.

Companies that make skills growth a key part of performance management will always do better during this process. We’ve seen this with many of our clients, who make a point of providing solid training and development for their employees. 

By providing training, you improve employees’ confidence, and they’re far more likely not just to accept new hardware or software but thrive when using it.

Training should be provided both during and after the introduction of any new technology to help staff become familiar with it.

Some simple training tips:

• Make the training enjoyable. We find that people retain more information if the training is enjoyable. They’re also more likely to tell their colleagues, making the transition even easier. 
• Use Different training methods. Instead of one size fits all, give employees some options about the type of training they prefer. For example, some folks will want to sit down in a more formal classroom environment, while others may like a short online chunk of learning. Mix it up and make it fun.
• Build a Knowledge Base. Create a library or document that employees can refer to if they forget any of the training. You may want to record training sessions or create some videos. This is also helpful for new staff members who weren’t around for the training.
• Tailor Training. This seems obvious, but it’s a good idea to create training that’s specific to a department or job role. ‘Nuff said.
• Buddy up. Keep in mind that some employees are less confident with technology than others. Pair them with your Super Users who are more confident with technology so they can help their colleagues get up to speed

5. Help Employees Learn on their Own 

Some employees will need a bit of help during each stage of training. Others tend to learn best on their own.

Because of this, you might want to make some provision for self-paced learning. There are a few ways you can do this:

• Build a ‘sandpit’ that’s separate from the main system. This enables people try out the new tech without worrying about messing up the whole system. In fact, it’s something we’ve encouraged our clients to use, especially for technologies like Microsoft SharePoint.  This alone can really help users to build confidence before going live.
• Provide resources for employees to work through. This is also a great help for any employees who were not around for the initial training, or if they just need a refresher. A mix of resources can be made available, including step-by-step guides, infographics, and videos. If you organisation has a learning management system (LMS) you can use it to keep track of all the resources and training, and you could even include some quizzes for your employees.

6. Give Employees a Reason to Implement New Technologies

Sometimes employees may still need some convincing to use new tools. Ongoing training can help with this, but you could also try a couple of other ideas:

• Hold a Pilot Session where a group of users learns about the new technology and compares it to the old. I find it helpful to make sure that the group comprises a mix of departments and skill levels.
• Have an Ideas Board where team members can post their tips on how they’re using the technology. You could even use a reward system to encourage your employees to participate. This could be a badge or a small bonus, or a team trophy for the best idea.

7. Celebrate Your Success

Hey, we all like a bit of acknowledgement, and it’s important to celebrate the little wins. If an employee has a great idea that improves the way your business does something, be sure to sing their praises!

When your team members know you appreciate them, they’ll be even more motivated to adopt your fancy new app. They’ll also be more receptive to future changes.

Conclusion

There are many reasons that employees resist change. Taking time to understand those reasons is a good first step to helping them adapt. I hope your next step is to start using the strategies outlined in this article.