Most people don’t like change. This statement rings especially true when it comes to companies implementing new technology and struggling with getting their employees onboard to give these new technological solutions a chance.  However, in today’s fast-paced world, change is abundant and it’s critical to have a technology strategy that keeps up with your company’s growth. 

But introducing new technology can be tricky—if you don’t do it correctly, your team could end up dealing with costly bugs and system downtime. Below, we’ve highlighted four steps we recommend taking before implementing any new technology into your organisation. 

1. Do your homework.

Before you introduce a new technology to your team, do your homework. This can mean anything from reading articles about the technology and how it works to shadowing someone who uses it in their own work. 

If possible, speak with others who have already implemented this tool in their organisation and find out what they liked and disliked about the experience.

It’s also important to know what impact the new tool will have on your team. Are there opportunities for employees to learn new skills? Will this create more work for some workers? Is there an opportunity for collaboration between teams or departments? 

By identifying these potential issues before implementation begins, you can be prepared with solutions or strategies that address them before they become problems.

2. Get your team on-board

As a leader, your job is to make sure everyone is on board with the new technology and that they understand how it fits in with the rest of your organisation. 

You can do this by having one-on-one conversations with each member of your team, or even just having casual conversations about what people think regarding the new system. 

Explain to them how this new technology can simplify their lives and alleviate some of their stresses over-time. 

When introducing new technology, it’s always important to remember that people may have some concerns about how it will impact them personally or even their department more broadly. 

As a leader, you should be prepared for questions like: “How does this affect my job?” “Is there training available?” “Will this affect my performance review?” And perhaps most importantly: “What happens if I don’t use it?”

3. Pilot, test, and repeat.

Every change initiative has a learning curve associated with it. The steepness of the curve is not only dependant on the ease of use of the software, but also on the team and plan involved in implementing it. 

To help smoothen the transition, a pilot programme is typically used to work out the kinks and gain buy-in across organisations.

Running a pilot programme will give you the opportunity to see how employees react to the technology and what they think of it before rolling out at a larger scale. 

This also helps you identify any potential issues or problems with the technology before making it available company-wide.

You can start your pilot programme by testing with a small group of employees (usually ~10-20). Depending on your company size, you can then run another test with a larger group of employees (~50-100) after making changes based on feedback from the first round of tests.

This pilot process ensures that all kinks are ironed out and your team will be more willing to get onboard with the new technology if others they know have tested it out. 

4. Train and support.

Once you’ve introduced your team to the new technology, it’s important to continue providing training and support as needed. This can be done in a number of ways, including:

• Providing access to knowledgeable people who can help with problems or questions that arise while they’re learning.

• Making sure all necessary tools are in place (e.g. computers or mobile devices) so people can get started quickly and effectively without having to wait for equipment or software integrations before getting started on their projects or efforts.

• Offering ongoing training opportunities so folks have opportunities to learn more about using this new tool over time as well as how it integrates with other pieces of technology within your organisation’s portfolio.

Final thoughts

At the end of the day, it’s important to remember that technology can make or break your team. If you want to succeed with new technology, you need to approach it strategically and follow these four steps. This will ensure that you get the most out of your investment in new tech, which will ultimately make your team stronger and more productive.