T’was the night before Christmas and all through the team, user adoption was rocking, like an executive’s dream.
How to do it is clear, we know it works well, here is the plan toward which you should steer.
Increase User Adoption in the New Year
Increasing user adoption ranks high on the Santa and New Year’s Resolution lists of many companies as they wind down the year and assess new goals.
A user adoption strategy should contain several long-term tactics that together increase overall adoption, engagement and CRM success. Such tactics include:
- Executive sponsorship
- Change Management
- Manager Training
- End User Training
- Training Reinforcement
But when you want to improve user adoption quickly, and on a tight budget, there are two sure-fire things you can do:
- Train Your Managers
- Offer Training Reinforcement
Increase User Adoption Through Management Training
Companies can increase user adoption by training their managers on both:
- Why User Adoption is Important
- Manager End-user Training
First off, Why Increase User Adoption?
Best in class organizations implement CRM systems to yield specified corporate results related to customer contacts, loyalty and revenue.
Therefore, companies must educate managers on the goals and objectives they expect the as a result of implementing and adopting the systems.
After all, front line managers drive teams and push for daily results.
As hands-on leaders, the managers should then enthusiastically educate their teams on the importance of adoption and how it drives results for the employee, the project and the company.
Secondly, Train Managers as End-Users
Beyond knowing why CRM is important, managers must be able to execute the tasks and projects themselves. It is critical that managers complete training themselves and become competent end-users so they can, in-turn, train others and lead by example.
Several types of end-user training programs exist. Managers can benefit from virtual classes, taught by live instructors. And as they perfect their knowledge, they can cascade skills through their ranks.
Well-trained managers will undoubtedly increase user adoption levels on their teams by offering continued hands-on coaching and training. They can answer employee questions and help troubleshoot problems.
“One of the most important actions, things a leader can do, is to lead by example. If you want everyone else to be passionate, committed, dedicated, and motivated, you go first!”
Marshall Goldsmith, author
Increase User Adoption through Reinforcement Training
As discussed above, managers fulfill a critical training role by coaching and encouraging staff on a daily basis. But sometimes employees need deeper or more immediate help.
To facilitate immediate help, some companies embed context-aware help directly into their CRM system so that it appears exactly where and when users need it.
Context-aware (or context-sensitive) help offers users immediate guidance at a specific spot within the software platform in which the end-user works.
It places targeted help directly into Salesforce (or other technology). The platform knows what help to display based upon the page, profile or application on which the end-user is working. When clicked the user will gain access to training materials such as videos, cheat sheets or other assets previously uploaded by administrators.
So, What’s Next?
Want professional training services for your end users and managers? Stony Point offers world-class instructor-led Salesforce training. With classes for beginners all the way to experts, we can help you train your employees to be more efficient and productive.
Did you already purchase training but still see your employees struggling with adoption? Digadop Help by Stony Point is a Digital Adoption platform designed to increase user adoption. With customizable, targeted help, you can create a different help experience for each employee, no coding needed. Digadop Help reinforces the training you paid for and builds on it.