When your company made the selection of a new system your communications outlined the why for that new system. Pull out those statements again and use them in messages, e-mails, and training to reinforce the “why” messages.
A critical first step on your adoption journey is to make a list of the top 5-6 steps or processes that everyone in your company should be using. For the first 3-5 months, focus on reinforcing these through several different learning methods: one-on-one coaching, 30-minute how to training sessions, and/or create a quick reference guide. Once these processes meet your adoption targets, then begin to expand your focus and add more processes. While it is important to take advantage of training offered by the vendor; it does take more than these sessions to achieve adoption.
If you decide to prepare a quick reference guide, a best practice is to keep the guide to no more than one page. Typical components to include: a description of the process, where in the system to go to take the action, what a user will see when they take the action, and any helpful user tips.
Be realistic, understand that it can take up to 6 months until everyone is comfortable with the steps you want to reinforce. Do some check-ins with users, coach often, and pull reports from the system to check for adoption.
Do expect to encounter individuals who have different aptitudes for change including using new tech tools. This can be frustrating, but you can use this to your advantage by asking those who are not comfortable to test your one-page reference guide. Use those that jump at the chance to use new technology to share tips with others or to do some one-on-one coaching. If you are having Q & A sessions, you might consider grouping individuals with different skill levels in different sessions. The key is not to alienate either group but rather engage all participants and being sure there are public kudos for each group.
Another how-to strategy is to reach out to the company or companies you spoke with during the selection process. Ask them for advice or tips from their implementation since they are further along on the adoption curve.
If you are automating reports and processes, it’s fine to run parallel for a month or two but once any bugs are worked out it will be time to retire the previous processes. This may take some reinforcement and you can do this in a fun way such as holding a contest for 60 days with a chart showing everyone’s name and points and prizes for using the new processes.
I also like to do some before and after benchmarking. For example, before the new system was implemented, we processed x and now we process y a day; or before we used checklists and now, we leverage automated workflows or before these activities and notes were not tracked and now, we have a timeline in our system for everyone to reference. Sharing these types of numbers and benefits is a very easy way to demonstrate the “bang for your investment.”