May 19, 2015 | Read Time: 6 minutes
Kathryn Engelhardt-Cronk, chief executive of Community TechKnowledge, doesn’t mince words: “A large percentage of technology adoptions fail.”
The high failure rate has a lot to do with people — and not just those who lead the projects. New technology is valuable only if everyone at an organization commits to using it correctly. And as nonprofit technology professionals know, persuading co-workers to use another new tool is sometimes the most difficult part.
Norman Reiss, technology project manager at the Center for Court Innovation, has simple advice for getting colleagues to embrace new applications and platforms. “To get them invested, make sure they’re involved,” he says.
But how? This checklist offers concrete steps to make sure the whole team is on board with new technology.
1. Build relationships.
“Technology frightens people if they haven’t been exposed to it,” Ms. Engelhardt-Cronk says. “What people do when they’re fearful: They shut down. They get angry. Or they simply disengage. Those three things are the opposite of what you need to do when you approach a technology project.”
To help prevent negative emotions from taking hold, experts recommend that technology leaders build relationships throughout the office. And the earlier you start, the better: Launch day is too late to learn your colleagues’ names. Mr. Reiss says it’s a year-round task so that people across the organization trust that you care about their concerns, regardless of whether a new project is at stake.
“Walk around, talk to people, and take the time to get to know where they’re coming from,” he says. “Chat one-on-one.”
Talking to co-workers provides insight into how people actually use technology in their daily lives, which helps project leaders understand the nonprofit’s needs. It can provide clues about why some people at the organization may be unenthusiastic about a new tool or keep their concerns to themselves.
“Maybe there’s a good reason they’re resistant to something else,” Mr. Reiss says. “Maybe they won’t share in a group.”
It also creates empathy for the future users of the new technology you’re installing. When transitioning to a new database, for example, people often have to use both the old and new systems simultaneously. That adds stress.
“That’s a lot of time to invest,” Mr. Reiss says. “It’s not hard to understand why they seem to be resistant — they’re kind of drowning.”
Ms. Engelhardt-Cronk recommends acknowledging the strain and explaining how the new tool will eventually make their work easier: “It’s tough. I’m going to help you. This is how I’m going to free up some time for you.”
2. Make it about mission.
Pitching your technology project with a lot of jargon may turn people off to the idea, Ms. Engelhardt-Cronk says.
“If you start with saying, ‘We’re going to establish baseline metrics, metrics for success, tracking every activity so we can pull that data so we can tell a story of our clients, groups of clients, total organization’s performance,’ half the people have shut down before you’ve finished that statement,” she explains.
Explaining how the new project will advance the mission of the organization will probably go over better.
“Give it in digestible bits,” Ms. Engelhardt-Cronk says, and explain that new tools will help the organization perform and document its work. “No one can say, ‘I don’t like that,’ ”
3. Identify allies, and give extra support to the wary.
In Ms. Engelhardt-Cronk’s experience, there’s some predictability about who will be enthusiastic about new technology and who will drag their feet. Board members, especially those with business backgrounds, are often strong supporters of digital innovation, she says, which is good because their approval is critical.
Some people are uncomfortable using any kind of technology, but others may also hesitate to embrace the new tool if they previously were burned by a failed tech project or don’t measure their success solely on quantifiable data.
Add to that list people who feel threatened by the implication that they need better tools because they’re not measuring up, she says. Treat them with extra sensitivity and try to avoid implying that technology is more important than their years of experience. “No one likes to hear that,” she adds.
4. Keep management informed.
The last thing some executive directors want to do is schedule another meeting. But that’s exactly what technology leaders must persuade leaders to do to shepherd a project to completion. It requires more interaction than just sending emails, Mr. Reiss says.
“You have to take the time to connect with them personally,” he says. “Go to people in management when a particular milestone is reached and say, ‘This is what we’ve done so far.’ ” Make sure they’re still behind the project.
Mr. Reiss recommends project leaders tell managers who prefer a hands-off approach that they appreciate the confidence but need management involvement to keep the project on track.
“You can’t assume because they feel a certain way at the beginning of a project, they feel the same way when it’s launched,” he says.
5. Convey management support.
Remind employees that their supervisors expect them to take advantage of the new system, Mr. Reiss recommends.
“If they get the feeling that the executive director or manager is fully behind it and if they don’t use it there’s going to be consequences, obviously they are going to be more motivated to use it,” he says.
6. Know when to walk away.
If the project falters, Mr. Reiss suggests communicating bad news to those at the top without delay.
“If there’s a problem and you try to deal with it yourself and they come back to you and say, ‘What’s going on here?’ that doesn’t make you look very good,” he says.
In his experience, delivering a disappointing message goes over better than expected.
“If you do it in a way that you’re offering a way to turn things around or you offer an explanation for why things haven’t worked out, I think most managers kind of understand that this is something that happens at times,” he says. Alerting them to the problem shows you’re thinking about the good of the organization, not just an exciting new technology system.
But sometimes, he acknowledges, the boss is not supportive. That’s when it’s time to reconsider if the project is worth pursuing.
“Sometimes I get attached to a particular project because it’s something I’m enthusiastic about, but if the people I’m working with don’t feel the same way, it’s hard,” Mr. Reiss says.
7. Stay engaged and seek feedback.
Launch day is just the start.
Once the platform is in place, technology project leaders have to teach staff members how to use the new tool, says Mr. Reiss. Further out, it’s important to check from time to time that everyone is still using the system and to gauge their experience with it. Running reports on usage, planning additional training sessions, and asking system designers to make upgrades that reflect users’ needs are just as important as the initial adoption process.
