Small input ... big reaction?

Classroom

A guest speaker visited our class week to discuss the technology adoption process he has experienced during his career. He talked about the organizational alignment and the big picture versus the nuts and bolts of the adoption process.

According to his experiences, he believes that 70- 80 % of technology adoptions that are well thought out and have a strong implementation succeed, while the other 20 – 30% fail due to time, pressure, and for the love of having a solution.

What is the challenge with adoption? It’s having to get people to use the technology, therefore you have a strategy and you have tactics to achieve success adoption processes.

Successful adoption must have a small input with a big reaction, but then I wonder what if it’s a big input and big reaction? Employees as a general assumption are resistant to change, but this of course is based on the culture from they inhabit. But because of this resistance and or this assumed resistance leaders need to spend time, attention and communication efforts to assist with the adoption – “people pay attention to what bosses pay attention to.”

So according to our speaker, a successful implementation happens when all marketing rules apply; when a campaign can be executed and then training can be involved if necessary.



Cubicle
Our speaker stressed rewards for employees adopting and behaving in the work space with the new technology – however if you provided a rewards for every technology implemented or even any new technology aren’t you encouraging another type of behavior? While we should reward employees, we should not reward them for making their job better, for changing their process. My philosophy with new technology and its adoption in my own working experience is that if the communication is transparent on why there is a change and I can see the benefits then I am open to change.

I thought about adoption processes- I don’t think there is a specific win but there have been specific losses. A rushed process; non-transparent communication plan and little or no training have been the attributions that have affected the adoption of technologies in my work experience. But a well thought out, meticulous, logical planned process could still have a minimal effect. So is implementing a new communication technology like going fishing. You go the right place, you use the right bait, still but still the fish wont bite?