Whether your company is considering or currently working on an installation of , or any other new software package for that matter, we all know that one of the greatest challenges we will face during this process is encouraging user adoption. Resistance to change is something that is ingrained in all of us, and often makes people reluctant to try something new or change the way they work.
So, what follows are a few from the recent online meeting of CRM User Group's Financial Services Special Interest Group:
- Make the new system the system of record – That is, make it clear to your staff the processes for which you expect them to use the new system and then ensure that it isn't easy for them to find a workaround. Stress to them that although using a workaround may be more comfortable in the short term, the sooner they start using the new system the quicker they’ll become accustomed to it. Obviously, for this to be effective, management must be committed to consistently enforcing this policy.
- Ensure that the project has a good champion – Find someone within your organization who is not only willing to sponsor the project, but be its head cheerleader. This person will need to continuously remind his or her colleagues of the main benefits they can expect as a result of adopting the new system.
- Provide training early and often – By starting the training process promptly, you'll be able to see who the early adopters are and leave yourself more time to continue training those who were slower to adopt. The more training you can provide your staff with throughout the implementation process, the more likely it becomes that they will be ready to adopt the system once it is officially online.
- Identify additional cheerleaders within your organization – These people could be your early adopters or those that will get the most benefit out of the system and its key performance indicators. Once you've identified who these potential cheerleaders are, they should be trained early, because if they’re happy with the new system their enthusiasm is likely to spread throughout the rest of the organization, thereby increasing the overall adoption rates.
- Give employees a simplified, role-based user experience – Most users will never use every feature that is included within the system. Therefore, it helps to increase user adoption if employees have the option to tailor the interface so that it shows them only what they need to be productive in their specific job. Similarly, if your organization is migrating to Dynamics CRM from another CRM package, it may also be helpful if you make the Dynamics interface look similar to the old system. This can be achieved simply by moving the windows in Dynamics CRM around so that they more closely mirror the CRM package your employees are used to, greatly shortening their learning curve.
- Offer mobile access to the CRM system – Oftentimes users will adopt a new CRM system more quickly when they are given the option to access it via their tablets or other mobile devices. Including this functionality encourages user adoption by making it easier for your employees to do their jobs wherever they may be.
If you're interested in learning more about Microsoft Dynamics CRM and your implementation options, today! We’d love to help.
by Intelligent Technologies,
