Implementing Technology

Smart Solutions

By: Brian Nichelson

      The initial purchase and installation of any software or hardware technology device is the easy part of an implementation. The challenge comes when your employees must learn how to use the new product in conjunction with the company’s existing technology.

      If the new product doesn’t integrate smoothly into your operations, you’ll lose both product functionality and employee productivity, which will ultimately hinder business operations.

      The current mindset in many organizations is to install the technology, send the users to classroom training, have them lug a heavy manual or two back to the office or shop, and then expect them to immediately start using the technology. While this approach is common, it is also the most ineffective. Experience shows that people generally retain very little from classroom training, and they later have difficulty finding information in the user manual. As a result, employees get much less out of the new technology than managers expect, thus causing the return on investment value to drop significantly. 

      Fortunately, the remedy to this all-too-familiar scenario is right at your fingertips, and you can adapt it to work for any technology, from word processors to vacuum cleaners. In fact, when employees and managers make two very important commitments to a learning ...

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