In the past few months, you’ve researched and demoed lots and lots of software solutions. It’s not an easy job, but it paid off because, after all of that hard work, you’ve found the perfect pick. It’s a relief, and no one can deny that, but you’re not out of the woods just yet. Now, you need to learn how to implement new meal prep software without stressing your employees out. Yes, it’s a thing, and it can be a big problem if you aren’t careful. Let’s see why.
Most of the time, people reject and resist any change that could take them out of their comfort zone. We, as a species, love to maintain our status quo, so having to learn how to use a new tool can be an unwelcome disturbance. However, all the chances are that your employees will be happy to accept it if you explain how it helps them with their jobs.
In reality, you’re doing it for the business. Let’s say that you have a meal prep company. It’s only natural that you want to find new ways to streamline your processes, and getting a new piece of software is a logical step. But for your workers to welcome it with open arms, you need to put some strategy into the mix. And here’s what we mean by that.
How to do it?
How well your employees will adopt the new solution depends on how open they are to new technology. In general, there are five groups of people you may be dealing with:
- Innovators. Here, we’re talking about tech enthusiasts. They’ll be excited to dive right into it and figure out all the ways they can use it.
- Early adopters. These are people who follow the innovators, and you can think of them as influencers in your teams. That’s why it’s critical that you get them in.
- Early majority. These are the people who play safe. They want to be sure that the new software works in their favor, and then they’ll gladly use it.
- Late majority. Now, we get to the ones who will adopt the new software only when it becomes irrational not to do it. So, once the program is in place and used all around them, they’ll start using it as well.
- Laggards. These people want to stay in their cocoons of familiarity for as long as possible. They don’t like learning new tools, and you might have to push them harder.
When you divide people who work for you into these groups, you’ll know what you need to do.
Gather up your innovators and early adopters, and tell them about the new software. If, for example, you are working on customer service digitization, you’ll explain to them how all these new channels will lead to a better customer experience. If all your customers are happy, they’ll have less work to do, so using it works in their favor.
You want these two groups to bite into it nicely, as once they spread the word, you’ll get the early majority in. And from there on, you’ll be surprised by how easy it is.
Improve and refine your plan
Now you know the basics of how to implement new software without stressing your employees out. However, there are still plenty of tips and tricks that can help you make it work even better. You need to know what things you need to focus on to make it seem effortless.
Find your advocates
Your innovators and early adopters will be keen to learn the new software, but you need to encourage them to talk about it. In essence, you want them to convince others to start using it. Put some effort into finding employees that will be eager to give it a shot. Get them excited for it, and you’ll benefit a lot.
Explain it to them
Using the new software must make sense to your workers if you want to see high adoption rates. So, don’t rush your advocates and teach them all about it. They need to know what the program is, what it’s for, how it works, and why you picked it. Try to get them engaged and inspire them to ask questions. Be sure to be clear with your answers.
Explain how this change will help grow your business, and show them the big picture. You want them to understand all the reasons why you chose the software that you did. Once they do, they can share them with the rest of your employees.
Teach them to use it
Training events are a great way to do this. Try to create a friendly atmosphere and initiate a dialogue. Answer all the questions, show how the tool is helpful in everyday tasks, and mention all the benefits it will bring.
If you can, use the tool in regular meetings. You can do this even while you’re testing it. You’ll get to hear what people think of it even before you pick it. And once you implement it, they’ll already be familiar with it.
Make it a part of the everyday workflow
One of the easiest ways to get people to use the software is by making it necessary. As a matter of fact, it might be the only way to get your laggards to join the rest of your team.
On the other hand, you need to be careful when you do this. When automating your meal prep business, the last thing you want is to do it all at once. Such a move would only bring frustration and anger from your employees. Instead, you want to take it slowly and gradually. It’s a bold step, so you must watch out not to make it too early.
Consider giving out rewards
Rewards can be a smart way to direct your employees where you want them to go. However, it doesn’t always make sense to go down this path. With creative tasks, carrots and sticks won’t get you far. But if we’re talking about something more mundane like writing reports, it might do the trick.
Conclusion
As you can see, there’s a lot to know about how to implement new software without stressing your employees out. But the bottom line is that you should focus on early adoption. Make sure that the people understand why they should switch to it, and they’ll do it. The better you can explain this, the smoother the transition will be.
