4 Ways to Get Reluctant Staff to Adopt Your New HR Software

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HideWe live in an exciting world of business software, one in which it seems there is a new exciting piece of technology coming out every day. It’s a world where consumers and journalists are constantly raving about the next big thing.

As an HR professional, however, you may find yourself brought down to earth with a bang when you invest in and deploy some new HR technology only to find that your staff just isn’t using it. This isn’t necessarily an issue of technophobia; rather, it’s about HR teams and the people they collaborate with being set in their ways, lacking the motivation and know-how needed to change. This trend was observed in a recent Harvard Busines Review article, which outlined how multimillion-dollar software implementations were occurring in firms, but people were failing to adopt the new systems and continuing to “work in the old way.”

So, what can HR principals do to maximize their ROI by getting HR teams to use the new systems in which they have invested?

1. Show the Team the Benefits of Using the New System

Choose a system that makes it easier to perform HR processes. If your staff members find the new system actually makes their jobs harder, they are not likely to adopt it. Benchmark your proposed new system against legacy systems to ensure that the new system will be easier to use than the legacy systems. If you implement a truly user-friendly system that provides clear benefits to users, you will remove barriers to adoption and increase the rate of uptake. 

2. Choose a System That Is Evolving 

No HR system is perfect, and no matter what system you choose, you will find shortcomings, so choose a system that is constantly improving and adding new features based on user feedback. If staff members’ complaints about the system are heard and addressed, you’ll earn goodwill points and adoption rates should increase.

3. Reward Early Adopters

Use game theory and competition to encourage adoption. Set goals and targets for user adoption, display league tables of progress, and reward winners. This will encourage early adoption of your system.

4. Deploy Internal Evangelists

The technology adoption lifecycle model suggests that you’ll always encounter resistance when introducing new technology. The model also suggest there will always be a small group of innovators who adopt your new HR software easily and quickly. Take advantage of this and turn these early adopters into evangelists and trainers to help encourage uptake across the business.

These are four simple ways to encourage reluctant staff to adopt your new HR software. We’d love to hear about any ways you have improved adoption rates of HR software in your company!

By Roz Bahrami