It’s not uncommon for a company to spend many months planning for a Digital Transformation project and typically, the team believes they’ve considered all of the essentials and then some. But there is one very important aspect that is frequently overlooked, ultimately resulting in a much lower level of success: Digital Transformation employee training.
Digital Transformation training programs are essential for the success of a project. This is true whether you’re deploying an enterprise software platform with all the bells and whistles, an intuitive mobile app for business messaging, a user-friendly web app portal or a bespoke business process automation solution.
Do I Really Need a Digital Transformation Employee Training Program?
Is it worthwhile to invest in a Digital Transformation employee training program? After all, you find it quite easy to pick up and master a new technology in a matter of minutes. You’re also the type of person who can assemble things without directions. But not everyone’s mind works in this way. Many struggle to adopt new technologies and lots of people are averse to change in general.
A training program is truly an essential component of a successful Digital Transformation strategy. Otherwise, you risk a scenario where you have great technology with poor user adoption and non-existent ROI because employees are unfamiliar or uncomfortable using the platform that you developed as part of the Digital Transformation project.
Digital Transformation Project Deployments and the Impact on User Adoption Rates and Morale
Comprehensive training on a new app or software platform is really critical if you expect to achieve good user adoption rates. And, in turn, high user adoption rates are essential if you expect to get the most out of the technology that was deployed as part of your Digital Transformation project. This is true from a financial sense by way of ROI and it’s true from a perspective of productivity.
The bottom line is this: You may have just deployed the most innovative Digital Transformation development project this side of the Atlantic. But that matters naught if you have abysmal user adoption rates because users lack the confidence and/or knowledge to use this new technology. You’re simply not going to see the maximum return on investment for your Digital Transformation project in this scenario. In fact, you could even see a dip in productivity — plus an adverse financial impact — if you are eliminating a comfortable, well-known platform and replacing it with a new, unfamiliar one.
Foregoing employee training in advance of a Digital Transformation project rollout can also impact employee morale in a very negative way, leaving users feeling as though the rug has been pulled out from under them. The impact can be especially severe in cases where there is little or no overlap period during the transition — a time when both platforms are available for use in parallel. The end result is a very rocky period with little productivity, lots of frustration and horrible morale.
If the right conditions exist, the lack of a Digital Transformation training program can lead to a net effect of more harm than good. That certainly wasn’t the goal when the company set out to invest in a Digital Transformation project. But fortunately, it’s never too late to right the ship by offering an employee training program.
The Workings of a Digital Transformation Training Program
To ensure success, a Digital Transformation employee training program must be custom tailored to suit both the organization, the users and the platform or technology in question. There are three basic options for hosting a Digital Transformation training program.
Training from the Development Company – Typically, the development company is well-positioned to provide training on the new platform and many offer this as an optional service.
Third-Party Training Firms – Many Digital Transformation development companies partner with third-party companies that are familiar with the developer’s technology and provide training on their behalf.
Self-Training Strategy – The third training option involves designating representatives from your company to work directly with the development team to master the platform and all of its features and functionalities. Then, those individuals conduct Digital Transformation employee training sessions within your organization.
Those who use the third approach may even opt for a distributed type of training program whereby the first group to learn the new technology trains a handful of individuals within your organization — often, individuals in a leadership role, such as department managers or leaders of a division. This is the “superuser” group. Then, those individuals are charged with training the employees who work under them until everyone is familiar and comfortable with the technology that you’ve deployed as part of your Digital Transformation project.
The only downside to this distributed approach is that the individuals performing the training must be adept teachers and not everyone excels in this way. But it is usually possible to find staff who are willing to step up and assume the trainer role.
Digital Transformation employee training will empower users to make the most of this new technology, subsequently maximizing ROI and driving the organization toward greater success. It’s important to remember, though, that even the best training program cannot compensate for a poorly-designed platform. This underscores the importance of selecting a Digital Transformation developer like 7T that places strong emphasis on UI/UX.
Digital Transformation for Maximum ROI
At 7T, we specialize in Digital Transformation, using a collaborative development process that engages the client from start to finish, This includes working with the client to ensure that their employees receive all of the training they need to succeed. Our many Digital Transformation service offerings include process automation solutions, enterprise software development for ERP and CRM systems (among others), along with SaaS development for web apps and mobile apps, amongst others. We have extensive experience working with cutting-edge technologies and we help our clients to achieve goals such as scaling by delivering exceptional results that are truly transformative for our clients and their companies.
We’re guided by the approach of “Digital Transformation Driven by Business Strategy.” As such, the 7T development team works with company leaders who are seeking to solve problems and drive ROI through Digital Transformation and innovation. We then provide collaborative, multi-phased and impactful Digital Transformation solutions.
7T has offices in Dallas, Houston and Austin, but our clientele spans the globe. If you’re ready to learn more about Digital Transformation and what we can do for your business, contact 7T today.
