Author: Neta Gur-Ari Krakover, VP Engineering, Slim.AI

In today’s business landscape, adopting new technology platforms is vital for driving efficiency, innovation, and growth. However, the key to leveraging these platforms lies in successful adoption by the company’s workforce. Drawing from my experience in driving platform adoption across multiple companies, this article offers a prescriptive, structured, and leader-centric guide to navigate this transformative journey.

Understanding and Overcoming Resistance

It’s common for employees to be apprehensive about new technology. Adopting a new platform, or migrating from an old one, requires quite a lot of resources, and at times does not have clear benefits for individuals who are responsible for it, as those lie in standardization across multiple teams or have implications that are outside of the realm of value for product teams that are the consumers of those platforms. As a leader, it’s imperative to proactively address these concerns by identifying and tackling the root causes of resistance, thereby paving the way for an effective adoption strategy.

Communicate Strategic Benefits

Your primary task is to clearly articulate the strategic importance of the new platform. Clarify how it aligns with the organization’s overall objectives and the specific advantages it brings. Highlighting improvements in efficiency, innovation, and competitiveness can help in getting your message across effectively. Ensure that the platform’s adoption is genuinely necessary and beneficial, as this process requires significant investment and effort, and should not be embarked on, unless the value it provides is significant. Repetition is key. Most internal customers of your platform are busy with their own projects, and they might not remember or particularly care about your cool platform. Regularly reiterating the strategic vision across different forums will increase awareness of the new platform and hence reduce the development of ‘shadow platforms’ by product teams that are not aware of it. Furthermore, this communication draws in previously unrecognized stakeholders that might reach out after identifying the need in their own teams.

Involve Stakeholders Early

Stakeholder involvement is crucial. Engage with employees at all levels early in the process to gather feedback and incorporate their requirements into the platform’s functionality. Feedback gathering not only ensures the platform is more user-friendly and useful, but also builds a sense of ownership among the rest of the organization.

Depending on the level of influence you have in the organization, you might consider incentivizing potential users to be involved with the new platform, or even restructuring the organization to have your customers closer to the platform team, but it’s always advised to build personal relationships, regardless of your position.

White Glove Service to Early Adopters

A key strategy in successful platform adoption is providing exceptional, personalized support to early adopters. By offering ‘White Glove’ service, you not only ensure that these early adopters indeed adopt the platform, but also that they have a positive experience and become powerful advocates for the platform within your organization. This approach means first onboarding a small number of teams to the platform and providing them with direct access to support, customized training sessions, and regular check-ins to address any challenges promptly. In many cases, one might need to go as far as having your team do the majority of the integration work in your internal customer’s code base, or adding additional functionality to the platform that will support their specific use case to entice the first teams to adopt. Those actions might be expensive, but will both lower your internal customer’s barrier for adoption and incentivize them in the short term to adopt the platform, as well as allow you to find the hurdles in the adoption process so you can improve it for the next teams. Additionally, gathering feedback from these users can provide invaluable insights for refining the platform and enhancing the adoption process for the rest of the organization. Once there are enough early adopters, your platform will become the de-facto default and onboarding new teams will become easier, more cost effective, and will require much less work from your team. Essentially, by investing extra effort in supporting early adopters, you lay a strong foundation for wider platform acceptance and success.

Capitalizing on Early Wins for Momentum

In the initial stages of platform adoption, it’s essential to celebrate and advertise early successes of your platform, even at small scale. These ‘wins’ are powerful tools in building momentum and creating traction for the platform within the organization. As a leader, highlight instances where the platform has already made a positive impact, no matter how minor these may seem. It could be as simple as a team completing the integration with the platform, or an early adapting team that uses a new product functionality that you added especially for them to make it easier for them to adopt. Publicly acknowledging these successes not only boosts morale but also demonstrates the tangible benefits of the platform in real-time. This strategy helps in dispelling skepticism, building a compelling narrative around the platform’s efficacy, and helps drive support from the leadership and project management increasing the chances to complete the project. If possible, even change the prioritization that quick wins can be done earlier. By showcasing these early successes, you foster a sense of progress and encourage others to explore the platform’s potential, thereby accelerating the adoption process.

Identify and Support Champions

Identify key individuals within the organization who can act as champions for the new platform, once you have the first set of functionality and integrations. These should not only be senior leaders, but also individuals who are not only tech-savvy but also influential and respected among their peers. Equip them with the necessary resources to assist others and foster wider adoption. Good candidates can be architects that have strong influence on the way software is built, or strong product leaders that can see product value or increased velocity from using your product.

Implement a Robust Training Program

Develop a comprehensive training program tailored to different learning styles and skill levels. It’s essential to provide continuous learning opportunities, including workshops, webinars, and written guides, to support employees throughout the transition. It’s recommended to incorporate information about the platform as soon as new employees are onboarded, as they are most likely to change the existing team’s perspective. Another helpful idea is to start a public Slack channel to answer questions and engage your users. This will not only help address issues users encounter as they use your system quickly, but will also increase people’s engagement with your tool. Early adopters can participate in troubleshooting, contributing to a sense of community around the platform. A public Slack channel can also help promote awareness as people browse channels and help with organic discovery of the system. Note that people appreciate prompt and helpful support, even more than they appreciate seamless integration.

Seamless Integration with Existing Processes

Ensure that the new platform integrates seamlessly with existing business processes, as much as possible. The more intuitive and less disruptive the integration, the higher the likelihood of successful adoption. Work closely with IT and operational teams to streamline this integration. One useful strategy is to replicate the existing work process within your new platform, and introduce a “translation layer” within the platform when possible, or just route the data through your platform. So after the initial (much easier) integration, you can continue providing gradual value as you evolve the platform, and only later remove those layers as a lower priority project.

Avoiding the Trap of Loose Ends: Managing Technical Debt

A crucial aspect of successful platform adoption is avoiding the pitfalls of unresolved issues or ‘loose ends.’ These often manifest as technical debt; leftovers of systems that were not adopted and standardized as a part of the new system, creating complexity and confusion. As a leader, it’s vital to establish metrics for monitoring technical debt and ensure these issues are systematically addressed, similarly to the metrics that are set up to support new software development. One idea is to regularly review these metrics to understand the impact of unresolved issues on the platform’s performance and user experience. Moreover, it’s important to commit to resolving these issues in a timely manner. This commitment not only improves the platform’s functionality but also reinforces trust among users. By diligently managing technical debt, you ensure that the platform evolves into a robust and efficient tool, truly capable of supporting your organization’s goals.

Driving platform adoption is not just a technological challenge but a leadership opportunity. It’s about guiding your organization through a period of change and growth. By focusing on strategic alignment, stakeholder engagement, comprehensive training, internal advocacy, and seamless integration, you can lead your organization towards a successful digital transformation. Leaders must view platform adoption as a strategic initiative critical to the future success of their organization. Embrace this challenge with a structured approach, and lead your team towards a more innovative and efficient future.

I urge leaders to view platform adoption as a comprehensive process that involves much more than just introducing new technology. It’s about shaping an environment that encourages learning, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Embrace this journey with a holistic approach, and lead your organization towards a thriving digital future.