We’re all dedicated to embarking on a “digital transformation” — it’s 2021, after all. But, here are a few words of warning for any business that’s trying to adopt too much technology too quickly. 

Changes Don’t Come Easy 

Remember, change is hard. People naturally resist change. It takes grit, focus, and discipline to willingly move out of your old comfort zones and create models that innovate your flow. 

As a small or mid-sized business, you’re going to need to do more than just shop around for some fancy tech tools and make the purchase. If you want to make the most of your technologies, you’ll need to prepare your team and their mindsets to accept the new tech tools. 

Don’t Do These 4 Things When Adopting New Technologies

Here are four common tech-adoption mistakes to avoid when you’re onboarding new tools. 

#1. Not Believing in the Change

If someone doesn’t believe in the change, it’s not going to happen. Someone has to feel like the change is driving their purpose, empowering their job, and is a must-have in their lives. 

If your team is just viewing your new technology as a burden because they have to learn something new, it’s going to cause friction in the adoption process. Make sure that your team members see the vision for why you’re investing in this new tool and how it can help them with their workflows. 

#2. Not Having a Champion

Adopting new technologies takes a champion… quite literally. (And, who can be a “Chief Belief Officer” for that change.)

If there is not a Chief Belief Officer in charge of your technology, the adoption process is going to be a bumpy road. You can use a C-suite or a project manager or the head of that division, but you need someone or something to be responsible for the new tech protocols. 

Having a reliable champion will take care of many potential issues involved in adopting new technologies, so do yourself the favor and set up a champion as your first step.

#3. Not Planning or Organizing

Mindset aside, so many mistakes can happen simply because of planning, deployment, and organization errors. But, that can all be fixed if you have that champion to pave the way and problem solve. 

#4. Not Training Your Team

If you’re not dedicating the time to train your team to use the new tech, it’s not going to end well. 

Taking the time to introduce your team to the tool, explain its functions, and walk them through its operations is a must if you expect them to work well with the tool.

If they’re not trained properly, they’ll likely avoid the technology and resist the change. 

The Bottom Line? Anything You Want Takes Work 

Anything you want to change needs that inner push. 

Whether it’s your personal life, your work, or even your fitness goals, you’ll need to take that first step to initiate the change. Then, you need to continue dedicating yourself to put one foot in front of the other to continue walking toward your goal. 

You can’t give up midway or revert to your old habits. You need to persevere. 

The same thing applies to adopting new technologies for your business. You want that growth, the extended capacity, and the benefits of yielding a winning technology system. Achieving those goals requires diligence, energy, and of course, not making these four mistakes.