What causes barriers to technology adoption?
Barriers can be broken down into 3 key areas specific to people which need to be focused on. These can completely derail projects, so it’s imperative that project teams focus on these, and allocate time to them.
Mindset
A lot of the success of technology adoption relies on the mindsets of the people involved in the process. Resistance at any stage of the process by the people who the change will impact will result in a failure to successfully adopt new technology and processes into your business.
The innovation mindset is cultural. Therefore, it is important to have the right kind of people on your team. A publication by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in 2019 looked at attitudes to change in SMEs (See this link) they were able to categorise people by their attitudes to technological innovation in a business.
The wariest of change, ‘defiant resistors’ are strong champions of tried and tested practices. They believe there is little need to adopt new technology to better their business and feel that precious time is wasted in search of tech adoption opportunities.
‘Reluctant innovators’ can be motivated to change if it is felt that change is completely necessary, they are far more able to accept their limitations than ‘defiant resistors’.
‘Recently taken the reins’ have a lot of pressure on them, being the new lead decision-maker they are willing to drive innovation but only when it is paired with real-world benefits.
The most accepting of change are ‘cutting edge industry innovators’ and ‘growth-hungry startups’, they are constantly seeking to increase efficiency and improve their processes through technological change.
As you read through that summary, a few people in your team might have come to mind. It is important to take time to consider the attitudes and mindsets of the people in your team to develop a plan to motivate them in the change process. The chances are that if you’re all for change then you are more profit focused in your business attitudes, this is great, but the importance of human consideration can’t be underestimated.
Understanding
Willingness to innovate is closely linked to understanding. If you say to most people on your team ‘we’re going through a change process to adopt some new technology’ the chances are you will have a few confused faces. Being so general about what the process involves, how it will impact them and the technology you are referring to could be quite daunting.
To combat the fear factor, consider having meetings with the members of your team where you outline exactly what is going to be happening and consult them along the way. A lot of reluctance to adopt new technology lies in a misunderstanding of what technology can actually include, images of futuristic machines and robotics tend to come up.
For example, undergoing technological change could mean replacing your computer systems or switching from Microsoft Word to Google Docs.
Value
Undergoing technology adoption will undoubtedly take time, energy, and money.
Technological transformations don’t happen overnight, you need to research the best technology for your business, make a proposal, and then train your staff to be able to use it. Investing these resources into a project means that you’ll want to see some returns in the form of tangible and measurable results.
A barrier to many businesses undergoing these transformations is that they simply cannot see this value or that the value they do receive will be short-lived. Technological advancements are constantly occurring and failure to capitalise on this will mean your business will soon fall behind.
Focusing on these 3 key areas, Mindset, Understanding and Value, will not only identify issues that need resolving, but bring you closer to your target audience creating valuable connections helping to increase the likelihood of success.
Feel free to get in touch if you need more specific advice removing barriers to technology adoption!
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