What’s In It For Me? Increasing Adoption for New Initiatives

Facilitator: Melissa D. White, National Director of Marketing & Training, GFI Management Services, Inc.

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Group Poll on 5/28/14- 94% of session attendees are looking for implement new products at this time.

Temperature Check: Is It the Right Time?

Here are a few things to consider before product implementation:

• Does it fit your business model?• Do you have buy in from the top down?• Does it meet an organizational need?• Is the right man power in place to

lead the charge?• Seasonality: right time to deploy?

Group Poll from 5/28/14

What Not To Do…

Does It Fit?

URGENT vs. IMPORTANT• Multiple Module

Implementation: Roll out products in the order of company need

• Address the urgent 1st

• Solving critical issues 1st will eliminate barriers to other areas of deployment

ORG NEEDS vs. EMPLOYEE• Have clear company goals• Assess operational

challenges• Do org. goals align with

employee needs?• Anticipate obstacles &

adjust• Ultimate Goal: Remove

barriers, not create them!

Where Do Our Needs Intersect?

Company

Team Customer

THIS IS WHERE YOU START!

Are Your People Before the Product?

How To Turn Your Employees/ Residents into Advocates

Employee Buy In• Staff engagement- Do they

identify with how the product will meet a need?

• What is the success story?• Make demos impactful and

interactive• Employee Promoters• Provide a platform for

feedback

Resident Buy In• Consider the residents who

are end users of the product• Will residents see this as a

value added convenience?• Anticipate objections and

have ready solutions• Buy In starts at Move In• Provide a platform for

feedback

Getting Team Buy In: It’s A Sales Process

• Either you are selling the project to…– Management: on how the product will increase

productivity and ROI – The Team: on why they need the product

• Ease of use• Value of time saved• Recognition for increased performance

– The Resident: on why they should use it• Value add mention during the beginning of the

presentation• Ease of use/ Convenience

The Power of An Advocate

• Find someone in your team, preferably a community manager in phase 1 who is engaged and buys into the new product (1st responders!)

• Deploy them as a resource to help with the next phases as they can provide insight as a trusted team advisor

• They can help with team coverage onsite on go-live dates

• Use the eyes and ears of a trusted peer to get feedback

Obstacles: How Do They Look To You & Others?

Anticipate the O2

• Objections- Are indicators that they have more questions and see understanding.

• Obstacles- When the objections are not addressed and there is a barrier to proceeding forward.

Anticipate the O2

O2= Objections & Obstacles!

• Do you know your teams objections before you approach them?

• Do you give them a voice in the process?

• Check the product reviews!

• Avoid the least path of resistance. This does not make the road easy.

• Provide a way to collect feedback. (Surveys, Comment Cards, Resident Bulletin Board)

How To Handle Murphy’s Law

So find out who has made the mistakes and learn how to avoid it!

What Product Adaptation Looks Like

INTRODUCTION- Discovery & Set Up (1 Week)

Assemble TeamSet TimelineTraining PrepDemo Rally- Kick Off to team

IMPLEMENTATION- Configuration (3 Weeks)

Team Training(while setting up systems) Promotional Products

STAGING- Testing (2 Weeks)

Simulation of Live EnvironmentConfirms deliveryPredictableDetect Problems

BETA- (2 Weeks)

Go LiveMonitor ProcessCorrect Errors Gain AgreementRetrain If Necessary

What The Implementation Model Looks Like

You’re Live. Now What?

Test. Test and Test Some More… There is no “Easy Button in Beta”

• The Beta phase may last longer than 2 weeks. Be prepared to retrain and work hands on

• Remember the end user. They can kill the project just faster than you bring it to life.

• Measure: – Key Performance Indicators– Rate of adaptation– ROI

KPI- The Pulse of Your Project• Are nonfinancial measures• Are measured frequently• Are acted on by the CEO and

senior management team• Clearly indicate what action

is required by staff• Are measures that tie

responsibility down to a team• Have a significant impact• Encourage appropriate action

Image source: http://data-driven-marketing.net/articles/organization/seven-key-characteristics-key-performance-indicators-kpis

Team Feedback: Turn Their Truth Into Your Testimonial

“ I don’t know the difference between a Pop Card and a Pop Tart. What’s the point?”

- Employee Feedback, 1st 30 Days of Implementation“What did we do before Pop Card? I finally get it and it makes my job easy.”

- Employee Feedback, 60 Days after ImplementationSo what happened to change their opinion???

The Process of Project Sustainability

Image Source: http://business901.com/blog1/do-you-know-how-to-create-key-performance-indicators/

Key Points Check the temperature of the organization and employees. Are they ready to embrace

the change this project will bring? Schedule your project around the urgent vs. important Getting team buy in is like a sells process. They must see what’s in it for them Deploy product advocates as resources to help with future implementations and boost

morale around change Anticipate the O2- Obstacles & Objections and have a prepared response Expect, Inspect & Reset- when things go wrong, do not proceed until you reset and fix

the issue Pre & Post Assessments to check the temperature again at every phase Identify how you will measure KPI & ROI and communicate this to your vendor/partner

team Have a plan for sustainability You cannot manage a project from the office. Spend one on one time with the team to

help them embrace the change and see you lead the charge Embrace the team’s perspective and invite new idea. This keeps your team engaged.