If you’ve ever tried to introduce a new tool to your organization, you’re probably familiar with how difficult it can be. Here are some of the common roadblocks that can prevent adoption of a new communication tool within your team.

Sometimes, team members feel bogged down by their primary responsibilities along with other tools and software they’re already using. This makes them less likely to fully adopt new technologies. Or perhaps management hasn’t taken the time to learn the new system. When that happens, teams feel like they don’t have to learn it either.

However, there are certain techniques you can use to encourage the adoption and usage of a new communication tool. In this post, we’ll share why these challenges arise when implementing a new communications platform like Orion — and more importantly, how to overcome it.

Why Might Your Team Have Trouble with a New Tool?

Whether your team is accustomed to less sophisticated tools like land mobile radios (LMRs), consumer-grade walkie-talkies, or even text messaging, it can be difficult to get them to implement a new and more efficient way of communicating.

This tends to happen when teams have to continue using previous communication methods during the trial. Employees may not want to put in time to learn a new system if they have to rely on old ways to get work done. Just to keep the business running, they’ll revert back to the existing technologies because everyone else is using them.

Too Few People in the Trial Group

One of the biggest reasons that this challenge arises is that too few team members are assigned to the trial group. That means only a few people can actually try out the new communication tool for themselves. When that happens, it’s difficult to effectively judge how that tool would work when rolled out across the entire team.

For example, if you have a 20-person team but only 10 workers are testing out the new technology, only half of your team can assess the value of it. Even worse, those people are typically managers and higher-level employees as opposed to the workers who would be using it on a daily basis.

However, with Orion, there’s no limit to how many people can participate in a trial. You also have the flexibility to increase or decrease the number of users at any time. Having the ability to get everyone on board is key in order to get full buy-in from your team.

Not Enough Managers in the Trial Group

At the same time, adoption relies on more than just individual contributors. You also need to make sure your managers are leading by example and using the tool themselves. If not, workers will feel less compelled to adopt it themselves.

Combat this challenge early on in the rollout process by asking team leads to conduct training that emphasizes why you’re making this change and how it will benefit teams (and the entire business).

Offer Internal Support

Provide employees with an internal contact who can offer them additional help or support if they need it. This person should have contact information for the Orion support team should any larger issues or concerns arise.

Communication Is Important: Offer Incentives

You can even gamify adoption by offering small incentives. The incentive could be as small as a $10 Starbucks or Amazon gift card. Award it to the first person who replies to an Orion message during the initial few weeks of the rollout.

We Can Help

As with any new communication tool you introduce into your business, you might run into some of these challenges. The good news is: we’re always here to help! For more resources to get your team up and running or to schedule a training with Orion, visit our support page or contact us at support@orionlabs.io.