How can you use IC to encourage continuous learning during a software implementation?

When introducing new software, focus not just on its benefits but also on how it facilitates employees’ daily tasks. Relate its features to real-world scenarios in your organisation, highlighting tangible improvements in workflow. Emphasise its relevance across diverse roles, from fashion to finance. Use a mix of engaging formats for communication, ensuring clarity and addressing potential concerns. Encourage interactive sessions, like Q&As or hands-on workshops, fostering a sense of ownership and easing adoption. This approach humanises the technological change, making it more than just a tool, but a part of the team’s growth narrative.

For the IC, I would usually prefer to go with : 1. A quick snapshot of the Before and After Differences as well as the benefits of the adoption of the new software. So that it captures the attention and awareness of what the new software brings. 2. I would also like to prepare a more detailed playbook for people who like to know more about the WHY, HOW and What of the new software. 3. Testimonials from senior Mgmt - this is supported by mgmt and they can see Mgmt speaking to them (video testimonial) 4. Testimonials from selected users who have tried the new software would be good too as they can identify their peers providing their thoughts and experience about the new software. It helps to know someone familiar have tried.

Beyond the mentioned points, consider establishing a mentorship program to connect experienced employees with those less familiar with the product/service. Create a central repository for resources, making it easy for employees to access information at their own pace. Introduce gamification elements to make the learning process enjoyable and incentivize participation. Conduct periodic knowledge-sharing sessions where teams can showcase their insights and discoveries. Additionally, implement regular quizzes or assessments to gauge understanding and identify areas for additional support. These strategies can enhance engagement and reinforce a culture of continuous learning.

The best persuasive speeches paint a picture of what life is like and then envision what life could be or will look like in the future – and then going back and forth between what is and what can be to reinforce the message. Similarly, it's helpful when rolling out a software change to point out the challenges team members are currently experiencing, and how it will be upgraded with a new system. Reinforcement of these ideas should be ongoing and consistently rolled out across communication channels so everyone hears the same message no matter how they consume their information. This will help rally everyone toward the same goals. And remember: Any change is a journey – and the communication should be there for the entire ride.

Success or failure launching any kind of change depends wholly on how much work you put in before the launch. For starters, is this the right software? Who says we need this? What evidence are you basing your decision on? How can we ensure colleagues will adapt and adopt to this new software? This involves firming up on the requirements gathering, understanding the needs of the colleagues who will use and others who will benefit from it. This must be done by conducting a Business Change Impact Analysis. Your BCIA will inform all your other plans - from a strategic plan that will ensure success on launch, during the roll-out and Post Go Live to your comms, engagement and education to participate plans for every stakeholder.

Create an IT team from your colleagues, with tech fans, pros and a few of those harder to convert peeps who love to try and break stuff! ?? Teach them the new software first, so they can help others when it goes live. They'll be like friendly guides, making learning easier. Plus, they can run 'Lunch and Learn' sessions to teach the basics in a relaxed way - train the trainer type gig. It’s a human-centred way to get everyone on board with new tech.

Clear, engaging and interactive training sessions with creative material that’s easy to comprehend is very important. Additionally, I would add that one must ensure employees are freed up to attend trainings or they will see it as another task at hand over and above their current workload. Post first few sessions, the net can be widened by incorporating more people through ‘train the trainer’ modules. It doubles up as ‘recognition’ and trainings become easier and more fun when conducted between peers.

Make life easier. Create an IT Influencers Group of volunteers that represent all your staff in all your locations - whether national or global - and include enthusiasts, experts and super-users. To train-up an organisation, you need all the resources you can get. Train these folks up first, so when the product goes Live - they can be on hand to act as floor-walkers to help colleagues over the transition. These influencers can also be used to train the trainers. I've created lots of these groups and they really work well. If the software is simple to understand, most folks will adopt quickly. If it's more complex, set the bar a little lower and encourage everyone to learn the basics. Use Lunch n Learn sessions - given by your influencers.

It has to be easy to access, learn and get through the program. If things are complicated and difficult to understand no one is winning and the employee is getting rightfully frustrated.

The motivation to internalise the training provided should be intrinsic, not extrinsic. We can save the gamification that AI is suggesting here for another day. That being said, for the training itself I would suggest starting with your lunch and learns - they're collaborative by nature and offer goldmines of content which are ripe for repurposing. Record them, edit and synthesize into tutorials, then migrate the polished product to the preferred repository/community group so people can easily find, pull, bookmark and share feedback.

Communicate with your team wherever they are most comfortable, whether that's the company intranet site, a collaborative workspace chat, or good old-fashioned email. Creating connection points that allow collaboration and peer learning can help increase adoption, and enhance comfort levels with new tools. Leveraging influencers within the organization to plant the seeds of benefits and use cases is a great tactic to drive engagement and conversation. Overall, use familiar mediums to communicate, let people know where to gather and share, leverage influences, and make sure everyone knows the WIIFM (what's in it for me) to drive adoption.

If you allow for sharing who has done the program already and select particular ambassadors who can influence their peers you will significantly increase the success of the program.

Rewarding staff to participate in trainings and achieve successful implementation of a new system is delivered by many mentioned incentives. It's important that these appreciations are rolled out equitably across the team or company so that one office/team/individual's efforts don't appear diminished next to others. If you're distributing a gift or bonus for an achievement, this should be of equal value across geographies. If you're enabling a profile badge on the company intranet, then instructions should be given for all achieving staff to do the same. I've seen local offices and teams piggyback on a corporate initiatives – and gets found out across the organization and feels unfair for those who don't have that reward.

I can see how this may help. But I think this could get in the way of achieving your objectives and perhaps involve some unnecessary budget spend. Roll-outs need to be "right-sized". If you make too big a deal of it, you run the risk of giving the impression that this software is too difficult to follow. Focus on the benefits and use Vox-Pop video of colleagues talking about how easy they found the software to use.

Achievements should be transported into the intra or relevant social media to award the participation and people who have managed to get through the program. Award recognition is very important for the teams and individuals.

Works well in theory, but, if the same people or same teams are celebrated too often, there is risk of alienating the rest. Left unchecked, resentment can fester, and factions can form. To prevent this, consider a rotational or 'take turns' approach - involving different people and teams in the recognition process to foster inclusivity. And, proactively reviewing milestone criteria and resource allocation to foster a more equitable environment.

We often rely on very formal ways of collecting feedback like forms and surveys, but never discount the informal conversations you overhear in the break room or hallways. You can also ask a few trusted colleagues across departments and at different career levels what they have heard. Even though it's often anonymous, this type of feedback can be the most authentically sourced information to help continued and future software implementation and updates. And don't let your own bias about the implementation weigh the data you collect. It's easy to look for the results you agree with – it will test your professionalism to objectively evaluate feedback. If you're concerned, ask someone else or form a team to evaluate the information.

I would leave feedback on implementing to your IT Department. They're the experts. The last thing you want is a free-for-all on any bugs that may develop. They will keep a close eye on end users. Your vendor also needs to be on hand to make any necessary adjustments. Lesson here - always go for 'gold' service from the supplier. This ensures teething problems are picked-up and sorted by their own Service Help Desks.

Make sure you have a running daily issues chart or tracker of some sort at the start of a roll out so you can easily and quickly track the hiccups at the start. You are able to provide quick resolution and other users can see the issues. We have used an excel spreadsheet for this on a shared drive so that all edits are captured at once, but whatever works, make sure you have a team assigned to issue resolution in the first few weeks or morale and buy in will erode immediately among users. Hear the feedback and cluster the topics and address as many as you can as quickly as you can.

You may plan the best implementation, steps, check ups, "office hours", sessions, fancy trainings and support... but if your whole company is not supporting the continuous learning mode - you may only win the "internal communication contest", but you will fail long term. Internal communication should support particular mindset / behaviors. And reward the expected ones.

GlasgowGPT perspective: 1. Communicate Regularly: Keep yer team in the loop wi' regular updates and progress reports. Encourage 'em to ask questions. 2. Training Sessions: Organize trainin' sessions and workshops to upskill yer team on the new software. Make it interactive. 3. Knowledge Sharing: Foster a culture o' knowledge sharing. Encourage lessons learned throughout the implementation. 4. Recognize Progress: Celebrate achievements and milestones along the way to motivate and encourage continuous learning. By keepin' yer team informed, trained, and sharin' knowledge, ye'll ensure a smooth implementation. Gie it laldy!