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Below is video from our recent webinar on “6 Best Practices for Gaining End-user Adoption of New Technology.” In this video Dave Colaizzi discusses the value of Executive Sponsorship in gaining end-user adoption of new technology.

Unfortunately, not all technology and IT implementations succeed. In fact, you may be racking your brain to remember an instance where one actually did! A recent Dynamic Markets survey of 800 IT professionals found that 62 percent of IT projects fail to meet their schedules and 41 percent failed to deliver the expected business value and ROI. Yet in the face of these statistics, most organizations continue to embark on the process of implementing new systems, applications, and technologies. This begs the question, what must an organization do to successfully implement new technology?

As we have partnered with clients to help them successfully implement many different types of technologies and systems, we have incorporated several key best practices into the overall solution. In this article, we will present two of these best practices and some practical recommendations you can implement.

Best Practice #1 – Stop thinking that technology implementations are just IT projects, and start thinking of them as people projects.

There’s no doubt that technology implementations are time and resource intensive. They take months/years of planning and preparation, the involvement of many people, and thousands or even millions of dollars to implement. Yet, too often the role that people have in the ultimate success of these projects is left overlooked. In fact, we would argue that the role that people have in the ultimate success of implementations far outweighs all other factors. People matter, plain and simple. If the people expected to use a new technology are unmotivated to use it, uninformed on why it’s important, and inadequately trained, there will be resistance for any new technology.

To achieve success in implementing new technology, it is critical that a strategy for engaging, informing, and training people be given higher priority than it typically receives. In our experience and research, we have found that the budgets allocated to support the people side of implementations are usually around five to ten percent of the total budget. However, research from Baylor University suggests that organizations should be investing ten to fifteen percent of their budgets for change management, communication, and training. This increase in investment has been found to increase an organizations overall chance of a successful implementation to 80%!

Best Practice #2 – Identify and engage an Executive Sponsor throughout the entire project.

Perhaps you have heard this story before. A small team of people (usually Senior Executives) have determined that a new technology or system is required to improve efficiency or reduce operating costs. A budget is set, a solution is purchased, and a small project team of IT and business professionals is assembled and charged with meeting aggressive implementation milestones. Although initially engaged in the process of designing the technology, the senior leader(s) of the organization eventually start to invest their time and energy into other critical priorities in the organization. As a result, the project team is forced to continue the project with limited executive involvement and authority to make changes required to ensure success. Sounds familiar? Sadly, this situation happens far too often in organizations seeking to roll out both small and large technology projects.

Before embarking on a new technology implementation, we recommend that you draft a job description for each role on the project team; including the role of the Executive Sponsor. In developing the role description it is vital that you focus on three major areas of responsibility for the Executive Sponsor. These include:

1. Linking the project to the overall vision of the organization.
   Leaders plant the seeds of success at project inception. For any implementation to flourish, leadership must provide a solid base by connecting individual effort to your organization’s business objectives.
2. Gaining support and communicating status of the project to the workforce.
   The executive sponsor needs to be visibly supportive of the initiative and explain and reinforce the compelling business purpose for making the change to the new technology. He or she must ensure that all leaders are directly and indirectly aligned around making the implementation a success.
3. Removing obstacles and coaching team members.
   By nature of their role within an organization, Executive Sponsors can help remove roadblocks hindering success. In addition, they should be willing and able to coach their employees and the project team in order to reinforce right behaviors and correct wrong behaviors.

It’s just plain naive to think that an implementation will go smoothly all on its own. That being said, it certainly doesn’t have to fail! To achieve success, you must be aware of potential icebergs that may be in the waters ahead and take preventive measures so you don’t need those lifeboats.

Interested in learning more about how to best gain end-user adoption for new technology? Sign-up for our free Webinar on October 15 from 2:00-3:00 PM (EST) on “6 Best Practices for Gaining End-User Adoption of New Technology.”

Do you happen to know someone who fits this job description?

The value of a great Executive Sponsor cannot be understated.

Great Executive Sponsors turn frustrated groups of people into highly effective teams that enable each individual team member to use their strengths to execute with laser precision. Without a great Executive Sponsor, most strategic projects are doomed to fail due to lack of organizational commitment and the team’s inability to overcome certain obstacles alone.

Given this apparent need for Executive Sponsors, why is there such a shortage of great Executive Sponsors in today’s business world?

The answer to this question is somewhat unclear. However, the typical reasons for lack of Executive Sponsorship include time challenges and conflicting priorities that prevent an executive from investing the time necessary to become a great sponsor. These are valid “symptoms,” but have you ever considered that a possible root cause for the shortage of great Executive Sponsors in most organizations is lack of focus and alignment among leaders?

If a leadership team is not focused and aligned around a shared vision or a compelling organizational purpose, all projects quickly become “top priority projects” that must be implemented congruently and with immediate urgency. Ultimately, this lack of focus limits the effectiveness of everyone, including executives.

For a leadership team (and ultimately the organization) to become high-performing, each member must be willing and able to work together to achieve the organization’s compelling purpose. A compelling purpose provides direction and helps leaders evaluate the ultimate priority of projects and initiatives, and as a result it enables executives to allocate the necessary time they need to serve in the ever-important role of Executive Sponsor.

What do you think? Use the comments section below to offer your ideas as to why there is a lack of great Executive Sponsors.