What is Technology Adoption and What are its 5 Stages

There is no doubt regarding the tremendous impact technology has on companies around the world. The use of technology have opened up a whole new world of insight and possibilities for these companies helping them gain deeper insight into their customers, improve their products and services, optimize their operations and more. However, the introduction of new technology isn’t easy, and usually is met with a lot of resistance from employees who are used to and comfortable doing their work in a specific way that they don’t fancy changing. 

What is Technology Adoption

As per Wikipedia Technology Adoption is defined as a sociological model that describes the adoption or acceptance of a new product or innovation, according to the demographic and psychological characteristics of defined adopter groups.

What that means in english is that whenever a company introduces a new technology into the work culture it should take into account that not all of its employees are the same. And in order to gain the maximum benefit of this technology it should customize its launch approach to suit the different types of employees in the company. 

Most often these companies implement new technologies and build a standard one size fits all launch program that treats all employees alike resulting in resistance, low usage and very low return on investment. 

The Different Types of Employees Groups in Technology Adoption

To build a proper technology adoption program that minimizes resistance, promotes change and increases the return on investment from technology the first thing companies need to do is understand the different adopter groups that their employees fall under which are:

1. Innovators (2.5% of employees) - These employees are innovators, the first individuals to adopt on new technologies in the workplace, they are not afraid to take risks and usually test out different technologies in their personal lives as well. 
2. Early Adopters (13.5% of employees) - These employees are not as risk averse as the innovators, however they care about progressing their career, building a reputation in the company and making an impact. Usually on higher end in the company hierarchy and want to invest in whatever it takes to help the company succeed.
3. Early Majority (34% of employees) - Typically middle and line managers these employees tend to be slower in the adoption process, they will usually wait and see how a new technology is faring and if the higher ups are adopting it before committing to using it themselves.
4. Late Majority (34% of employees) - These individuals are usually very skeptical about innovations and new technologies, and will only adopt it after they see a large percentage of the company  using it. They are usually older in age and have been at the company for a long period of time.
5. Laggards (16% of Employees) - These individuals tend to be advanced in age, typically focused on traditions vs. innovations. These Individuals tend to use new technology in one of two scenarios:
1. There is no other alternative for them to get the job done without using technology
2. They are being forced to use the technology and would be penalized for not using it. 

A customized approach to technology adoption

With the above being said, it should be clear that one size doesn’t fit everyone, and for a company to successfully launch new technologies it must personalize and customize it’s approach of introducing technology and innovation in the workplace. Below is a list of some (but not all) options that companies can adopt per user group to successfully launch new technology and innovations: 

1. Email Marketing with tracking
2. Enterprise Social Network
3. Public Social Media Outlets through Private Groups
4. Creating Awareness Videos
5. Creating Video Tutorials
6. In Class or online training (Including on-demand training)
7. High management sponsored Launch Events
8. Identifying and compensating champions who will lobby for the use of new technology and support employees doing it. 
9. Integrating the technologies being used in their operational handbooks, company policies and procedures. 

For companies to get the most value of the technology they invest in, they need to make sure they launch it in the best way possible that entices employees to adopt it as fast as possible. In subsequent articles we will be going over building and launching technology adoption plans, moreover we will cover some scenarios, examples and best practices based on our experience. 

If you are interested in someone helping you with launching new products in your environment and building a technology adoption culture, please visit Ta7awul.