Rolling out new software to the company is a major milestone, but it’s not the finish line. For project managers, the real success metric is adoption. Are people using the tool, and are they using it effectively?
When non-technical employees struggle with new software, it’s rarely because the tool is bad. More often, it’s because the rollout didn’t include the right kind of training, support, or communication. This post will fix that, and keep reading for a surprise that will help your software adoption succeed.
What You Need To Do For Successful Software Launches
Each section covers an important piece of the puzzle, ensuring employees have the necessary resources to learn the new software and that communication meets their needs. While you can’t know the needs of all employees, a start is planning with end-users rather than assuming you know exactly what they need.
Empowering employees with proper support is at the root of helping them use software effectively.
Ensuring the necessary resources are available is important, including a solid foundation and resources that empower employees to help themselves, too. But without sufficient communication, the message and resource might get lost.
Ensure that people are aware of what’s happening before your tool launches, and verify that they’re using the software correctly.
Involve End Users Early
Too often, software decisions are made in a vacuum. IT selects the tool, configures it, and then hands it off to users who had no say in the process. That’s a recipe for resistance.
Instead, bring in end users from the start. Identify representatives from each department who can provide input on workflows, pain points, and must-have features. These stakeholders become champions for the project, helping to ensure the solution meets real-world needs.
Involving users early also helps you uncover hidden complexity. For example, a finance team might rely on a spreadsheet export feature that wasn’t prioritized in the initial configuration. Catching that early can prevent frustration later.
End users should have a place in forming every part of the software and deployment plan.
Ensure that end users are involved in every part of the process, not just planning the software. It’s even better to involve them in communication and training as well, to ensure the balance is right and that coverage is sufficient.
While one group of end users shouldn’t dictate all decisions, since they are only one group, their input should be valued greatly.
Action Tip: Host a discovery session with department leads before finalizing your software selection or configuration. Ask them to walk you through their current workflows and identify what “success” looks like for them. Involve them at a high level every step of the way to ensure they can give valuable input not only for the software but also for communication and training.
Customize Training to Real-World Use Cases
Generic training that’s not relevant to employees is one of the biggest reasons they disengage. When it comes to software training, that might look like straightforward “click here, now here, now here” types of training with no context or story. Training must connect with their job and how they’ll use it in their role.
If your training only shows how to navigate menus or click buttons, it’s not helping people understand how the software fits into their job.
Instead, build training around actual tasks and tailor it in relevant ways to employees. Show the sales team how to log a lead in a realistic, scenario-based learning environment. Show HR how to run a report. Use real(ish) data and real scenarios. This approach not only makes training more relevant, but it also builds confidence.
Training should be relevant and as close to realistically using the software as possible.
When users see how the software helps them do their job better, they’re more likely to embrace it. And when training reflects their daily work, they retain more and ask fewer questions later.
Action Tip: Interview team leads to identify 3–5 common tasks their teams perform, and build your training around those. These stories can help guide the optimal balance of training that neither overdoes it nor leaves employees needing further support.
Provide Context Before Performance Support
Microlearning is short and focused, making it a great tool; however, it’s not a silver bullet. It works best after users have a foundational understanding of the software and are looking for additional support. It provides great solutions to immediate problems, but it provides little context.
Building the right context (a foundation) in training is essential. That will help employees understand the basics and identify areas where they lack knowledge, allowing them to then seek further information. In the beginning, employees don’t know what they don’t know, so microlearning is less helpful. That’s because they don’t know what they don’t know, and how can they search for something they don’t know?
Microlearning isn’t the training silver bullet. It’s a type of performance support on par with other types.
For employees who aren’t tech-savvy, it’s essential to provide them with a basic level of knowledge so they can perform the essentials and understand what they need to know to locate information among additional resources, such as microlearning, job aids, and knowledge base articles.
Sometimes, custom eLearning, which incorporates scenario-based learning, provides users with a big-picture view of how the software supports their role. After the basic framework is established, performance support will be more effective in reinforcing specific tasks or providing just-in-time assistance.
Think of it like this: holistic training builds understanding; microlearning supports performance.
For example, an eLearning course might walk a new hire through the full lifecycle of a customer support ticket. Later, a 2-minute video, job aid, or help article can remind them how to escalate a ticket when needed.
Action Tip: Don’t just train users on the software; train them to help themselves and show them where to find additional resources. Every foundational course should provide employees with clear instructions on where to find help, who to contact in case of issues, and other relevant information. Don’t just train users on using software; train them to help themselves.
Offer On-Demand Support
Even with great training, users will have questions. And when they do, they need somewhere to go to find answers. That place where they turn to get help should not be calling or chatting with the help desk either; the goal is to keep help desk contacts low.
Build a support ecosystem that includes custom knowledge base articles that are searchable, job aids, quick reference guides, or even an enterprise social network group to ask power users questions. When deemed necessary, consider hosting office hours where users can drop in with questions.
This approach reduces the burden on your IT support team and empowers users to solve problems independently. It also helps encourage a culture of learning and collaboration.
Action Tip: Group knowledge base articles or create an intranet page with all support resources in one place. Include a “Start Here” guide, FAQs, and links to training.
Communicate Clearly and Consistently
Communication is too often scimped on or worse, overlooked entirely in software rollouts, but it’s critical. Users need to know what’s changing, why it matters, and how it affects them, and they should know well in advance with increasing amounts of relevant information. Not too much, too early, and not too much information in general. It’s about striking the right balance.
Start communicating early. Share the rollout timeline, outline the benefits, and establish clear expectations to ensure a smooth implementation. Use multiple channels that employees are accustomed to using, such as email, Slack, Teams, or even promotions on your company intranet. The goal is to reach the right people with the most relevant information.
A good communication plan is essential to pair with training.
And don’t stop after launch. Keep users informed about updates, new features, and training opportunities. The more transparent you are, the more trust you build.
Action Tip: Draft a communication plan that includes pre-launch announcements, launch-day reminders, and post-launch updates. Assign a point person to manage user questions and feedback. There are many communication plan templates you can download online, including this one from HubSpot.
Measure Adoption and Iterate
You can’t improve what you don’t measure. Track usage data, monitor support tickets, and gather user feedback to understand what is working and what is not. Embedding third-party analytics tools, such as Pendo or WalkMe, is a great way to collect the right data from the beginning. They’re even great tools to provide users with contextual help right in the app with in-app help.
Look for patterns. Are certain teams struggling more than others? Are specific features underused? Use this data to refine the software, training, and support strategy. Sometimes it’s helpful to examine training completion rates per group and compare them to which group is calling the help desk the most, is using the software incorrectly, or is experiencing the most issues.
Improvement is impossible without knowing what needs to be improved.
Also, don’t be afraid to revisit your rollout plan. Adoption is a process, not a one-time event. Continuous improvement is key.
Action Tip: Schedule a post-rollout review 30-60 days after launch. Bring together stakeholders to discuss what went well, what didn’t, and what needs to change.
Address the Emotional Side of Change
Software rollouts aren’t just technical. Since they involve people, all the emotions that come with being human are present. People fear change, especially when it threatens their sense of competence or control.
Acknowledge this. Create space for users to express concerns. Offer reassurance that support is available and that mistakes are part of the learning process.
Action Tip: Create a group or community on your enterprise social network or communication app to give users a place to express their concerns, ask questions, and alleviate negative emotions attached to a software launch.
Celebrate Early Wins
Positive reinforcement goes a long way. When teams successfully adopt a new tool, celebrate it. Share success stories, highlight power users, and recognize departments that are leading the way.
This builds momentum and shows others that adoption is both achievable and valued.
Action Tip: Create a “Wall of Wins” on your intranet, social network, or internal newsletter to spotlight successful use cases and how the software is helping employees work better. It makes others feel better, and stakeholders will feel validated in their decision to commission the tool.
Partner with a Training Specialist
You don’t have to do this alone. Our agency specializes in helping non-technical employees confidently adopt new software. We create custom digital training that’s relevant, engaging, and designed to drive real results.
Whether you’re rolling out a CRM, HRIS, project management tool, or anything else, we can help your teams get up to speed fast. Our approach uses various digital learning solutions tailored to each company we work with to identify the most suitable type(s) of training that help employees do their jobs more effectively.
We often combine scenario-based learning, performance support, on-demand assistance, and more to ensure your rollout is successful. Schedule a free consultation to discuss your next software deployment and how to ensure non-technical employees use it.
Wrap Up and Free Resource
Deploying software to employees without ensuring they use it effectively or understand how to use it is a waste of time. Imagine all the resources that could be invested into an internal software launch and all that could go to waste if it fails after employees get their hands on it.
That’s not a good feeling.
That’s why it’s essential to ensure that all employees, including those who are non-technical, have the resources to use the software effectively. The information in this guide will help you launch software more successfully.
And because we want you to succeed, we also put together the software adoption readiness checklist to pair with this post to ensure you’re ready for a successful software launch. It’s a practical tool to help you assess your training, communication, and support plans before launch.
So, download the checklist now and be on your way to more organized and successful software launches.