How to Support a Culture of Learning Around New Technologies

One of the biggest barriers to achieving the agility and service that today’s organisations need is our own innate resistance to change. This is especially apparent in resistance from employees and even leadership when it comes to digital transformation. Overcoming this means creating a culture of learning in your organisation because after all, it’s not change that we really fear – it’s change that we feel no ownership or control over that creates our knee-jerk reaction. Here’s how to do this.

#1 – Have an omnichannel approach to training

Give your people access to as many resources as possible to understand the new technology and develop their skillset. This can include:

• Informative how-to and demo videos
• Instruction files and policies
• In-person training from your IT team or IT partner
• Small group training for different departments
• Surveys and feedback forms
• Dedicated email channels, chat channels, and contact persons

#2 – Employee sandboxes

Sandboxes are isolated spaces where people can try things out without impacting real-world operations. A big part of encouraging learning is removing the fear of making a mistake. Mistakes during the learning process are absolutely natural and no one should be worried about getting in trouble or losing their job as a result!

A sandbox gives individuals and teams the ability to try out functions, processes, and features in a risk-free space, and can be used in conjunction with training sessions or on their own. It lets people become familiar with new technology, play around with it, and even spot new ways to implement it for better impact. This is a great way to make the learning curve gentler and stress-free.

#3 – Encourage and monitor upskilling

People want to be good at their job – and they want their job to be easier, more enjoyable, and more satisfying. A big challenge in implementing new technologies is that people feel like it may make them replaceable, that their skills are no longer useful, and they’re outdated in their role – a huge area for understandable stress and pushback.

But by being open about the fact that it’s a learning curve for the whole company, that you’re all in this new world together, and that you’re going to do all you can to support them in this process shows that you are on their team and have their backs.

In addition to making training available, stay in touch with employees for feedback on their training, areas where they are still not feeling confident enough, and skills gaps that are affecting the team. This shows you where to improve your training to support upskilling and makes the organisation as responsible as the individual for creating and maintaining the skills you need.

#4 – Share the “why”

Your role is to answer the question “ Why are we doing this? Everything is working just fine the way it is!”. To do this, share the reasons for digitisation, why one solution has been chosen over the other, and how your process will deliver the results the organisation needs. Believe it or not, even when the first electric lightbulb was invented in 1879, it took until the 1930s for electricity to be used in the majority of homes! Change doesn’t happen overnight, but it has to happen more quickly in a business context, and sharing the benefits to employees in their daily work as well as to the company as a whole will help build support and enthusiasm for innovation.

Let your IT consulting and training team support your organisational culture – and successful digitisation

New technologies are outside many people’s comfort zones, but the right approach and support will create the buy-in and enthusiasm that produces a more competitive, lean, and productive organisation. At Otto, we’ve worked with big and small businesses in every sector to develop and implement digital technology, offering the training, and support needed to bring your people to their full potential.