Digital Adoption: How DAP Improves Human Capital Value

Digital tools are everywhere today, and each one seems to promise more than the last. Yet the best route toward productivity is far from clear-cut. Company decisions-makers struggle with which products will help them and which will only add to the noise and confusion. Employees struggle with how to integrate different types of software into their everyday routines.

This is why digital adoption platforms (DAPs) have become so important to an organization’s bottom line. There’s no point investing money in technology if you’re only going to get half (or a quarter of) the benefits. These solutions make it possible for all employees in the company to take full advantage of the many features at their disposal.

DAS eliminates wasted time, improves performance, and generates higher returns. It teaches employees the underlying principles that inspired the functionality, which can help them appreciate and embrace the company’s systems, software, and network.

Traditional Training

In the past, a company was likely to deal with software adoption by facilitating classes or providing training sessions. Commonly organized at the launch of the program, the protocol is to provide an overview of the features to different departments as well as a point of contact in case of specific questions.

These sessions were likely led by an outside employee hired by a consulting group or the manufacturers of the products. So while the training session may know the software through and through, they may have very little understanding of how it will be received by the individual employees.

There’s no doubt that traditional training can go a long way to acquaint employees with the technology. The instructors are there to answer questions, go over the perks, and suggest customization options for different departments. However, the reality is that many complex programs can’t be mastered in a day, week, or month’s worth of training. This obstacle is compounded by the fact that software will need to be updated from time to time, and every new change can quickly compromise the production.

And as company goals, protocols, and policies shift to meet new market demands, the technology will need to be adjusted to keep pace too. This constant (and inevitable) reconfigurations can quickly lead to employee exhaustion and eventually resentment. An on-call technician may only be able to do so much under these circumstances (especially in the case of larger companies).

A New Solution

DAP was created to supplement and augment traditional training by providing companies with a clear map for multiple destinations. Whether an employee is using one application per day or 15, they’ll have a reference point that will take them through every step of the procedure.

Managers can easily track workflow and task status, monitor content, and assemble performance data. Employees can reference guides that show them how to use an application, bringing them up to speed quickly and improving employee competency and confidence.

So if an office manager only runs a specific report once every other year, they don’t have to worry about where they put their notes or whether they still have the trainer’s email. They have immediate access to real-time instructions that show them how to generate the correct numbers or conclusions before moving on with the rest of their day.

How Digital Adoption Solutions Increase Productivity

DAS will look slightly different for each company, depending on the tools they use. However, each solution will share several core traits:

• Specificity: Each DAP is made with the individual employee in mind. It will take into account the user and the application, and how the interaction is likely to be compromised. This kind of personalized training can instantly make the application less overwhelming, which can help the user become more invested in learning the correct ways to use it.
• Automated: DAP will automate as many repetitive tasks as possible, leaving employees free to focus on matters that require their attention. This benefit can not only improve morale, but it can also help employees realign their priorities to better match their individual roles.
• Adaptive: DAP is founded on the philosophy that every employee has a different background and skills, meaning there’s no one-size solution. Some employees will need to be walked through an application from start to finish. Some employees may just have a single question about one section.
• Hands-On: Most people don’t learn by reading technical manuals or even answering questions on a test. The best kinds of instruction involve an interactive approach where employees can get used to the hiccups that they’re going to experience along the way.

With DAS, content is everything. Words, pictures, videos: every single piece of information needs to have a purpose and a function. If the digital adoption guides are confusing, the software will be just as unusable as it was before.

Examples at Work

Even small enterprises use multiple custom applications, many of which are used sparingly by different departments. The point of DAP is to address any problems before they become catastrophes — whether it’s before or after the program has gone live.

For instance, let’s say that you use a platform to document a variety of details about your many clients. The application is flexible enough to be used in multiple ways, and many employees will take their own liberties when recording data. It makes the application confusing to use and often leads to multiple disputes between employees and complaints from clients.

DAP can make it easier to set standards for the application, which can help employees glean the most critical information at first glance before moving onto additional fields. To document the process with DAS is as easy as inputting the information. Managers can also edit DAP with their own insights, which can help employees make better decisions in anomalous situations.

How DAPs are Used

Companies can use DAP in a wide variety of situations. Onboarding, project management, performance tracking, compliance: companies can improve end-user results on literally every level. From the intern familiarizing themselves with the Sharepoint page to the CFO making the case for a budget revamp, the possibilities are endless.

DAP can also be scaled to high-volume situations that require equal degrees of skill and rapid response. There’s no training needed to record a task — employees can instantly use DAP without having to look up the instructions. The goal behind these solutions is to reduce the learning curve whenever and wherever possible.

So if a subject-matter expert wanted to share their perspective on certain matters, they can instantly begin to do so with DAP. The right content will give employees a refresher that can help them polish off their to-do list without the hassle.

Improved ROI

Despite the lofty promises of technology, it’s not always easy to determine the true ROI of your technology. The collective effects of software aren’t always apparent, especially if employees are expected to adapt to new updates on a regular basis. Managers often fail to take into account the defiance of employees — many of whom have spent months or even years honing a system of their own.

One thing is for certain though: adoption is the biggest element of your technology. Applications are meant to be used, not puzzled over for hours or avoided at all costs. The expense of failed technology can be astronomical for organizations that fail to take user adoption under consideration.

The Veterans Affairs Department famously wasted $2 billion when attempting to update their electronic health records system. If the VA had implemented DAP correctly, decision-makers might have been able to foresee the stalled progress and chosen a system that fit their needs. They would have saved themselves both the costs to integrate the technology and the employee frustration of trying to work within the confines of confusing applications.

Help at Every Stage

DAS can be implemented by organizations at every step of the way. Whether a company is updating its software, implementing new programs, or providing new resources for its current systems, digital adoption solutions can be used to support users and reduce calls to the support team.

This kind of 360° service sends a strong message to employees that their time is every bit as valuable as the technology that they use on a daily basis. The less time they can spend wrestling with countless features across multiple apps, the more time they can spend serving the larger goals of the company.

Solving the Conundrum

The vast majority of companies today agree that digital tools are a top priority, yet nearly the same number of companies struggle with adoption. And there are very few organizations that are immune to this dilemma.

Improving ROI starts with squeezing more from every investment. Even the most user-friendly technologies in the world still involve some degree of training, particularly when those same technologies will need to be updated to account for new needs and threats. DAP solves this problem by providing real-world answers that can be adapted to virtually any employee.