Eefje Albers: 'People and technology set the tone together'

Everyone has a story about an eye-wateringly expensive IT project that never got off the ground: technology gathering dust on the shelves or people not exactly welcoming a project with open arms because little attention was paid to the adoption aspect. And that's a crying shame, especially when you consider the huge amounts of effort and money poured in. What these white elephants have in common is this: people are not ones and zeros. That's why we call on experts from a huge range of different disciplines when developing tools for adoption and behavioural change: from educational experts to behavioural psychologists, and from UX/UI designers to gamification specialists. In co-creation with the technology, we devise an approach and concrete solutions to ensure we can genuinely make the difference. To me, that's the art of digital transformation.  

Start adoption early 

Timing is everything. I believe that bringing people on board with the change you envisage while the technology is still in its development stage is essential. Doing the opposite — trying to get people excited about new technology when it's all good to go — is asking for trouble. Start engaging with people as soon as you decide change needs to happen: there's no better time to bring people on board with your project. Make sure you involve them in the process, create awareness, and get them excited about what's happening.  

'I believe that bringing people on board with the change you envisage while the technology is still in its development stage is essential' - Eefje Albers

Custom solutions for agility 

Often, there's no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to adoption. Even so, one thing that can really make a difference is making sure that employees — which is to say: users — and the journey are central in everything you do to achieve change. We do exactly that, based on the 'design thinking' principle: a way of thinking and working in which we use the needs of employees — and not a set of assumptions — as a starting point to reach innovative solutions. To do so, we use a toolkit with a broad variety of solutions, ranging from coaching to workshops, and from serious games to learning apps. We then use the exact tools we need for each specific target audience at that exact time. Just in time, just in place. We also always gauge how the stakeholders and target audience are taking to the tools, so that we can change course in good time and stay agile.  

Monitor and adjust  

Continuing to offer support to people after a technology has been implemented is also essential, not only to prevent people from falling back into old habits, but also to encourage new behaviour as new technological opportunities start to open up. Fortunately, user experience is becoming ever more of a focal point in the development of new technology. As a result, technology is often self-explanatory, even when changes are made. Even so, monitoring the extent to which a new system has been adopted remains important, as it enables you to change course early and intervene where necessary.  

Futureproof employees 

As I see it, adoption goes far beyond simply implementing new IT systems. Take issues such as information security and the data literacy of your employees, for example. Are you keeping everyone on board, or is there a chasm — generational or otherwise — forming at your organization? After all, you've got a real challenge on your hands if you're no longer able to communicate with one another. AI serves as a good example. Will AI be replacing us, or simply changing the way we work? Make sure your employees are aware of the opportunities and risks, in order to get them engaged with a topic. That way, you can ensure they're all set to deal with what the future has in store.