The secret to success in technology deployment: change management
Change goes hand in hand with technology deployments—and there are many of those in your future. The corporate real estate (CRE) industry is rapidly implementing technology that enables new needs at scale: sensors, automation, touchless access control, employee experience apps.
Ninety-eight percent of those who influence facilities or CRE decisions plan to invest in workplace technology (everything from the technology to enable employees to locate and/or reserve assets in the next 12 months to maintenance software), according to a March 2021 study conducted by Forrester Consulting for JLL.
How can we be sure the technology we deploy is successfully implemented and widely adopted?
We asked Amy Baugh, JLLT’s senior director of program management for CRE transformation services, for tips to help CRE teams improve user adoption of new technology.
Q: What does a successful technology implementation look like?
Amy: At the most basic level, a deployment is successful when each person affected by the technology embraces and uses it as intended. The more rapidly you can get everyone on board and using it, the faster you achieve your desired state—and the lower the productivity hit that tends to accompany change.
Q: Why is change management important when deploying new technology?
Amy: Successful companies are those that simultaneously embrace change and innovation. The JLL Global Future of Work Survey found that “future-fit” organizations—those that are resilient and best able to adapt to change—grow at a much higher rate: 31% over three years, compared to just 19% for less resilient firms.
Change management plays an essential role in ensuring innovation can take root and that technology can deliver on its promise.
Q. What important aspect of change management is usually overlooked by CRE professionals?
Amy: The human element. Again, we know technology is only valuable when it’s used as intended. Often, technology is replacing a current way of working—whether that means supplanting other technologies or manual processes. Either way, you’re asking people to change how they work and maybe even requiring new skills of them. Your best bet for ensuring they make this shift is methodically addressing their needs and allaying their concerns in your change management program.
Successfully deploying new technology requires change management that addresses the needs of the humans who will use it. To learn more, download The Corporate Real Estate Guide to Change Management.
