Adopting a new software can be difficult, but it doesn't have to be. Last month I talked about the importance of habit-building during the initial stages of Wrike adoption. This month, I'll talk about our second Wrike adoption strategy: finding your power users.
Power users are Wrike experts who have learned the ins-and-outs of the software and the accompanying best practices. Because they're comfortable working within Wrike, they can help answer questions from colleagues and provide training for other users in the company.
Not that I'm biased (okay, just a little), but Wrike has one of the most helpful Customer Support teams around, available via 24/5 live chat, email, or phone. Though what would be even more helpful than contacting our amazing Customer Support team is having your own power user in the company. This approach has many benefits:
1. Power Users can Provide Perfectly Customized Help
While our Customer Support team can help answer specific questions about Wrike, we are not necessarily familiar with your team's unique workflow. And since Wrike is a project management software, it's important to be able to customize it to fit your needs.
Since a power user is a part of your team, he or she knows how your team operates. Every answer and explanation they give will be relevant and can focus solely on the essential features for the team's workflow, glazing over features that are less integral. For your other users, it means they won't be overloaded with unnecessary information, and they'll have an easier time learning how to use Wrike.
2. Power Users can Ensure Consistency in the Way Wrike is Used
Because there are so many ways to use Wrike, it's important to have processes in place to ensure consistency in the way your entire team uses it. Power users can put those processes in place.
This approach helps avoid compatibility problems, such as each user setting up his own folder structure or workflow in Wrike, only to find out later on that his folder structure is not compatible with the rest of the team.
3. Power Users can Provide 1x1 Training
Last month I addressed our natural resistance to change. For some users, the thought of learning the ins-and-outs of a new software is unpalatable. They give up before giving Wrike a chance because they don't know how easy and intuitive the tool can be.
In my experience, having someone sit down for five minutes with "resistant" employees to show them how to create folders and tasks is all it takes to demystify the software. This approach is more interactive than watching help videos, participating in newcomer webinars, or attending online training sessions. Face-to-face interactions eliminate communication barriers and facilitate the Q&A experience that comes with learning anything for the first time.
Did you catch our productivity proverbs back in March? Number 9 reads: "Tell me and I’ll forget, show me and I may remember, involve me and I’ll understand." With the help of power users, one-on-one training can be more hands-on, making it easier for your employees to adopt and internalize their new Wrike habits.
4. Power Users Spread the Habit
But what if you have a large team and it's just not feasible to do one-on-one sessions with the power user?
As power users train more of the team, some of these newly-trained employees will become power users themselves, armed with the ability to spread their knowledge. This extended network of power users expedites Wrike adoption throughout the company.
If there is a technical support division in your company, it could be helpful to turn your own Customer Support agents into power users so that they can provide ongoing internal support for employees new to the system.
There is no shortage of support material published by Wrike, and you are highly encouraged to take advantage of our resources. But we've found that the most successful Wrike adoption cases are the ones that have power users in their company.
Interested in becoming a power user? Contact our Support team, and we will be more than happy to give you the tools to make your company's Wrike adoption a success!
More adoption tips are on the way. Check out the third post in the series next month: setting defined goals.
