If you want to encourage people in your organization to really take a new technology and run with it, focus on using information design to make the new tools familiar and relevant. And SharePoint design, in particular, plays an important role in user adoption.
Often, when people access their new SharePoint implementation, they see a generic site that doesn’t use the company’s terminology and doesn’t reflect the organization’s structure, processes and culture. As a result, users complain that the technology doesn’t appear very relevant to their company, and SharePoint user adoption suffers.
But this complaint isn’t about functionality. There’s so much functionality in SharePoint, you don’t need to build anything to fit your business. Instead, the problem is about information design.
Take the time to brand the SharePoint implementation so that it feels familiar, using names and terms that reflect your company’s communication style. It’s also a good idea to configure SharePoint using a taxonomy design and metadata specific to your company. Now that you’ve done some information design, when users access SharePoint, they see your company’s familiar terminology, and when they apply metadata to a document, it makes sense based on what these users do in the company and the clients they serve.
The good news is that organizations don’t have to spend a fortune to make SharePoint feel familiar. With SharePoint Online, for example, you get tremendous amounts of capabilities at a low per-user cost, but you don’t want to spend a fortune to customize it. That’s why the best place to start is with configuring the taxonomy and metadata and other information design pieces.
Too often, companies want to roll out a new technology solution as quickly as possible and move on. But they fail to anticipate the natural human resistance to seemingly small changes. At minimum, expect some users to dig in their heels or drag their feet. If the changes come across as radical and capricious, expect open revolt.
When companies introduce new functionality without a plan for “selling it” to the employee base, they leave many users wondering just how to use these new tools and why they should even bother. The management team may have already decided to invest in SharePoint, but the rational and value proposal needs to be communicated to employees through ongoing advocacy and communication.
Sure, you could always simply roll out a generic SharePoint implementation. But even if the change doesn’t create anxiety and resistance, it probably won’t get the widespread adoption and use that you’re hoping for. If you want to truly encourage SharePoint user adoption, it’s important to plan your information design and develop a strategy for rolling out the platform over time, giving everyone time to become familiar with the new technology.
Learn more about creating the right SharePoint strategy for your organization by contacting Portal Solutions.
