Articles 
Adoption resistance is one of the most significant barriers organizations must overcome when adopting new recruitment or talent management technology. Let’s look at a couple of examples to understand why.
In the case of recruiters, operating under high stress is a daily occurrence. Talent scarcity gives candidates the upper hand, and recruiters face tremendous pressure to attract new hires. Asking recruiters to drop their familiar tools to make time to learn how to use a new solution is likely to be regarded as a hindrance to their ability to work effectively.
The same can be said for employees. They may feel discouraged when switching to a new performance management process, leading to underwhelming adoption rates. For example, this will likely happen if the new tool is not simple or intuitive, and if employees can’t see the value it delivers.
Just like new hires need onboarding, companies need an internal training program when implementing new technology. If done right, organizations can take advantage of the full force of a new solution. However, if not they fail to introduce a new tool properly, they’ll never see its potential and will probably give up, negatively impacting ROI.
And just as companies evaluate every detail of any talent technology they invest in, it’s also wise to analyze the training similarly. Asking the right questions to assess the quality of the training, the flexibility it can provide for your organization, and the attention specialists put into developing a program is just as important.
So, what makes up an ideal internal training process?
A Must for Every Internal Training Program: Change Management and Communication
One of the first steps of a successful tech implementation strategy is change management. Speaking with the people and teams involved beforehand can ease everyone’s worries and calm nerves by explaining the benefits the new technology will deliver and the training to help them get up to speed.
With teams used to doing everything a certain way, changing their processes can get a bit difficult. “Keeping it real,” as they say, will be greatly appreciated by everyone involved. Teams should be informed of pain points that may arise and the value this new change will bring to the table that will soon make it all worth it.
One of the ways our training team does this is by offering communication plans. These include templates that inform the user community about upcoming changes, how they’ll benefit from it and how they’ll be prepared through training.
This way, effective communication can help:
- Show empathy. Acknowledging the disruption, thanking employees for their patience, and valuing their hard work can go a long way in easing friction.
- Let other teams know there might be delays but that in the medium term, they’ll get those critical hires faster if this change is made. , taking the pressure off the recruiter.
- Demo the game-changing functionality that will change their day-to-day for the better. Seeing it live can help build excitement.
Open communication channels should continue to form a critical part of the training process once it begins. When creating a training program that enables successful user adoption, keep in mind the need for a support model that includes resources, points of contact for any doubts, learning sessions post-deployment, etc.
Assigning internal POCs who can tackle doubts and communicate with the vendor helps streamline efforts. You could think about creating a dedicated Slack channel or email alias where designated POCs can respond to questions promptly. FORVIS is just one of the customers that have benefitted from this approach.
How did they do this? They built a robust support structure divided into three levels:
- Champions: Regional and team POCs. They’re the first line of support to which users report. They play an active role in educating users through internal training and Q&A sessions. When they can’t solve something, they reach out to system administrators.
- Administrators: They provide standard administrator support including troubleshooting on advanced functionality. They also provide support to champions when needed.
- System administrators: They are in touch with Avature POCs and fulfill the role of decision-makers in charge of configuration change requests.
Another example of successful change management comes from a well-known global consulting firm. They created an alias for users to direct questions to a dedicated group of Avature experts, helping centralize queries and providing answers with unified criteria.
Offering a dedicated training specialist or team of specialists is a unique value point for any vendor. These specialists should be familiar with your specific challenges and your objectives, and be available to answer questions that may arise. As opposed to a ticket system where questions are addressed anonymously and generically, training specialists provide individualized support and are an invaluable asset to any internal training program.
Tailor and Personalize your Internal Training Program
Every customer and company culture is different. So when it comes to talent acquisition and talent management technology, the best solutions in the market offer a high level of configurability so they can adapt to the unique needs and requirements of each organization.
Every customer and company culture is different. So when it comes to talent acquisition and talent management technology, the best solutions on the market offer a high level of configurability and can adapt to the unique needs and requirements of each organization.
The training accompanying the technology should be the same, replicating your Avature platform, specific use cases, and the problems you’re trying to solve. That’s why choosing a vendor that delivers tailored training is critical.
With Avature, our training specialists become experts in your configuration and processes, studying, analyzing and testing so they can set up relevant training scenarios that reflect the real-life daily tasks that recruiters and other users face.
However, it’s not just about training the end user. Another element of a personalized program involves training the trainer, an approach where the vendor works to empower internal training teams to become confident system experts knowledgeable in the technology. A tailored approach that equips trainers to teach future end users is cost-effective and grants organizations the flexibility and agility to continuously upskill their teams on the system.
Developing internal trainers was essential for FORVIS. As such, they requested an approach that would allow them to build an effective internal training team. Our team created a bespoke program based on the organization’s Avature configuration and business objectives that helped them develop soft skills, practice training delivery, and use custom reference materials, teach-back sessions and Q&As.
Establishing learning objectives can guide your internal training program, increasing the probability that it will address users and their concerns effectively. And because each user group is different, you might also need to consider tailored training methods so everyone gets the most from this vital phase.
With a tailored approach to training, reducing time to productivity is just one of many notable results. The benefits of your investment in technology will be evident as stakeholders quickly turn into experienced users, and comfortably navigate the platform.
By having a dedicated training resource, we allow for several feedback instances; not only at the end of the training program. This means that we keep communicating with the client and remain flexible to adjust as we go. We can modify the pace of the class or tweak the training approach if needed too; through polls to keep the audience engaged, rearrange the order of the agenda, have more Q&A time, etc.”
Melina Gil
Training Director at Avature
Practice Makes Perfect
It’s not just about showing a team how something works; it’s about instilling enough confidence in them to navigate a new platform on their own post-training. Here’s where the value of hands-on sessions factors in. Learning by doing encourages active engagement with available materials, helping to ingrain knowledge into your users. So make sure to choose a vendor that makes practice a priority.
For global organizations, the scheduling struggle is real! And coordinating hands-on sessions worldwide might seem like a headache. The good news is that offline sessions available on-demand have proven as effective as in-person or face-to-face sessions. In fact, sometimes giving people some time and space to figure things out can better set them up for success. Stemming from this premise, teams can develop training and resources that will help implement practices at their convenience.
Regarding our solutions, the training team works to design custom exercises for user practice tailored to their use cases. They also host breakout rooms during live training sessions and create polls and quizzes that foster interaction.
Continuous Learning
Successful internal training programs incorporate a specific timeline to get users familiar with the new technology and also continue beyond that initial phase through different touchpoints.
Creating a Supportive Internal Network
Having and implementing your touchpoints internally, where everyone feels comfortable sharing their training challenges, can be a valuable addition to the process. When it comes to our clients, for example, some of them host “Avature days”. During these designated days, they work on pain points, share best practices, and boost adoption in the process.
We always recommend an internal support structure. This can mean designating referents who know your processes and act as in-house experts on the technology you’ve implemented, as mentioned above in FORVIS’ strategy.
A successful internal training program is also positively impacted by customer input. Gathering feedback on how customers regard the process and their relationship with the platform and the training program allows for constant progress.
Tapping Into Extended Communities
Connecting through shared experience and understanding how other companies leverage the same technology for different processes and strategies can be a useful guide and a great source of inspiration.
Top technology providers are keen to connect you to their bustling user communities full of passionate individuals with an abundance of expertise and insights that they are willing to share.
Through conferences, meet-ups and webinars, users can network with other customers and build their extended support network. Providing valuable resources covering everything from industry reports to customer insights, can also aid in the continuous learning process.
In Conclusion…
Going through an extensive RFP process to find and choose the right technology can feel lengthy and laborious. As such, you want to ensure the vendor you choose ticks every box in terms of functionality, and they should do the same with training.
The training program shouldn’t be an afterthought for companies or vendors. If you’re investing in technology to improve the lives of your workforce, then it is key to ensure that vendors also invest time in training your employees.
From creating the training plan to its deployment, every step should be covered to ensure optimum user experience and maximize adoption. After all, if the technology is not utilized, you can’t solve the initial challenges you set out to overcome and certainly won’t deliver ROI.
At Avature, our training team strives for every customer’s success, focusing on each particular need and building a training program alongside the organization. With such a high level of dedication, anyone can be an expert.
