How Employee Technology Experience Supports Technology Change Management
A significant number of digital transformation projects fail due to poor planning, lack of communication, or resistance to change. Understanding the employee technology experience (ETX) – how employees interact with, are supported by, and are encouraged or frustrated by the technology they use – is critical to achieving transformation success. ETX solutions typically consist of series of listening posts designed to gather valuable feedback from key stakeholders during transformation projects. They allow us to “take the pulse” of key project stakeholders as a project progresses. In this blogpost, Dr. Andrew White, Head of Experience Management at sovanta, explains how understanding and addressing ETX effectively identifies problems early, pinpoints support needs and training gaps, and helps focus priorities for new features.
A deliberate focus on ETX can bridge the gap between digital ambition and practical implementation. The best way to understand and manage ETX is with an experience management platform, such as Qualtrics XM. ETX solutions should be “purpose fit” to the platform they’re supporting, as in the ETX for RISE with SAP and ETX for HXM support tools powered by sovanta.
The Landscape of Technology Transformation
The business technology landscape is rapidly evolving. SAP, for instance, is steering its entire customer base towards cloud adoption within the next decade. This shift promises greater flexibility, reduced costs, and enhanced capabilities for businesses. Oracle is pushing its integrated cloud applications to streamline operations and leverage advanced analytics. Microsoft continues to expand its Azure cloud services, offering robust scalability and security features. Meanwhile, Salesforce is revolutionizing customer relationship management with its Customer 360 platform, focusing on delivering a unified customer experience. These industry-wide shifts not only showcase technological advancements but also underscore the need for organizations to align their human capital with these changes.
Risk Management in Deliberate Change Management
As the technology landscape evolves, organizations must recognize that transformation is not merely about technology – it is an organizational and cultural shift. Rolling out new software or systems requires defining a clear vision, building a coalition of support, implementing effective communication strategies, and mitigating risk. What do we mean by risk? Transformations can fail for several reasons, but common culprits include poor solution fit, inadequate communication, and unidentified friction. Crucially, these risks often extend beyond technical issues to include human factors, such as employee resistance to new systems or misalignment with the transformation vision. When these issues arise, projects can stall, budgets can balloon, and employee morale can take a hit. Even more concerning is that many of these problems aren’t detected until it’s too late to make meaningful corrections, leading to costly fixes or even complete project abandonment.
We can mitigate these risks by taking direct action, changing structure, or changing process, but a necessary first step is identifying the risk. Here identifying risk means understanding the risks that exist during the particular transformation. That means recognizing potential technical issues, but also understanding the human aspect – how employees react to and interact with the new technology. This is where purpose-fit Employee Technology Experience (ETX) becomes critical. ETX provides insight into technical adoption and measures sentiment and engagement as a firm transforms.
Measuring the Employee Technology Experience (ETX)
Measuring ETX isn’t just about collecting data; it’s about understanding the narrative behind the numbers to gauge the overall transformation project’s success. XM platforms like Qualtrics offer a sophisticated means to collect qualitative feedback, make quantitative conclusions about it, and combine it with other quantitative data. This allows organizations to get a fuller picture of how employees feel about transformation, how well the new technology is working for employees, and internal and external project team relationships – in other words, employee experience throughout the transformation journey.
What might the use of ETX look like?
Throughout the entire process, ETX approaches provide quantitative evidence of “how well things are going”. Surveys provide access to individual employee insights and aggregate trend, and the Qualtrics suite of tools allow ongoing tracking of key topics. By doing this, ETX supports change communication, making it possible to address employee concerns almost literally as they arise. ETX becomes a powerful tool for not only understanding change but for talking about it, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration:
- During the pre-transformation phase, organizations can assess status quo employee relationships with technology, identifying pain points and opportunities for improvement. Purpose-fit solutions are aimed in advance at the right key individuals, workgroups, and teams. We are able to gauge alignment with the transformation vision, and ensure that the right stakeholders are involved.
- During transformation, continuous monitoring tracks employee adaptation to new systems, allowing for timely interventions. Purpose-fit solutions are positioned and keyed to key transition points. Continuous monitoring means giving employees a voice and having systems in place to ensure individual insights are not lost as they are rolled into the big picture. We find ourselves able to capture both problems and employee-driven solutions, leveraging the collective wisdom of the workforce.
- Post-transformation, periodic sensing through ETX tools ensures that the new systems continue to meet employee needs and support business objectives. Purpose-fit solutions are ready to anaylze historic and common pain points. We are able to determine where support is necessary, where documentation and training are inadequate, and what new features should be developed next.
The outcome? Organizations that effectively measure and respond to ETX are more likely to see higher adoption rates, smoother transitions, and better alignment with their strategic goals. By catching conflicts early and identifying win-win situations, firms using ETX foster a more positive and collaborative work environment, with a proven and substantial increase in successful transformation outcomes.
Better equipped to navigate the complexities of adopting new technologies
In the rapidly evolving landscape of digital transformation, understanding and optimizing employee technology experience is crucial. Organizations that integrate ETX into their change management strategies are better equipped to navigate the complexities of adopting new technologies. This approach not only mitigates risks but also fosters a collaborative and positive work environment. sovanta’s ETX solutions offer valuable tools and insights to support these efforts, making them an ideal partner for organizations looking to succeed in their transformation journeys.
