This blog is driven by the ideas and conversation in the
Steve and Marijn Podcast EP85: Spirit of Barcelona – Maturing Knowledge check it out.
Following a team-wide meeting about how to navigate the brand new Office365 Sharepoint site, Susie is the only member of her team to complete all tasks assigned to her successfully.
While some of her colleagues struggled with the new system and constantly needed help, Susie quickly adapted and was able to show her proficiency in the new software to her boss.
Soon, Susie's managers invited her to showcase her abilities to the other teams in the company as an example of how they should use the new system.
How did Susie go from being just another team member to becoming the "go-to" person for Sharepoint?
It's simple: Susie showcased the ABILITY to change.
Ability Defined
When it comes to adoption and change management, the proof is in the delivery. Individuals can have all the awareness, desire, and knowledge in the world - but if they can't deliver on the change, they won't be successful.
This is where ability comes in. According to the ADKAR model, "ability" is defined as "the acquired and learned skillset required to perform a specific task."
In order for an individual to be successful in adopting a new change, they must have the ability to actually execute the change.
Susie's ability to quickly adapt and learn new things is what sets her apart from her colleagues. But not only was she able to turn her knowledge into ability - she showed it through measurable actions.
Success = The Ability to Translate Knowledge into Delivery or Performance
If you want to be successful in any area of your life, it's essential to have the ability to take what you know and turn it into tangible results. The same is true for personal development and operational effectiveness.
The ability to take what you know and turn it into action is a key success factor in any area of your life.
But it's especially important when it comes to change management. After all, the whole point of Adoption and Change Management is to help individuals successfully adopt new changes - and that can only happen if they have the ability to actually execute those changes.
So how can you develop the ability to change? You need to set up practical, concrete ways to take the desire and knowledge into action.
Here are a few examples from the world of Office365 adoption:
1. You are now using Teams for all your team meetings.
Support your team members by holding regular virtual "drop-in" sessions to answer any questions they might have about using the new software. As they use Teams more often, they will start to feel more confident and comfortable with the new system.
2. You are now working on a project that is using Sharepoint for all its document collaboration.
To help your team members become more proficient in using Sharepoint, create a how-to guide that covers the most common tasks they will need to perform.
Pair up your team members with someone who is more experienced in Sharepoint, so they can ask questions and get help when they need it.
3. You are now using OneDrive to share and store all your work-related files.
Create a weekly "tip of the week" email to help your team members learn about all the different features of OneDrive.
Include a small task that each team member must complete once they have read the email. This will help them to put what they have learned into practice.
4. Forms is now your go-to tool for collecting data from team members.
To help your team members get the most out of Forms, create a short video tutorial that covers the basics of creating and using forms.
Send out the video to your team along with a set of sample forms that they can use for practice. Measure and track the team's progress over time to see how they are improving.
Ability Must Be Measured
It's not enough to simply have the ability to change - you must be able to measure it. After all, what gets measured gets managed. And if you want to manage your team's ability to change, you need to be able to measure it.
There are a number of ways to measure the ability to change:
1. Look at the number of people who have completed the required training.
2. Look at the number of people who are using the new tool or system regularly.
3. Look at the number of people who can complete tasks using the new tool or system.
4. Look at the number of people who are able to complete tasks faster using the new tool or system.
5. Look at the number of people who can complete tasks with fewer errors using the new tool or system.
6. Look at the number of people willing to use the new tool or system again in the future.
Get creative with the ways you measure the ability to change. The important thing is that you are able to track progress over time so you can see how your team is doing.
How Do You Know When Ability is Achieved?
When it comes to ability, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. The level of ability required will vary depending on the individual and the change being made.
For example, someone trying to learn how to set up and implement the Sharepoint platform for the first time will need a different level of ability than someone trying to learn how to use Sharepoint for document collaboration.
The best way to determine the level of ability required is to ask yourself what success looks like. What does the individual need to be able to do in order to be considered successful? Once you have a clear understanding of what success looks like, you can start to work on measuring and tracking the ability to change.
When the ability is finally achieved, it will be time to move on to the next stage of ADKAR: reinforcement. In the next and final part of this series, we will look at how to reinforce the change to make sure it sticks.
Want to learn more about how to distil key digital adoption techniques? Don't miss a single episode of Office 365 Distilled - the only podcast focused on digital adoption. You can also check out more great resources on Digital Efficiency, ADKAR, and Baseline Governance.
Let Steve and Marijn guide you and your teams through the best ways to use, implement, and guide the adoption of Office 365 for your team (with a few drinks along the way!)
Download and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
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