How Digital Adoption Platforms Revolutionize Change Management

Navigating complex software systems during a change management or software implementation project can be challenging. Imagine having real-time guidance and user support to assist your team every step of the way, enhancing operational efficiency. That’s exactly what Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) offer!

DAPs have been created to function as your business's trusty sidekick, helping your team effortlessly glide through software systems, cutting down confusion and boosting productivity.

In this article, we’ll explore what a DAP is and highlight five powerful ways it can transform the way your organization handles a change management project. Get ready to see how DAPs can significantly impact your business operations and software implementations!

What is a Digital Adoption Platform?

A Digital Adoption Platform (DAP) is a powerful software solution designed to revolutionize change management, improve operational efficiency, and enhance user productivity. By providing real-time guidance and user support within various software applications, it ensures efficient process adherence during critical software implementation.

Our partner, Apty, is a leading example of one of these platforms. Apty’s platform sits on top of all your applications, such as your Coupa, Ariba, etc. This layout allows users to be guided throughout their use of your applications, even if they haven’t used them in months! As a result, your end users feel more comfortable and confident using the various applications. This drives adoption levels up, improves operational efficiency, and promotes overall software implementation and compliance.

Now that we’ve explored what a DAP is, let's dive into five ways DAPs revolutionize change management…

1. Sustainable Change and Training

Training is a crucial aspect of any software implementation or change management process, but it's often challenging because not all training is created the same. Not all training will fit the needs and learning styles of all your employees. This is where a DAP can make a significant difference, accelerating your training and making it more impactful.

When our clients are not using a DAP, we manually create two-pagers, one-pagers, and quick reference guides using screenshots of your programs. However, with a DAP, leaders and trainers can record the application processes live on-screen. These recordings can be saved as quick reference guides and configured to prompt your employees while they are actively using the platform. 

For example, if your employee is stuck in a transaction during a software implementation, real-time guidance through a DAP provides instant user support that boosts user productivity and ensures seamless process adherence. This prevents your employees from having to go digging for your reference guide and provides immediate assistance.

Additionally, no matter how much you train users, certain nuances can still be missed. For example, a radio button in the system might give users the option to select “quantity” or “amount,” each driving a completely different process through the system. With a DAP, on-screen prompts can help employees remember important details, such as the difference between "quantity" and "amount," thereby facilitating the life of your platforms and applications.

2. Categorization of Spend

While the on-screen prompts are crucial for training, they are equally important for everyday tasks that can often lead to costly mistakes. For instance, one area where DAPs become lifesavers during a change management initiative or software implementation is in managing General Ledger (GL) accounts, which can be crucial for improving operational efficiency and maintaining process adherence.

Often, we see users select the wrong categories, which creates all kinds of financial impacts. Wouldn’t it be great if on-screen prompts could direct people the right way and prevent these financial burdens? With DAPs, this becomes a reality. The platform's real-time guidance ensures that employees make the correct selections, reducing errors and enhancing operational efficiency.

3. Complexity of Change Management Processes 

When you undergo a change management project, such as an ERP software implementation, many processes evolve alongside the system. DAPs provide real-time guidance and user support, ensuring smooth transitions and improving operational efficiency throughout the process. 

For example, one of our procurement clients was trying to define their buying channels. They ended up with about 20 different buying channels, which is overwhelming for a salesperson, or anyone, to remember!

Imagine they are buying a service that is less than $500. Outside of certain categories, it would go through one process. However, if they are buying a service over $500 but less than $10,000 and outside of certain categories, it would go through a different process. Lastly, if they are buying a service over $10,000, it would follow yet another unique process.

Training employees to remember these various processes is almost impossible and completely unrealistic. Fortunately, a DAP will help guide your employees and salespeople along the process based on the exact specifications of the purchase. On-screen prompts will continuously give users real-time guidance, saving your company time and money by reducing errors and improving efficiency.

4. Process Adherence

Visibility into process gaps is incredibly valuable throughout change management. As a change leader or project/product owner, it’s crucial to understand where people are struggling or lagging in the process.

DAPs excel at identifying gaps in process adherence, providing you with insights into where your team needs additional user support to ensure smoother operations and boost user productivity during any software implementation or change management project. Additionally, feedback within your DAP can highlight parts of the system that are unclear, enabling you to refine those processes for better clarity.

Ultimately, the analytics and feedback from DAPs allow you to take a targeted approach to change management. This helps enhance process adherence, improve policy compliance, and standardize expectations for how your team interacts with a new system.

5. Comfort

Asking your employees and users to change all their processes and adopt a new application can be daunting. In fact, many of our clients have opted out of change simply because they feared it would be "too much." This is incredibly unfortunate, as changes are often, if not always, necessary for growth and productivity.

One of our favorite aspects of DAPs is the comfort they provide both our clients and their end users. DAPs offer ongoing, accessible support and remove a gigantic barrier to adoption success. By deploying a DAP, you reassure your employees that you’ve got their backs despite any chaos that change can create. 

And remember, as a leader, you are not exempt from the need for comfort and support during a change management project. 

Ready to embrace operational efficiency, ensure process adherence, and improve user productivity during your next software implementation or change management project? Contact Wonder Services today to learn how our partnership with Apty can provide real-time guidance and transform the way your organization operates.