Your company can have the most advanced technology out there, but it’s no good if the employees who are supposed to be taking advantage of it aren’t willing or able to learn the new system. Here are some tips to ensure buy-in from everyone.

1. Roll out new technology in waves.
Geiger’s IT team always tests upgrades on itself before going company-wide. “If we can’t make it work or it’s frustrating for us, then it’s going to be frustrating for everyone else,” says Dale Denham, Geiger's CIO. Denham will seat techs with each department that tests the new software, supporting them as they drive adoption. “When it works there, we spread it by saying, ‘It works for them, you should try it.’ Once it crosses the 50% threshold, it becomes a corporate mandate.”

2. Empower an employee or team to choose.
When Campus Ink is looking for a new app or technology solution, co-owner Steven Farag will sometimes ask the employee who will be using it most to research options and present his choice. “I let him onboard and demo. He’s going to train me,” Farag says. “If he doesn’t love it, what’s the point?”

3. Listen to employees who have concerns.
When Geiger decided to stop using Dropbox in favor of Microsoft’s OneDrive, some employees were very upset with the change, Denham says. “We could have sent an email or mandate, but instead we spoke to the individuals personally. We don’t hide behind email. We meet with the users to make sure we really understand why it’s an issue, and they’re usually less resistant when you’ve done it.”

4. Keep it positive.
As the Magnet Group has been rolling out its new ERP system, the supplier’s management team has been vocally upbeat, talking it up to employees. “We don’t make it seem like it will do something it can’t, but we explain how it will make us more efficient and give us the ability to respond to business,” CIO Jonas Temple says. SanMar CIO Mike Knapick will emphasize that the business side is driving technological change rather than vice versa. “The key,” he says, “is getting the business to say, ‘We need this change. It’s good for us long-term.’”

5. Provide ample testing and training.
Says Denham: “We always make users test and accept a rollout before we roll it out.”