1. Set some ground rules. After introducing Slack, some users felt it was hard to cut through the clutter of irrelevant information, says Dominic Abbate, the creative director at The George Washington University. So they responded by setting up specific channels designated for non-work chit-chat like #food and #just-for-fun.
2. Listen to feedback. When Cherwell’s adoption rate was lagging because the tool was too complex and IT-focused, The University of New Mexico’s IT team redesigned the portal to make it more customer-friendly.
“We pulled together a focus group to provide feedback on how to make it more simple,” says Martinez. “Portal adoption has gone up in the 2.5 years since.”
3. Explain the tool’s benefits. Holding a series of training meetings to explain what WorkZone was and how it can make everyone’s job easier helped people accept it, says Lawrence University’s Craig Gagnon.
“We also put together a step-by-step guide for anyone who was going to use it, and designated a point person who could do a walk-through with anyone using it for the first time,” he says.
