Digital adoption: the key to your company's digital transformation

In its study published at the end of 2020, Gartner describes how, by 2025, 70% of organizations will be using digital adoption platforms to overcome user difficulties.

It has to be said that the digital adoption of tools is one of the major challenges facing companies in their digital transition. It has a proven impact on performance and productivity, and is all the more crucial when you consider that over a third of installed software is unused (1E report).

But what are these digital adoption platforms? Do they really enable faster, smoother user control? What kind of SPOCs do they offer?

All the answers to your questions are in this article.

Digital adoption: a major challenge

The health crisis of 2020 brought companies face-to-face with the challenge of maintaining business with everyone teleworking.

This unprecedented context has considerably increased the amount of software used in companies, in order to maintain productivity, meetings and employee engagement.

Unfortunately, in their haste, some companies with little previous equipment were unable to offer their employees sufficient training and support to enable them to adopt this panoply of new, sometimes unintuitive tools.

The result? Employees in difficulty :

• are demotivated,
• become disengaged
• and their productivity drops, sometimes with serious financial consequences.

To avoid this situation, platforms dedicated to maximizing software adoption rates have emerged, helping to alleviate many of the difficulties that users may encounter.

Digital adoption platforms

Definition

A digital adoption platform (DAP) is a piece of software that helps a user get to grips with a tool in a contextualized way, directly in the interface concerned. They are often referred to as application GPS, guiding users interactively.

With a hands-on approach, this type of platform can complement software training or documentation, or even replace them altogether. This is known as 100% learning by doing.

DAPs are used in companies for a variety of purposes:

• onboarding of newly recruited employees,
• job changes requiring the learning of new tools,
• onboarding a new customer.

💡 Do you remember Clippy, Microsoft's paperclip? It's a bit like the ancestor of today's DAPs, and its directions have helped entire generations to get to grips with the Office suite.

How it works

DAP technology acts as an "overlay" on software and applications, without any specific development. It can be parameterized by the company, which can create customized, contextualized user paths adapted to specific needs:

• the company,
• a department
• a team,
• a particular type of profile, etc.

Real-time learning and use are simultaneous, because help is offered in the right place at the right time. When users are in the application, they can see :

• highlighted fields to fill in,
• pop-up messages and hints at key points in the journey,
• links to full documentation on a specific requirement,
• new features highlighted and presented,
• tips on how to use the system more efficiently and save time.

DAPs are sometimes based on artificial intelligence, which enables adaptation to user behavior, to train even more accurately and precisely.

👉 Some of them also offer a module for analyzing user usage, enabling indicators to be generated (average time spent, achievement of objectives, acquisition of skills, etc.), and a module for collecting user feedback to pinpoint points in the course that are not flowing smoothly and improve them.

Why use a digital adoption platform?

Quick and easy to implement

Installing this type of solution requires very little development, with the aim of making it quick and intuitive to create content and set business rules.

If the software evolves, there's no need to take new screenshots and start from scratch: adaptations and modifications can be made quickly.

More effective learning

These platforms provide access to information at the right time and in the right place, making it much more relevant and easier to assimilate. The user's needs are quickly met, and learning is immediate and simplified.

What's more, not all users have the same facility for grasping a tool, depending on their age, experience or type of job. DAP allows us to really adapt to each type of profile, from those who need almost complete assistance, to those who are at ease and want a few extra tips.

Finally, the content created is designed to be interactive and engaging, which also encourages learning.

Increases adoption rates

Ease of learning has a positive impact on the adoption rate of digital tools.

By way of comparison :

only 5% of users consult videos or documentation; this rate would be around 85% with a DAP tool

Acxias

Boost team performance and employee well-being

More effective learning coupled with increased adoption rates is not without effect on their productivity, as they are :

• operational more quickly,
• aware of how the tool can make them more efficient,
• pleasantly surprised by the fluidity of their work,
• better supported: their needs are heard and met,
• happier and more motivated to improve their performance.

Cost savings

The savings generated by integrating a digital adoption platform can be seen in a number of ways:

• reduced training time (multiplied by the number of users, this can amount to considerable sums),
• reduced software adoption time,
• fewer support requests , and therefore less time spent on after-sales service,
• Increased customer loyalty, thanks to a higher adoption rate, results in cost savings, given that retaining a customer costs 5 times less than acquiring a new one.

Contributes to continuous improvement

Thanks to a feedback and user experience analysis module, the company can identify at each stage of the process any difficulties an employee may have encountered at any point in the process.

Were instructions missing? Not clear enough? Shedding light on these issues enables you to continuously improve functionality or your support on an ongoing basis, and make the journey a little smoother each time.

💡 It's also easier to identify users who might need further support to fully adopt the solution.

Example of a digital adoption platform

Whether you're planning to implement new software, train new recruits or upgrade versions, there are a few players on the market to help you do just that. For example:

Find out more about digital adoption platforms and Learning Management Systems (LMS).

Don't overlook change management support

As we've seen, digital platform adoption is becoming increasingly essential for companies, as the benefits are so numerous.

However, don' t rest on your laurels and expect digital adoption to take care of itself. Many companies have failed to deploy the tools they need, often due to sloppy or even ignored support for change. And yet, for adoption to be successful, the human factor must come first.

So, to stack the odds in your favor, build a change management strategy tailored to your company and your employees.

Combined with the power of digital adoption platforms, there's no doubt that it will ensure a successful transition!

What about you? Do you use this type of platform? If not, how are you maximizing the success of your software deployments?