Prior to the recession, I started thinking about how folks in HR were missing some of the value of the software they had purchased. Most discussion (and intellectual resources) is typically focused on the selection of the “right” application (read: portal, suite, platform, point solution, etc). That’s all well and good…and as a marketer for HR vendors I can tell you that millions of dollars are spent every year to get in front of the right person, at the right time, with the right message. (Yeah, like that ever happens.)
But then I started to realize that the market truly has a gap when it comes to what I call “User Adoption Marketing” where HR and the particular chosen vendor co-market to employees to gain 100% user adoption of said application. When I say “gap,” I’m not saying that no one ever talks about or does anything about user adoption, but they typically don’t address user adoption as a marketing or communications challenge. Of course people do address certain things, but I have yet to see a compelling model for user adoption.
My working thesis for User Adoption Marketing goes like this:
- Users equal brand ambassadors (for HR and for HR software vendors)
- HR software is less valuable with anything less than 100% adoption
- HR assumes employees will adopt new software willingly
- HR assumes great software creates great adoption
- HR software vendors don’t communicate the value to their clients’ employees
- HR must create an internal adoption team for all software expenditures
- HR software vendors must extend the sales process to include users
- HR software vendors assume HR is capable of achieving adoption of the software
- HR software isn’t adopted at the employee level without proactive communication
- HR software “churn” is bad for everyone: HR, users and HR software vendors
Okay, before I get a bunch of “hate” Tweets or unsolicited email, let me explain. I’m not saying that all 10 of these things are in rank order, or that they apply to every single instance where HR software has been sold, or that all of these issues are the only obstacles to user adoption. I am saying that over the next three years, I will be working with these premises.
I believe that this – the intersection point between marketing & HR – is a wonderful way for me to add value to the market I love. It means I get to work with both HR and the HR software vendor community and help both achieve something they most definitely need – user adoption.
Please click here to read about my vision and how I will achieve these lofty goals.
