So, you made the big leap and signed up for some meal prep software. It took some time and a lot of research but you finally picked the best software you could find. But the work is not over yet. Because now you need to implement the new meal prep software without stressing your employees out.
Unfortunately, it does happen and it can be a big problem. Quite often people don’t like being taken out of their comfort zone, so they resist change. Sometimes that change can come in the form of new software at work. But if you can explain how it helps them with their jobs it’ll go a long way in helping your employees accept the new software.
Of course, you’re implementing new meal prep software for business reasons. As an owner of a meal prep business, you want to streamline processes and meal prep software is the best thing you can get. But, if you want your employees to be open to the new software, you’re going to have to have a strategy.
Here’s the Strategy
A big factor in your employees’ reaction to new meal prep software is how open they are to new technology. When it comes to tech, there are five kinds of people you may have to deal with:
- Innovators: these are tech enthusiasts. Excited to get new technology as soon as they can and figure out all the ways they can use it.
- Early adopters: These follow the innovators. It’s critical to get them on board with new tech as they are the influencers in your teams.
- Early majority: These are people who play it safe. Before they use new software they want to be sure that it works for them. If it does, they’ll gladly use it.
- Late majority: These people only adopt the new software when it becomes irrational not to do it. Once the tech is in place and used all around them, they’ll start using it as well.
- Laggards: These people want to stay in their outdated bubble of familiarity for as long as possible. They don’t like learning new tools, and you might have to push them harder.
Divide your employees into each of these groups and then you’ll know what you need to do.
Get all your innovators and early adopters together and brief them about the new meal prep software. For example, if you are working on digitizing your kitchen, you’ll explain to them how features such as automatically-generated shopping lists will make their jobs easier.
You want your innovators and early adopters to get really enthusiastic about the new software. That way they will spread the word which will lead to the early majority getting on board and from then on it’ll be easy.
Improve and Refine Your Plan
So that’s how you implement your new meal prep software without stressing your employees out. However, we still have a few tips and tricks for you to use that can help make things even better. By focusing on these things, you’ll make implementation a breeze.
Find Your Advocates
Both your innovators and early adopters will be excited about the new software and will be eager to learn how to use it. But the trick here is to also encourage them to talk about the new software with other employees. You want them to convince other employees to start using the new software.
Find employees who are eager to learn the new software. If you get them excited, they’ll get the other employees excited too.
Explain It to Them
If you want to see your employees adopting the new meal prep software you need to ensure that they understand it. Don’t try to rush your advocates and train them thoroughly. Employees need to know all about the meal prep software; what it is, what it’s used for, how it works, and why you chose it. Encourage them to ask questions and provide clear answers.
Don’t forget to also explain how this new software will help your meal prep delivery business and how it helps your long-term goals. If they can understand all the benefits that the business gains from using the software, they can share them with the other employees.
Teach Them to Use It
This one might be an obvious one, but you need to train your employees on how to use the new meal prep software. Training events and workshops are a great way to do this. Do try to create an atmosphere where questions are encouraged and clear answers are given.
You can also use the new meal prep software in meetings to show how it is used. This comes with the added benefits of being able to test it and also getting feedback.
Make It A Part Of The Everyday Workflow
The easiest way to increase the adoption of your new meal prep delivery software is to make it mandatory. Making the software necessary may be the only way to encourage the laggards to join the rest of your employees.
But be careful when doing this. It can cause a lot of issues if you try to automate your meal prep business all at once. Doing so could cause a lot of anger and frustration in your employees. Do things step by step and at the right time.
Think About Rewarding Employees
Offering rewards can provide a good incentive for employees to adopt the new meal prep software. But this strategy is not always the best way to go. This strategy may not work for creative tasks but can be beneficial for more mundane tasks like making reports.
Wrap Up
Implementing new meal prep software may help your business but it can be stressful and frustrating for your employees. But if you follow the steps we’ve given you, things should go much smoother and your employees will be much happier with the process.
Remember to focus on early adoption and helping employees to understand why the business is using the new meal prep software. Good luck!
If you are looking for the best meal prep software for your business, check out Sprwt and book a free demo today!