Manage Adopters

The Early Adopters:  Successful organisational Change Initiatives utilise a group of people from all levels of the company to model the new behaviours, promote the benefits of the change, and encourage others to join in. These are the Early Adopters. While some may be assigned, most desire to be a part of the crowd that gets early access to the impacts of the change and have the most significant degree of influence on the final solution. Early adopter team members are often a diverse range of individuals, with different backgrounds and priorities, but all are open to new ideas and change.

There are two reasons for Early Adopters to engage:

1. The Novelty Factor - They'll work on something new, unique, and limited. If they enjoy new experiences – they are driven by the notion that they'll be doing something different and ultimately better than before.
2. Being First - Many Early Adopters adore being the first to use anything when it is a growth based approach to an existing problem.

Why consider the Early Adopters? The importance of early adopters

The importance of the Early Adopter can not be overstated. In addition to modelling the new way of working, Early Adopters:

• Are aware they are expected to provide input and will do so whenever they believe the communication channels are open.
  
• Have the highest expectations for feedback.
  
• Want the current situation to change. They are frequently frustrated with the current situation and want change to solve all their problems. They are willing to get up and join a team, making it happen.
  
• When the change fails to meet their expectations, they'll be open and honest about how the answer could be better and may not meet their needs.  Candid feedback is the most nurturing and will enable the project to move forward faster.
  
• Are key, because the majority won’t move until they believe it’s safe. Early Adopters are a tangible way of saying that it’s safe.
  

Early adopters can be incredibly valuable in change management, as they can help to champion the change and influence others to get on board.

Here are some tips for managing early adopters in change management:

• Identify: The first step is to identify those individuals who are likely to be early adopters. These are typically people who are enthusiastic about new ideas and technologies, and who are willing to take risks and try new things.
  
• Communicate: Once you've identified your early adopters, it's important to communicate with them regularly to keep them engaged and informed. This can include regular updates on the progress of the change initiative, as well as opportunities for early adopters to provide feedback and suggestions.
• Empower: Early adopters are often natural leaders, and it's important to empower them to take on leadership roles in the change initiative. This can include giving them the authority to make decisions and lead others, as well as providing them with resources and support to help them succeed.
• Recognize and reward: It's important to recognize and reward the contributions of early adopters, as this can help to reinforce their commitment to the change initiative and encourage others to follow their lead. This can include public recognition, financial incentives, or other forms of rewards that are meaningful to your early adopters.
• Advocates: Finally, it's important to use your early adopters as advocates for the change initiative. This can include giving them opportunities to speak to others about the benefits of the change, or inviting them to participate in training or other events that are designed to promote the change initiative to others. By leveraging the enthusiasm and commitment of early adopters, you can help to build momentum for the change initiative and increase the chances of success.
  

Prerequisites - Stakeholder Analysis:

The Stakeholder Analysis is the systematic process of gathering detailed information about all the groups and individuals impacted by the change to determine their specific interested, needs, unique skills, perspectives, pain points, alliances and knowledge related to the project.  It is used to define at division, group and/or individual level how to effectively manage the individual needs of each stakeholder, considering how each might respond to the change.

A key out come of the Stakeholder Analysis is the identification of the early adopters and appointing them to the change delivery team or as change champions.  Change champions are formal and informal leaders whose opinions are well-respected within the organisation, they help the organisation manage the inevitable ambiguity and uncertainty associated with implementing change.

Onboard and Manage Early Adopters

The following are recommendations for onboarding and managing the early adopters.  It is important to retain and nurture your early adopters to ensure momentum as the change initiative grows.

1. Early adopters who join the change management team must be alleviated of their business as usual duties.  New position and contracts may be created for larger transformations, or at a minimum informally identified as on secondment or temporarily transferred to the project.
2. There a significant rewards for early adopters.  As leaders of the new ways of working they become the experts which leads to recognition from peers and senior leaders, and this can often lead to promotion.  While this may not be formally stated, it should be communicated early in the process as additional motivation for the hard work that is coming.
3. Ensure the early adopters understand the problem you are addressing.   The problems the early adopters have may vary from the problems of the organisation.  Describing how the change project will solve the problem and demonstrate the end-state enables the early adopters to clearly articulate and communicate the solution to others.
4. Also, ensure the early adopters understand what the initiative solves, what are the benefits, what does it look like, how it will solve problems, and what distinguishes it from the previous change projects.
5. Clearly state the communication channels and plans for working together and communicating with the organisation.
6. Agree how the initiative will be monitored, the overall plan and next steps.