How to encourage your team to use a new H&S tool

How to encourage your team to use a new H&S tool

So you’ve signed up for a new Health and Safety app, you’re on a free trial, or you just want to get your ducks in a row before you invest? Although you’re on the right path to simplifying your H&S processes, there’s a big hurdle you’re about to face - getting people to actually use the software.

What can you do to get a bunch of busy staff to stop, pick up a new app, and take the time to learn it? Here are some ideas:

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1. Make it simple

Everyone’s busy, especially in construction. Software can take time to learn, and that’s time nobody ever feels like they have. To get your team onto a new piece of software, you need to keep things simple.

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Invest in Simplicity

The more an app is designed to ‘pick up and play,’ the more likely you are to get people to use it. There are many apps out there with a huge range of features, but if they’re complex, can’t be used on mobile, or the design is clunky, you’ll likely see adoption rates plummet.

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Simplicity is Key to Site App Pro’s User Interface

While admins have access to a full range of features via the desktop admin console, day-to-day users just need their smartphones to navigate our app’s functional features seamlessly.

Forms can be filled out with a push of a button or even voice-to-text. It’s easy to assign individuals to actions or link other forms, and checking in or out of the site just takes one tap (or the scanning of a QR code).

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2. Communicate the five Ws and H

Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. Each of these questions is vital for someone to understand a new tool, when to use it, and - most importantly - why they should bother.

We’re betting that if you’ve either invested in or are about to invest in a new app for your team, you’ve got a good reason to. So, share it with the team! Some questions to ask yourself:

• Who should use the tool? Is it for visitors, subcontractors? What level of access do people need and how do they get it?
• What does the tool do? What is its purpose? What is its benefit?
• Where would you use the tool? Is it an on-site thing only, or in the office too? Do you need to carry any extra equipment to use it?
• When will people need to use the new tool? How does it fit into their day-to-day?
• Why bother? “What’s in it for me?”‍
• How do you use the tool? How can you get the most out of it? How can you make it easier to use or learn?

Building out the answers to these questions enables you to respond to almost any FAQ and really ‘sell’ the change - get people excited.

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3. Get people to back you up

People tend to look to others for ‘social proof’ of any new thing. Generally, we want to know that others have done something before we do it ourselves.

This is both a great thing and a not-so-great thing. If nobody picks up your new tool, chances are nobody will. But, if you can get that social proof, you may find your uptake leaps.

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Encourage Users

In the early phases of adopting a new app, find what people in the corporate world call ‘change champions.’ These individuals back you up, understand why the new tool has been brought in, and agree with its adoption.

• They are well-versed in the five Ws and H.
• They encourage others to use the software and can act as on-site trainers and problem-solvers for new adopters.
• They share the burden of championing the change and training people in the new software.

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4. Listen to feedback

We’ve talked a lot about communication - answering questions, training people, selling the idea. But communication is just lecturing unless it’s a two-way street. Chances are, you’re going to generate a lot of feedback.

All technology rollouts, whether in construction or any other sector, generate considerable discussion - both positive and negative.

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Make Yourself Available

Encourage people to use certain channels to talk to you (like feedback surveys, discussions at toolbox talks, or just making sure people know you’re OK with being pulled aside on the job for a quick word). Your change champions can also be involved.

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Act on Feedback

What’s the benefit of feedback if it goes nowhere? Look for consistent problems among the differing feedback you receive. What changes can you make to patch those up? Listen, make a change, then communicate that the change has been made at the applicable daily talks.

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5. Understand that Change Isn’t Always Smooth

There’s a reason that change management is an entire industry. Even on a small site with a small team, getting people to adopt a new way of working can get a fair bit of pushback.

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Pushback Isn’t Necessarily Bad

Workers pushing back on change, especially big change, shouldn’t be viewed as inherently bad. It’s natural.

When people go through change, they often go through what’s known as the Change Curve. This curve shows us that humans tend to act irrationally, emotionally at first, then work through a process similar to the five stages of grief before finally acting rationally.

People go through this curve at their own speed, in their own way. Some jump straight to acceptance, others zig-zag between various emotional states and struggle to get through at all.

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Learn more: The Kubler Ross Change Curve (University of Exeter)

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What Can You Do?

All the lessons discussed above can help you sell change, communicate it openly, ensure your people feel comfortable with their new software, and that there are people in your corner helping share the load.

Try to be empathetic - put yourself in someone else’s boots before talking to them, so you can guess how they will react. What will they feel? These combined should help walk your people through each stage of the curve.

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Still looking for a health and safety app? We can help

Site App Pro has been designed as an easy-to-adopt digital OHS management tool, to help simplify compliance standards. As long as someone can use a smartphone and push a few buttons, they can use Site App Pro.

To see it in action and to ask questions about how it might work for your company, book a live demo today.

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