The Art of Technology Adoption: Building Buy-In Across Your Organization

Technology adoption fails when organizations treat it as a simple transaction—purchase, implement, done. The reality is far more nuanced, requiring a delicate balance of human psychology, organizational dynamics, and strategic patience. Success hinges not only on the technology itself, but on how effectively you can align both leadership and frontline teams around a shared goal and vision.

Recognizing the Moment for Change

Organizations often struggle to identify the precise moment when existing systems become barriers rather than enablers. As Thuy Ngo-Shaw, Vice President of Learning and Development at Black Rock Coffee, explains, "When a company is born, a lot of the culture, learning and training happens one-on-one... and at some point, the success is going to show and then that means that you're going to grow. And so, once you grow, how do you scale that?"

This insight captures a critical inflection point for many organizations—when once reliable institutional knowledge and manual processes begin limiting your ability to maintain consistency and quality at scale.

Beyond ROI: Crafting a Compelling Vision

While financial metrics matter, reducing technology adoption to pure ROI undermines its transformative potential. "ROI is very important," Ngo-Shaw notes, "but it's not the only thing, and it can't be the only thing." Successful technology initiatives must demonstrate both quantitative improvements in areas like retention and labor efficiency, and qualitative benefits in upholding culture and enhancing training relationships.

Timing is also important. Leadership teams often fixate on immediate returns, but this narrow focus can sabotage long-term success. As Ngo-Shaw has observed in her implementations, "Success isn't immediate. This is long term... and the team, that leadership team, has to understand that." Organizations that rush to measure success in the first few months often miss the deeper transformational benefits that emerge over time. The key is setting realistic expectations from the start—helping stakeholders understand that while some efficiency gains may appear quickly, the true value of technology adoption manifests in strengthened organizational capabilities, enhanced team engagement, and more resilient operational processes that compound over time.

The Psychology of User Adoption

Securing enthusiastic adoption from end users requires deep empathy for their daily challenges and aspirations. "If you don't have the buy-in from the very beginning, you're kind of dead in the water," Ngo-Shaw warns. Her approach? "Talk to them about what's hard for you, what's difficult for you... If you can make my job easier, and if you can make it more streamlined and more efficient... then the platform, the technology wins itself."

Building a core team of influential voices across departments creates natural advocates who can translate technical capabilities into meaningful benefits for their peers. These champions become crucial bridges between the promise of new technology and its practical application in daily operations.d.

The Power of Patient Implementation

The urge to roll out everything at once is tempting but often counterproductive. Drawing from her extensive experience, Ngo-Shaw advocates for a phased approach: "Setting those expectations and really kind of pulling the reins right from the start... everyone's like, 'Oh my gosh, it's going to do this, and it's going to do that,' and so I always caution everyone—it's going to do a lot of great things, but it isn't going to be the silver bullet."

This measured approach allows organizations to build confidence through early wins while maintaining the flexibility to adjust based on real-world feedback. Success metrics need similar patience, as Ngo-Shaw points out, true meaningful organizational change often requires looking at results on an annualized, year-over-year basis rather than expecting immediate transformation.

Preserving Human Connection

Perhaps most crucially, successful technology adoption enhances rather than diminishes human relationships within an organization. "No amount of technology will ever take the place of the human side," Ngo-Shaw emphasizes. The goal isn't to automate away human interaction, but to create space for more meaningful connections by eliminating routine friction points. 

These insights come from our in-depth conversation with Thuy Ngo-Shaw on the Wise Tales podcast. With 25 years of experience implementing transformative training programs across companies like PF Chang's, Piada Group, and SYNQ3 Restaurant Solutions, Thuy offers invaluable perspective on maintaining cultural strength through periods of technological change. Listen to the full episode to hear more about her approach to successful technology adoption.