Adoption Plan — Intuit Case Study
“What I learned the most is how to work with others. I’m learning how to delegate and how to be a better leader.” — Student, Intuit Education Program
Intuit’s partnership with Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) is centered around our mission-aligned cause to prepare undeserved communities with the tools and resources for the future of work.
1. Align on Values and Goals
Before integrating our assets, we must align our goals and values. Intuit’s bold mission to impact 10M students by 2025 is more urgent in the wake of a racial justice reckoning across the country, and especially in the corporate world. NFTE’s track record and relationship with communities whose inequities were exposed further because of the COVID-19 pandemic gives us a chance to target our impact and help rebuild a more inclusive economy.
2. Listening Session
Following our Design for Delight process, we must center any services we offer on the customer’s needs. We must approach this with empathy. That means shadowing, interviewing, and listening to the customers and develop a gap analysis from the educators, students, and administrators. Including the customer in requirements gathering ensures their needs are at the center of solution development. The needs analysis should focus on current and future state possibilities. In this evaluation, be sure to include process, people, and technology needs.
3. Develop a Communications Plan
I can’t overemphasize the importance of a robust communication strategy pre-, during, and post-training. Before launching the training program for Intuit’s tools, we need to generate buzz and excitement about the change, and appeal to customers by explaining the direct benefits to them. 1 of out every 3 employees say that uninspiring content is a barrier to their learning. Communicate, communicate, communicate!
4. Customer-Friendly Training Program
Utilize custom training, not just a one size fits all training, which often focuses solely on feature and functionality and not on how the new technology will support customers in their day to day lives. Custom training, whether a train-the-trainer program or an customer leading the effort, must be role-based and designed to focus on what is truly needed to know.
Important to not cut corners on training. The total loss from ineffective training is staggering: $13.5 million per year, per 1000 employees. Don’t fall in the trap of delivering training simply to meet the go-live deadline. By doing so, you compromise adoption and the overall investment. Effective user adoption requires a well-planned strategy (for example, a well-planned cloud strategy), is aligned to outcomes, and is implemented in phases.
5. Pilot Program
Pilot programs are typically conducted in a controlled environment that allows for thorough monitoring and evaluation. Pilot program participants should include early adopters, customers that can then champion changes and assist in training in their respective areas. As the pilot is being run, evaluate the technology, process, and workflow impacts on the first group from NFTE. As we plan the pilot program, we want to allow time for modifications before the program is expanded to the larger groups.
6. Retrospectives
It is critical that we have our ears to the ground and are always willing to iterate and adapt our tools to what’s needed in the moment. To do this, we need to conduct regular feedback, listening, and learning session with our customers at NFTE. Their success is our success, and if something isn’t working, or could be done better, we need to be responsive to that.
