6 Tips to Stay Fresh If Your Technology Is Becoming Stagnant

This post was contributed by Clearsulting, a BlackLine Platinum Alliance Partner.

Whether you’ve just implemented BlackLine, or you’ve been using it for a while—the biggest risk to the longevity of your investment is how well-adopted your team is in the technology. Do your users comply with policies and guidance, or are they going through the motions, never fully devoted to change? Here are some things to consider as you strive to establish and maintain momentum.

1) Encourage innovation: At Clearsulting, we talk a lot about a “continuous improvement” mindset. Everything changes—technology, its capabilities, your teams, your organization—and you need to be able to keep up. That means making space for suggestions and being open to forward-thinking ideas.

2) Provide a platform: It’s not enough to ask for feedback—make it so easy on your team, they have no choice but to be innovative. Whatever works for you, whether it’s an online intake form, a true and dedicated Center of Excellence (COE), or a monthly huddle, offer a seat at the table for team members and their thoughts.

3) Raise the incentives: How will you celebrate wins and the masterminds behind them? Consider a transformation newsletter where you highlight the changemakers and their impacts and summarize BlackLine’s quarterly release notes.

4) Praise good ideas: If you want people to stay engaged and keep optimization in mind, you’ll need to ensure they feel heard and seen. Action on the ideas you can and find compromise where possible—don’t let the constructive feedback go to waste!

5) Continually train: BlackLine releases new features quarterly—just because your team upskilled during go-live, doesn’t necessarily mean they have a grasp on all the technology offers. Training shouldn’t stop; build in touchpoints, knowledge checks, and structured refreshers to ensure the tool is used as intended. You never know what ideas may spark, and you’ll renew your commitment to your process vision.

6) Track to your KPIs: Consider if your team’s goals are aligned to the level of engagement you want to see and where your company wants to go. Be transparent on why roles matter, why inputs are measured, and what benefits and decisions actions drive throughout the organization. If you don’t intend to use, report on, or refine based on input, don’t ask for it!

Ready for more? Learn how we turned platform critics into change champions for one real estate powerhouse, which now boasts a 97% adoption rate. And when you’re ready to get more from your use of BlackLine, Clearsulting is here.

This post was contributed by Clearsulting, a BlackLine Platinum Alliance Partner.

Whether you’ve just implemented BlackLine, or you’ve been using it for a while—the biggest risk to the longevity of your investment is how well-adopted your team is in the technology. Do your users comply with policies and guidance, or are they going through the motions, never fully devoted to change? Here are some things to consider as you strive to establish and maintain momentum.

1) Encourage innovation: At Clearsulting, we talk a lot about a “continuous improvement” mindset. Everything changes—technology, its capabilities, your teams, your organization—and you need to be able to keep up. That means making space for suggestions and being open to forward-thinking ideas.

2) Provide a platform: It’s not enough to ask for feedback—make it so easy on your team, they have no choice but to be innovative. Whatever works for you, whether it’s an online intake form, a true and dedicated Center of Excellence (COE), or a monthly huddle, offer a seat at the table for team members and their thoughts.

3) Raise the incentives: How will you celebrate wins and the masterminds behind them? Consider a transformation newsletter where you highlight the changemakers and their impacts and summarize BlackLine’s quarterly release notes.

4) Praise good ideas: If you want people to stay engaged and keep optimization in mind, you’ll need to ensure they feel heard and seen. Action on the ideas you can and find compromise where possible—don’t let the constructive feedback go to waste!

5) Continually train: BlackLine releases new features quarterly—just because your team upskilled during go-live, doesn’t necessarily mean they have a grasp on all the technology offers. Training shouldn’t stop; build in touchpoints, knowledge checks, and structured refreshers to ensure the tool is used as intended. You never know what ideas may spark, and you’ll renew your commitment to your process vision.

6) Track to your KPIs: Consider if your team’s goals are aligned to the level of engagement you want to see and where your company wants to go. Be transparent on why roles matter, why inputs are measured, and what benefits and decisions actions drive throughout the organization. If you don’t intend to use, report on, or refine based on input, don’t ask for it!

Ready for more? Learn how we turned platform critics into change champions for one real estate powerhouse, which now boasts a 97% adoption rate. And when you’re ready to get more from your use of BlackLine, Clearsulting is here.