Procuring a platform is the easy part. You now need your employees to effectively use it.
Organisations often share that, after investing in an employee experience platform, they were unsure how to implement it effectively and sustain it over time. Unfortunately, this leads to poor adoption, a cluttered digital ecosystem, and frustration with the platform.
Experience shows that successful implementation requires integration across people, processes, and technology. This is complex work, which is why it is often overlooked.
At ICE, an end-to-end change readiness strategy is applied to embed and sustain platforms for the long term. This approach integrates people, processes, and technology so that change happens with the business, not to the business. The result: stronger engagement and measurable return on investment (ROI). Our model is designed to complement your internal teams, addressing capability or capacity gaps with expertise in strategy, change, and communication.
Top Tips for Implementation
Leverage the Tech Partner’s Process The technology provider typically leads implementation through a structured process managed by their project manager. Internal project teams should expect weekly meetings. IT resourcing pressures are usually minimal, depending on the number of integrations.
Plan for Communication and Change Bottlenecks
Resourcing challenges often arise in the communication and change space, where strategy and deliverables must be executed. External support can relieve this pressure and ensure adoption.
Develop a Platform Strategy
Define the platform’s purpose, set clear KPIs, and articulate how each channel will deliver those KPIs. Include an Ownership Model with roles and responsibilities, and design platform architecture tailored to audiences and end users.
Create a Change Strategy
Many organisations admit, “We’re terrible at change – especially with tech.” Our observations indicate this is often due to underestimating the change effort or resourcing it with junior support that treats change as a tick-box exercise. A robust Change Strategy focused on mindset and behaviour shifts is critical – and often a game-changer.
Generate Stakeholder Buy-In
Establish an Advisory Group and a Change Champion network to drive engagement.
Engage Leaders Early
Leadership workshops help co-create their role in the change, build team habits, and prepare teams for adoption.
Simplify the Digital Ecosystem
Review existing channels, map those that will integrate with the new platform, and decommission redundant ones. Simplification removes barriers to adoption – consider how many apps employees currently navigate daily.
Craft a Compelling Narrative
Develop a best-in-class communication strategy, content strategy (for employee comms apps), and a launch campaign.
Host a Leadership Launch Event
Bringing leaders together for a platform launch accelerates adoption across teams.
Build Capability Through Training
Identify training needs for different groups and provide sessions and materials to equip them for their role in the change.
