Onboarding new technology is the beginning of easier processes within surgical facilities. The process of onboarding can appear daunting, but by debunking a few misconceptions and explaining the best way to navigate your staff through this process, we'll help you realize why it's not.
Someone that can communicate with the vendor to guide coworkers through the steps of onboarding will be extremely beneficial during onboarding. This person is typically referred to as a "project lead." Technology vendors may send one of their project managers to your site to help with training, but a majority of the implementation can usually be completed via webinar, phone call, or email. This training is what guides your facility to exactly the place it needs to be. It's crucial to assign someone in your facility as project lead during this time, as they can work as a point-person that communicates with the vendor and makes sure other users are adapting to workflow changes.
Your surgery center may realize not everything is perfectly in line after going live with your new software product and that's totally OK! This is typically because nurses and other users are understandably tired and might feel too busy to commit to these new changes. These are the situations where the project lead can be active in reminding users that the software was purchased to make their lives easier. These facts may be difficult to see during busy times, but getting stuck in the transition phase is an immediate hit to the ROI expected to recoup when buying the software in the first place. Encouraging users to stick with the new software will have you well on your way to easier ASC processes.
Adoption planning with an implementation team is a strategy that can really help your facility. After all, communicating to your staff that a new product was purchased and that onboarding will begin soon is the best way to keep everyone happy and well, on-board! Remember, their workflows and daily processes will be disrupted by this new technology. By involving them in the planning and decision-making process, users are much more likely to buy-in to onboarding details and less likely to resist these changes.
Let us know your thoughts about onboarding in the comments below, or feel free to leave suggestions for a future blog!
