We have already talked about reasons why your company should run an internal blog and now we will help you introduce it to your team.
It has happened that even the best of software out there were not helping teams only because people refused to accept it and use it in the right way. We would not wish to hear that such a thing could happen with BlogIn, and this is why we will help you make it popular with your team.
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People can be quite resilient to learning new things (ironically especially the ones that can actually make their communication easier) and this is why it's good to have a strategy that will help you introduce a new piece of software that the team should be using. New software often means that the team needs to change the way they work, and they are not going to like that. So, you need find a way to reduce the stress and present the new tool in the best way.
Here are a few suggestions that can be helpful:
Strategy No.1: Let the team decide
This approach is quite simple - let the team participate in the selection of the tool that you all will be using. Organize a meeting and talk with the team about the need to increase collaboration level of your organization. Explain the need for a tool where you can communicate, stay in the loop and organize your work more effectively. Finally, let them know how an internal blog can help.
Next step is to let the team explore and try different tools. In case you have already tried some, give them your top 3 list and invite them to join you in a trial. Wait for two weeks and make another meeting to discuss results. You will all have the opportunity to choose the tool that fits you all best.
By using this strategy, you will give your team a control over the selection process and a chance to adopt a new tool seamlessly. On top of that they will be able to choose the software that they prefer. In this way chances that this software will be used properly are quite high.
Strategy No.2: Cheerleader's assistance
We are not talking about high school cheerleaders. It’s the person in a team that likes new things, takes care of everyone in the team and agitates for teamwork improvements. This person is your “early adopter”. Everyone have such person in a team, and you probably have her too.
What you need to do is to make sure that you get this person to love the internal blog that you will be using. In this case, you should explain only to one person, not the entire team, all the benefits that internal blog is bringing to everyone. Once you do that, she will do the rest of the job and you can be quite sure that the others will follow.
Strategy No.3: Build company knowledge base
If you are not a fan of “people’s choice” this is a strategy for you. To help your team adopt a new tool place all the information important to them into that tool. Do it and explain that in this way work of your entire team will be much more organized, easier and more pleasant.
For example, when using BlogIn you can have your Posts and Pages. Pages are here to help you create permanent articles where you will be keeping some static information. You can place all your procedures and know-hows in posts, organize them into categories and search through them all. In this way, you will get a centralized knowledge base that is available for everyone, at any time.
The team will have to login to get the information they need, and they will soon get used to finding stuff they are looking for in one place.
Strategy No.4: Make the cool place
Another way to help your team adopt the idea of using the internal blog is to make a cool place out of it. You can combine this strategy with the Strategy #3, and you will get the tool that people use to get the job done, that is also essential for the office life.
You can write here anything that you think is useful to the team - from tips on how to make an excellent coffee to invites to the bowling match this Wednesday. Just ensure that all the team activities (in or out of the office) are organized and discussed within the internal blog.
Strategy No.5: Have fun!
Your internal blog is also a place where you and your team need to be relaxed and open to the new ideas and suggestions, so why not telling a joke occasionally? Especially if it is a good one that is worth sharing.
Be careful, you don’t want to turn your internal blog into a Bored Panda, so don’t over exaggerate.
These are suggestions that we have for you. It is completely up to you to choose the strategy that suits you and your people best. Remember that you are the one that knows your team and you can help them get the most out of the new software.
We would like to hear how you introduce new software to your company? Have you used any particular tactics? If you know of a strategy that is not on our list, you are welcome to describe it in a comment!