In this episode, Markus Zirn and Sam Sena explore the intersection of IT identity archetypes, technology adoption, and organizational change management. They dive into Sam’s research on classifying employees into IT archetypes to improve system adoption, team dynamics, and address fears during tech transformations. Sam emphasizes the role of cultural identity, the human element, and leveraging influencers to drive successful IT projects. Sam wraps up by sharing real-world examples and practical strategies to align new technologies with organizational culture and effectively manage change.

Download the IT Identity (ITID) and Information Systems (IS) Adoption Summary of Findings here: https://bit.ly/ITIDSoF

Timestamps

00:00 Episode Start

03:56 Sam's career journey

06:08 Sam's research in a nutshell

13:05 Applying IT Identity Archetypes to Workato

18:46 Overcoming challenges and resistance to change

28:01Transforming IT and business collaboration

37:39 Real-world success stories

Episode Key Takeaways

• Identify key influencers early: Engage technophiles or experts within your organization to act as ambassadors for new technology. Their enthusiasm and influence can help drive broader adoption and acceptance.
• Use behavioral data to drive adoption: Run simple surveys to assess your team’s readiness for change. Use this data to create more targeted enablement efforts that directly address specific readiness levels and concerns.
• Customize messaging and training: Leverage IT Identity Archetypes to personalize communication and training for different employee groups, ensuring your enablement strategies align with their unique motivations and needs.
• Build a collaborative IT-business culture: Foster open communication and teamwork between IT and business teams, encouraging joint problem-solving to drive successful technology adoption and seamless collaboration.

Top Quote

“Organizations can experience an increase in [tech] adoption by as much as 20 to 25 percent by making some small changes to their transformation programs.”

“The goal again is to get alignment. Once you do it once, once you do it twice, you're never going to go back because now you're really finding a way to cater the message, the value to the needs of the individuals. It becomes like a flywheel.”