Some lessons you have to learn the hard way, but how you implement new technology should not be one of those trials by fire.
Technological advancements can take your landscape company to the next level. You can smooth your rollout process by avoiding some of these common missteps and oversights.
Rushing the Process
If you are hasty in your efforts to be on the cutting edge of technology without conducting enough research, you can end up wounding your company instead.
“If you attack it with the full game plan in place, and if you make sure that people have the time, the allocation, and you’re not rushing it, you’re going to set yourself up for success,” says Adam Swank, director of technology for Ground Works Land Design, based in Cleveland, Ohio.
It is always recommended to trial whatever technology you’re interested in first before investing serious time and money into integrating it into the business.
Also, the decision to introduce new technology should not be made in a vacuum. Involve key stakeholders early in the process to consider various uses and aspects of the proposed change.
“Provide advance notice and training rather than surprising your team,” says Marion Delano, director of technology and marketing for Level Green Landscaping, based in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. “Make employees feel like active participants with influence in the implementation process. Their resistance can immediately derail a rollout, so removing those barriers is essential.”
Failing to Establish Buy-In
Getting team members onboard with the new technology you’re trying to implement will make or break your overall success. There is no ROI if no one, or only a small subset of employees, uses the technology.
Swank recommends tapping into incentive programs to get team members excited about using the new technology. Ground Works often creates short-term goals to implement incremental changes.
“The people at the end of the day are going to be your most important asset,” Swank says. “If your people aren’t there to do the work and they’re not motivated to do it the right way, then you’re just going to run into problems.”
Swank says having champions for different products can also help with adoption, as they can highlight how the technology has improved their work.
Lacking Transparency
One of the main ways to build buy-in is by being transparent with your team and making sure everyone understands why this change is happening.
“People feel left out,” Swank says. “They feel unimportant. Without being clear and transparent, people’s minds go to the negative right away. Being transparent is just crucial, as far as keeping morale and momentum high.”
Jerry DeJournett, CEO of Strata Landscape Services, based in Los Angeles, California, encourages owners to put themselves in the position of the employee and communicate clearly why the change is necessary.
“You need to empathize with the fact most employees do not like change, and so you need to acknowledge that change can be difficult,” DeJournett says. “However, you need to emphasize the value of the new technology and why it is ultimately a necessity for them and for the company to become more efficient.”
Neglecting Process Changes
New technology can also require fundamentally changing some of your business processes. For example, when Chalet, based in Wilmette, Illinois, implemented Aspire, they ended up adopting a cost plus system.
“Through learning from other companies in the Aspire ecosystem, we’re switching to a more Just in Time (JIT) sourcing model,” says Lawson Thalmann, chief technology officer for Chalet.
Delano says with their autonomous mowers, they had to completely rethink crew setups, planning, and routing to be economically viable.
Failing to adapt your processes can result in the tool not being as effective or headaches downstream. Swank says typically people tend to learn enough to be dangerous, but don’t have enough time to fully implement technology solutions. They end up half using systems.
“The greatest mistake we see in deploying technology is forgetting that people and process come before any technology deployment,” DeJournett says. “So many people get excited about new features and the ‘wow’ factor of technology, but forget that we’re still a human-driven business, so without those humans and a clear process they can follow, technology is doomed to fail.”
Overlooking Contingency Plans
A major miscalculation is assuming the new technology will not fail. You should always develop contingency plans for how you will conduct business if the software or platform goes dark. Swank recommends thinking through potential pitfalls and how your company would respond in those situations.
“Expect hiccups and issues — no implementation goes completely smoothly,” Delano says. “Position yourself to respond quickly to problems. The more headaches and hurdles staff encounter, the more likely they’ll decide the new technology doesn’t work or isn’t useful.”
Delano says they’ve experienced this firsthand when they didn’t have backup options during rollouts. For instance, when they implemented their autonomous mowers and they underperformed, the team was left short-staffed and without sufficient equipment to make up for their planned production because the company had failed to plan for contingencies.
“New technology inevitably has issues and learning curves, so it’s unwise to put all your eggs in one basket,” Delano says.
Ignoring Client Impact
Forgetting to consider how your technology updates may impact your client base is another huge misstep.
Swank says they create sandbox environments with all the features and functionalities they’re testing. The team can then go in and play around.
“They’re able to really push the limits of that software and that integration without actually impacting any of our production information,” Swank says.
DeJournett says that in cases of customer-facing systems, they will test the new technology with a small set of trusted clients who understand that deployments often aren’t perfect on day one. He says they also prefer to A/B test any launch with a smaller segment so they can identify issues early on.
“Experience has taught us that implementations with potential negative client impacts require safeguards and backups,” Delano says. “We now dedicate extra time and attention to planning all scenarios for client-facing technology changes.”
