Is your district or campus considering a new technology management system? Like any new edtech purchase, the process of researching, validating, and acquiring a system – that involves many stakeholders – can be long and convoluted. With the right strategies in place, you can avoid common roadblocks and navigate a positive experience that will forever change how technology is managed and maximized for efficiency and effectiveness in your educational institution.
In Part 1 of this series, we’ll focus on gaining buy-in and preparing for the journey.
Step # 1: Engage All Stakeholders & Identify a Champion
People are highly motivated by ideas perceived as their own.
Asking the right questions to understand each stakeholder’s pain points and goals will aid in critical thinking and the desire for resolution. Allowing each party to recognize the need for change and contribute to the solution will elicit their own motivation and minimize resistance often faced when we feel someone – or something – is trying to influence us.
Understanding each stakeholder’s perspective is important to identify key players, a potential champion (if it isn’t you), and those who only wish to be informed. Here are some questions to ask as you approach the necessary parties:
Questions to Determine Need
- Awareness/Learning/Adoption (Curriculum/Instruction, Coaches, Specialists)
- Are teachers/staff members aware of the digital tools already available to them?
- Have we achieved the adoption we expected with these tools?
- Can teachers, students, and parents easily access materials and learn autonomously with a centralized repository of resources?
- Do users know who to contact for support?
If the answer is no, consider following up with “Would you find value in a system that provided a product and resource library that supported these efforts and gave you time back in your day?”
- Data Privacy/Security/Vetting (Evaluators/Approvers, Technology/IT)
- Have we established procedures that collect necessary data and approvals for purchasing decisions?
- Does every technology purchase (or use) follow these protocols, protecting against security risk and ensuring compliance?
- Is our approval process inclusive of all necessary stakeholders/ departments (i.e. curriculum alignment, budget/cost review, technology review/systems integrations, data privacy)?
- Is the process practical, timely, and automated enabling operational efficiency and minimizing time to purchase?
These questions can be more difficult and uncomfortable to answer. Try putting these stakeholders at ease with “Don’t worry. If our answers aren’t ideal today, how do we get there? Could we gain peace of mind with a workflow solution that guides the process every time?”
- Contracts/Renewals/Budget Insights (Leadership, Finance/Purchasing)
- Are contract details (start date, end date, terms, billing cycle, amount, license quantity) readily available to all stakeholders in the purchase and renewal processes?
- Do we avoid contracts “slipping through the cracks”, ensuring no unwanted spend or unnecessary help desk tickets?
- Is the person(s) responsible for the purchase/renewal of a contract easily identified, notified, and provided with ample time to re-evaluate if needed?
- Are we able to quickly report which tools we’ve purchased and what to expect for upcoming (and future) budgeting decisions?
Purchase details are generally stored in a spreadsheet or accounting system owned by Purchasing or Finance. Unfortunately, renewal contracts typically fall back on the original signatory or vendor contact (whom may or may not still be with your educational institution). An appropriate follow-up might include: “Would every purchasing stakeholder (Site Leaders, Instruction, Technology, Procurement) benefit from having quick access to the data needed to make informed budgeting decisions?”
- Succession Planning/Knowledge Dissemination/Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Are any stakeholders in the onboarding, adoption, or ongoing management of edtech investments “single points of failure” (causing the entire process, system, or investment to stall)?
- Do we follow consistent staff onboarding and offboarding practices for disseminating knowledge?
- Do we have a centralized repository for all documents, notes, training materials to minimize loss with staff turnover?
- Do we collaborate as a team and have a sense of collective ownership of every edtech investment we make?
It’s the elephant in the room, but I would be remiss if I didn’t bring up these tough questions and prepare you for maximizing this opportunity. In closing the conversation, try summarizing with “We can build, scale, and innovate for the future – for every educational stakeholder – with a technology management system.”
Ready to start gaining buy-in? Download the questionnaire for your next meeting and stay tuned for Step #2: Build a Strong Business Case.
