Why schools find it challenging to implement new tech

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Despite a rapid rate of change, some schools are still finding their feet in the technology landscape. Compass Education discusses the challenges of tech adoption, and how to make the process simpler

IF SCHOOLS were ‘tech hesitant’ before 2020, there’s no question that attitudes have changed dramatically over the last two years. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, schools saw in real time the importance of technology in day-to-day operations, as well as in emergency contingency planning. There was no longer a question of why tech adoption was necessary. Instead, schools swiftly brought in the tools they needed to enable remote learning and to communicate effectively while working from home. Now that Australia is back to semi-normality, the rates of technology use in schools still haven’t dropped. However, new challenges have arisen in adopting new technology and tools – most notably change fatigue, the complexity of set-up processes, and a reluctance to ‘change for the sake of change’.

Compass Education is a leading school management system in Australia, supporting over 2,000 schools with a comprehensive suite of tools to simplify their day-to-day processes and keep the school community connected. With a significant focus on product improvement and providing best-in-class support, Compass Education’s goal is to help school communities thrive.

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“There’s an abundance of reasons why schools still need to look at their software, and our main message is always around safe-proofing your school and making sure you’ve got strong communication processes in place”

Kate Dalton, Compass Education

Focusing on the ‘why’ According to Compass Education general manager, customer success, Kate Dalton, the COVID-19 pandemic was the “biggest proof” to schools that they need to implement technology where they could. However, she says that for many schools the gaps in technology capability are still significant, particularly in areas such as natural disaster planning and communication. “There’s definitely been a shift away from the ‘why do we need it?’ dialogue. Now, there’s no argument around why!” Dalton says. “However, that journey is very much ongoing. Schools increasingly need to rely on software for things like natural disaster management, for example, but people often are wary of changes, especially when it comes to technology. Most tech companies like to focus on planning and implementing the change but spend very little time and effort on understanding and communicating the change. That’s where implementation is most likely to fail. “There’s an abundance of reasons why schools still need to look at their software, and our main message is always around safe-proofing your school," Dalton says. "Once your school management system is up and running, this is just the beginning of a long haul. Ongoing support like training, troubleshooting and product upgrades plays a critical role in user adoption.”

Despite these gaps, she says schools generally haven’t gone back on anything that was implemented during COVID – an encouraging trend, as they seem to have enjoyed the benefits of going digital. When it comes to getting buy-in from your staff, Compass Education customer success consultant Jade Falzon says the most effective technique is to focus on the ‘why’. If you have a range of strong reasons for implementing a new system, backed up by comprehensive training, that will increase your chances of a smooth rollout and getting a high level of support from your team. “When staff and students are learning new things, they want to know why they should be on board,” Falzon says.

“They don’t want to just change things for the sake of change. Lots of teachers are having change fatigue after COVID too, so when something needs to change quickly, that sometimes doesn’t happen when they’ve already had seven changes in a week! That can leave staff wary and resistant, so clearly communicating the ‘why’ is definitely the way to bring them on board.” Dalton says Compass uses a technique called ‘The Reasons for Change’ for its rollouts. “When a school first comes on board with Compass, we’ll coordinate with their leadership team and agree on three main reasons why they’ve decided to initiate that change. These will be very significant reasons – often around things like auditing, or saving staff time and being able to communicate well. Then any time we have a discussion with a staffing group, we keep driving those reasons home. “That just brings things back to base, and if there’s a period of nervousness, it reminds people of the ‘why’ and gives them the motivation to actually stick with it to the end. A good framework from the start helps avoid miscommunication and provides better transparency.”

Simplifying the adoption process Once a school has decided to bring in new software or tools, it's immediately faced with a number of challenges – and according to Compass Education, a good rollout plan can determine the success of the adoption. Part of the company's onboarding process is to sit down and work out with the school the plan that fits its needs. From assigning roles and responsibilities and setting up deadlines and milestones to confirming the timeline of training sessions, Compass is there every step of the way and is constantly asking for feedback. According to Dalton, another important part of adopting any new system or process is to go ‘all in’, whenever you can – and that means not offering too many direct alternatives. “The schools that I’ve seen be the most successful will pre-plan their rollout, and they’ll stick to it,” Dalton says. “They communicate the ‘why’ to the parents and explain how Compass can help them. This includes access to up-to-date information about their child, simplified payment processes, and communication with the teachers. Parents and carers are time-poor, and most will love the idea of a single point of access.

“[Staff] need to know that there is support, training and the opportunity to refine their skills, and that you’re not just going to throw them in the deep end”

Jade Falzon, Compass Education

“We also have a library of training resources and templates available in the portal for schools to use to make this transition manageable and pleasant for both parents and the school," Dalton says. “Sometimes an all-in approach is best so that you don’t confuse things or muddy the waters," she explains. "However, what is best for one school may not be the same for another. It all comes down to understanding your community and its bandwidth. Use that to build your rollout plan.” Falzon says training is also a vital aspect of any rollout, as well as communication to staff around what’s coming, when, and what will be expected of them.

“They need to know that there is support, training and the opportunity to refine their skills, and that you’re not just going to throw them in the deep end.” Making onboarding easy When it comes to set-up, Compass Education knows just how challenging this process can be for schools. That’s why it's set up a team dedicated exclusively to onboarding and has crafted several tools to help with every stage of the process. One of these is a live progress board that shows all stakeholders – parents, teachers and management – which stage of the process everything is at and who is responsible for what tasks. Dalton says transparency throughout the process is vital, and once everything is set up, Compass will provide training and consultancy services to teach everyone how to use the new software. “We then have a period called ‘go live’ where we check in with the school, and we have a one-week post-go-live meeting where we reflect with the school on how it’s gone and plan any next steps,” Dalton says. “We like to have these regular check-ins along the way after each milestone, making sure everyone can see where things are at all the time.” For independent schools, the process is taken a step further. As a customer success consultant, Falzon works with schools for at least a year on everything from their branding to their change management, training and project management. “I hand-hold them throughout the entire process and really tailor it to each school – for example, one school might want to focus on financial management, while another might prioritise learning tasks,” she says. “At the end of the day, every school is different. Whatever their needs, I make it work!” To find out more about Compass Education, click here.

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