Course: The Psychology of Technology Adoption

Bridging the Chasm: A Practical Course Outline on the Psychology of Technology Adoption for Emerging Leaders

Executive summary
Technology adoption isn't just an IT problem. It's a people problem, an emotional, cognitive and social puzzle that teams and leaders must solve if transformation is going to stick. This programme is designed for emerging leaders and frontline managers who are responsible for translating technical change into everyday practice. It combines behavioural science, practical change management, and facilitation skills so participants can design, lead and measure adoption initiatives that actually land.

I'm biased: I believe most rollouts fail not because the tech is poor, but because the humans were left out of the plan. I also think mandatory e learning as the primary adoption tool is lazy. Both statements make some people wince. Good.

Target audience and level
- Emerging leaders, team leaders and frontline managers (retail, professional services, healthcare admin teams) who need to lead colleagues through technology change.
- Suitable for participants with manager level responsibility but limited formal training in change psychology or user experience.
- Cohort mix: 12 to 18 participants per programme. Ideal for cohorts drawn from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane sites, with remote participants from regional offices.

Preferred duration, format and delivery mode (randomised)
- Format: 3×2 hour live virtual workshops (sprint model) + one half day in person consolidation workshop in a major city (Sydney or Melbourne) four weeks after session three.
- Duration: 10 weeks total including pre work, live sessions, consolidation and peer coaching.
- Delivery mode: Hybrid (two virtual cohorts + a single face to face consolidation day). Optional fully online variant available for remote only organisations.

Why this format
Short, focused live sessions keep learning actionable; a face to face consolidation day cements behavioural change. People are busy. Micro sessions with clear tasks between them work. Honestly, some organisations still prefer one big day, fine, but outcomes suffer unless you scaffold follow up.

Learning outcomes (behavioural and metric focused)
By the end of the programme participants will be able to:
- Diagnose user attitudes and readiness across a team using at least two validated diagnostic tools (behavioural outcome).
- Design a simple, evidence based adoption plan that increases first month active usage by a measurable amount (metric target: reduce time to first success from piloting baseline by 30% within three months).
- Run a five step onboarding clinic that reduces help desk tickets related to basic tasks by 25% within six weeks of rollout.
- Recruit and support at least two peer champions per team to influence the early majority (behavioural outcome).
- Apply three psychological levers, social proof, risk reduction and habit formation, in real world pilot projects and demonstrate impact in a post course report.
- Present a one page business case demonstrating ROI from adoption activity (improved productivity, fewer errors, or time saved) and conversion assumptions.

Core modules and session by session outline
Pre work (1 week)
- Read: short curated articles on diffusion of innovation and behavioural nudges (we supply).
- Survey: baseline team readiness and current adoption metrics (help desk volume, active user rate, time to task).
- Pre assessment: participants submit a one paragraph summary of a recent technology change they led (what worked, what didn't).

Session 1 (2 hours, virtual) , Psychology of Adoption: Who moves first and why
- Quick immersion: a short case vignette from a supermarket operations team in Brisbane, what the innovators did and what the early majority feared.
- Learning objectives: distinguish innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards and map personality profiles to likely behaviours.
- Practical output: participants map one current or planned technology to adopter categories within their teams and identify two potential champions.
- Activity: micro roleplays, how to approach an innovator vs how to approach a sceptic.
- Takeaway: one page adopter profile template to use back on the job.

Session 2 (2 hours, virtual) , Reducing perceived risk and building trust
- Short provocation: mandatory compliance training is not the same as trust building.
- Concepts: perceived usefulness vs perceived ease of use; trust signals (pilot results, guarantees, senior sponsorship).
- Tools: rapid pilot design, framing experiments, "safety nets" (rollback plans), communication templates.
- Activity: design a 14 day pilot with measurable success criteria tailored to the team's context.
- Deliverable: 3 week pilot plan ready for immediate deployment.

Session 3 (2 hours, virtual) , Social influence, champions and habit formation
- Mini lecture: why social proof beats features every time. Real world examples from retail and utilities. (Yes, telling your staff who's using it works.)
- Methods: champion program design, peer to peer coaching, visible metrics (dashboards), habits loops and triggers.
- Activity: build a champion recruitment pitch and a micro coaching checklist.
- Deliverable: draft champion agreement and three micro habit prompts to embed in workflows.

Week 4 to 8 (implementation sprint)
- Participants run pilots and meet in fortnightly peer coaching huddles (45 minutes).
- Facilitators drop in for coaching calls (one 30 minute coaching touch per team).
- Data capture: participants log basic metrics weekly (active users, ticket counts, first time success rate).
- Spot support: template email cadences, quick video tips, cheat sheets we provide.

Consolidation Workshop (half day, face to face)
- Show and tell: teams present pilot outcomes with raw metrics and behavioural insights.
- Deep dive: troubleshooting sessions, address real human resistance in roleplays and problem clinics.
- Refinement: turn a pilot into a scaled rollout plan with stakeholder map, comms plan and budget.
- Final deliverable: one page scaled adoption plan and a 10 minute presentation suitable for executive review.

Optional add ons
- One to one coaching for senior sponsors (two sessions).
- Customised manager toolkit (digital + printable).
- Micro learning bites for frontline staff (3×5 minute videos) and accompanying quick reference cards.

Assessment and measurement
- Pre/post readiness survey (psychometric scale) to measure change in attitudes and self efficacy.
- Behavioural KPIs: active usage rate, time to first success, help desk tickets baseline vs 6 week and 12 week checkpoints. Suggested targets: +30% active use within 6 weeks; 25% help desk tickets in six weeks. (Targets are adjustable to client context.)
- Roleplay scoring matrix: assess manager capability in four domains, listening, reframing objections, recruiting champions, applying habit prompts.
- Manager observation checklist: for two weeks post rollout, managers complete a short daily log on adoption behaviours observed.
- Post course reflection report: each participant submits a 600 to 800 word impact reflection including metrics and next steps.

Materials and resources provided
- Facilitator guide and participant workbook (we include worked examples and scripts).
- Pre built pilot and champion templates.
- Quick reference manager one pagers for habit prompts and "how to run a clinic".
- Sample comms pack (emails, posters, intranet copy).
- Access to a private peer community for 3 months post course for troubleshooting and sharing quick wins.

Facilitation approach and trainer competencies
- Trainers should be experienced in behavioural science mixed with real operational experience, preferably former managers who have actually led rollouts. We insist on trainers who can run a room, handle sceptics, and simplify complex ideas.
- Facilitation style: interactive, practical, lightly provocative , encourage debate. Don't flatter with false cheerleading.
- Optional: include a guest speaker, a senior sponsor from a recognisable Australian Business who can share short lessons (positive case study).

Behaviour change tactics included (practical toolkit)
- Social proof: use champions, peer testimonials and visible metrics.
- Loss aversion framing: show what's lost by not adopting (time, quality). But don't overplay fear.
- Reduction of friction: checklists, templates, and guided workflows.
- Habit formation: cue routine reward loops tailored to typical shift patterns in workplaces.
- Autonomy support: give users small choices so they feel in control, avoid heavy handed mandates.

Practical constraints and pricing model (randomised)
- Suggested pricing: $495 per participant (incl. GST) for groups of 12 to 18. Price includes facilitator time, materials, pre and post coaching and access to the peer community for three months. Travel for the face to face consolidation day billed separately.
- Minimum headcount: 12 participants per cohort to run effectively. We can run smaller groups for leadership teams but the dynamic is different.
- Locations served: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth; hybrid delivery to Canberra, Geelong and Parramatta offices. We can travel to regional sites with one week's notice.
- Platform constraints: virtual sessions run best on a stable video platform with breakout room capability; record sessions for participants who miss a module.

Customisation and sector variations
- Retail and hospitality: emphasise shift based habit prompts, POS adoption champions, and visual cues in back of house areas.
- Professional services: consider client data privacy concerns and embed ethical discussions into UX training.
- Healthcare admin: focus on accuracy and error reduction, patient privacy, and pairing digital change with credentialled champions.

Risk management and common failure modes
- Common mistake 1: focusing on features rather than the first meaningful task. Fix: define the "first meaningful task" and design onboarding around it.
- Common mistake 2: under investing in peer champions. Fix: compensate time and clarify role expectations.
- Common mistake 3: treating change as one off. Fix: plan recurring micro interventions for 90 days.
- Contingency: rollback and support plan templates; rapid troubleshooting clinic within 72 hours of a critical issue.

Evaluation tools and sample metrics dashboard
- Suggested dashboard fields: weekly active users, daily average time on task, first time success rate, number of champion interventions, help desk ticket volume and net promoter score (NPS) for the tool among users.
- Frequency: weekly for first six weeks, then monthly up to six months.
- Success thresholds: we recommend organisations set realistic baselines; our default target is 30% uplift in first month active usage for a typical frontline technology.

Session designs and activities (detailed)
- Roleplay scenarios: three tailored scripts (innovator outreach, sceptic conversation, champion coaching). Each scenario has prompts, success markers and coach notes.
- Micro habits lab: participants practise building a habit loop and test it with peers, then deploy in pilot.
- Data clinic: how to collect the right metric without overburdening people, 6 questions to ask before you track anything.
- Stakeholder mapping exercise: build influence maps with risk and reward scores.

Case study examples and anonymised vignettes
- Grocery chain: pilot reduced checkout errors by 18% after champions ran 10 minute shift clinics.
- Professional services firm: a phased pilot increased use of a time capture app by 40% in two months; they used timesheet automation as a 'first meaningful task'.
- Local council: slower uptake until a council leader used social proof in weekly briefings, sudden uptick after visible leadership endorsement.

Ethical and governance considerations
- Data privacy: ensure pilots respect employee privacy and use aggregated, anonymised reporting where necessary.
- Equity: be careful technology doesn't entrench inequality, provide extra support to staff with lower digital literacy.
- Transparency: be explicit about measurement, incentives and the purpose of data collection.

Coaching and follow up plan
- 1:1 coaching (optional): two 45 minute sessions for managers within 4 to 8 weeks post rollout.
- Peer community: moderated forum for 90 days. Short weekly prompts to keep momentum.
- Reinforcement micro modules: three short refresher sessions at weeks 6, 12 and 24.

Trainer materials checklist
- Pre course readiness report template.
- Facilitator slide deck with facilitator notes.
- Participant workbook with worksheets and templates.
- Roleplay scripts and scoring rubric.
- Dashboard template in spreadsheet form.
- Comms templates and poster artwork.

Quality assurance and success criteria
- We define success by behavioural adoption, not just attendance. Key success criteria include: pilot completion, measurable KPI improvement (as defined earlier), and demonstrable manager capability (measured by roleplay scoring improvements from baseline).
- We recommend a 90 day follow up audit to assess sustained behavioural change.

Why this works (brief justification)
Understanding the psychology behind technology adoption is what separates small pilots from scaled, sustainable change. Organisations that use these principles see faster uptake and better ROI. It's not rocket science, just disciplined practice of the social levers that matter. And yes, fancy UX helps; but good leadership, clear pilots and ongoing support matter more.

What we provide and commitments
We provide the curriculum, templates, facilitation and coaching. We also offer a post programme audit and recommendations. We will tailor examples to your sector and provide public facing materials for internal comms. We do not promise miracles. We do promise practical, measurable improvement when managers do the work.

Final deliverables for each cohort
- Participant workbook and facilitator guide.
- Pilot and champion toolkits (digital).
- Three recorded virtual sessions and materials.
- One consolidated adoption plan per team and a 90 day measurement template.
- Post course impact summary with recommendations.

A few frank opinions (you'll either nod or disagree)
- Mandating a module and calling it adoption rarely changes behaviour. Behavioural change needs ongoing practice.
- Gamification is overhyped, unless it's tied to meaningful tasks and not just points. When done well it's brilliant; when lazy, it's infantile.
- Senior sponsor videos are great, but real influence comes from peer champions and line managers. Leaders should be visible; they don't need to micromanage.

Programme timeline (sample)
- Week 0: stakeholder alignment call and pre work distribution.
- Week 1: Session 1.
- Week 2: Session 2.
- Week 3: pilot launch.
- Week 5: Session 3.
- Week 6 to 8: implementation sprints and coaching.
- Week 9: face to face consolidation.
- Week 12: impact reporting and 90 day review preparation.

Wrap (no padded marketing flourish)
This outline is a practical blueprint: diagnostic, tactical, measurable. If you want to build it into a broader change programme we'll help you map it to organisational KPIs. Or you can try the usual , long training deck, one off webinar, and hope people "pick it up". Your call.

For those interested in developing their facilitation skills further, our comprehensive guide on managing changes provides additional strategies that complement this programme's approach.