Are Team Members Provided with Training and Support to Effectively Use the Chosen Tools and Technologies?

In today’s fast-paced, technology-driven world, scaling startups and SMEs often find themselves navigating a maze of tools and technologies that can either propel their growth or stifle their progress. As a leader, particularly in the tech space, ensuring your team is well-equipped to handle these technologies is crucial. But this brings up an essential question: Are team members provided with the necessary training and support to effectively use the chosen tools and technologies?

From my experience working with startups and scale-ups, I’ve observed that inadequate training is one of the key reasons why businesses fail to unlock the full potential of their technological investments. Tools and technologies, no matter how advanced, are only as effective as the people using them. Without the right training, even the most innovative solutions can become burdensome, creating bottlenecks rather than driving efficiency.

Let’s unpack this issue further and explore how a lack of training and support can impact a growing company, and how proactive measures can turn technology into a true enabler of growth.

1. The Risks of Skimping on Training and Support

Failing to provide your team with adequate training is like handing them a Swiss Army knife without showing them what each tool does. The result is obvious—features go unused, frustration grows, and the team is less productive than before. But beyond the day-to-day frustrations, there are deeper risks tied to poor utilisation of technology:

Misalignment with Business Goals

If your team doesn’t fully understand the tools they are using, there is a significant risk of misalignment between your technology initiatives and broader business objectives. This misalignment can manifest in wasted resources, as projects may not deliver the expected ROI or may veer away from what the business needs to succeed​.

Take, for instance, a CRM system designed to streamline customer interactions. Without proper training, the sales team might use it incorrectly or underutilise its automation features, reducing their effectiveness. This misstep can delay sales processes, hinder customer follow-ups, and lead to missed revenue opportunities.

Low Adoption Rates and Increased Resistance

When new technologies are introduced without adequate training and ongoing support, you will likely face resistance from your team. The learning curve can seem steep, particularly for non-technical employees who may not feel confident in navigating new systems. This hesitancy to engage with unfamiliar tools can lead to low adoption rates, rendering your investment in the technology ineffective.

Without a robust support system, it’s easy for employees to fall back on familiar, albeit less efficient, methods, further exacerbating the gap between technology and actual productivity gains.

Reduced Employee Morale and Engagement

Introducing new technologies without the appropriate training can lead to frustration, which can snowball into disengagement and reduced morale. Teams that feel ill-equipped to manage their tasks can quickly become demotivated, leading to a decline in both performance and job satisfaction. In startups and SMEs, where every team member’s contribution is critical to overall success, this is a risk no business can afford.

2. Why Prioritising Training is a Strategic Investment

Given these risks, it becomes clear that training and support are not merely operational necessities—they are strategic imperatives. Leaders should view investing in training as akin to investing in the technology itself. Here’s why:

Maximising ROI from Technology Investments

It’s not just about having the right tools in place; it’s about ensuring they’re used optimally. Consider training as an extension of your technology investment, essential for ensuring that your team can fully exploit the tools at their disposal. This helps you avoid the all-too-common scenario where startups throw more money at technology only to see minimal returns due to poor adoption​.

Driving Innovation and Efficiency

With the right training, your team isn’t just capable of using technology; they become empowered to innovate. Employees who are comfortable with the tools at their disposal are more likely to experiment, find new efficiencies, and identify creative solutions to problems. In a fast-scaling environment, this kind of agility is essential for maintaining a competitive edge.

Building Confidence and Autonomy

Equipping your team with the right knowledge fosters confidence. They feel more in control, less reliant on external support, and more capable of navigating challenges on their own. This autonomy can significantly enhance productivity, especially in environments where quick decision-making is critical to staying ahead of market demands.

3. Creating a Culture of Continuous Learning

The journey doesn’t stop once the initial training is complete. Technology evolves rapidly, and so must your team’s skills. Creating a culture of continuous learning is key to ensuring long-term success with your chosen tools and technologies.

Establish a Learning Roadmap

Just as you would develop a product roadmap to guide your company’s growth, a learning roadmap for your team can provide clarity on what skills need to be developed and when. Start with foundational training on core technologies, then introduce advanced modules as your team becomes more comfortable.

Encourage Peer-to-Peer Learning

A powerful, often underutilised resource is the team itself. Encourage knowledge sharing within the team by creating opportunities for peer-to-peer learning. This could be through regular “lunch and learn” sessions or informal mentoring. When team members learn from one another, it reinforces skills and fosters a collaborative atmosphere.

Leverage External Expertise

Sometimes, in-house training isn’t enough. As companies scale, especially in tech-heavy sectors like fintech, SaaS, and eCommerce, external expertise becomes invaluable. Fractional CTOs, for example, can provide tailored guidance and training frameworks to ensure your team is well-equipped to handle the evolving technological landscape​.

By bringing in seasoned professionals who have experience across multiple sectors, you can offer your team insights and strategies that might not be readily available internally. This also introduces an external perspective that can highlight blind spots and provide innovative approaches to using technology effectively.

4. Supporting Employees with Accessible Resources

Training isn’t a one-off event; it’s a continuous process that requires ongoing support. Here are some ways to ensure your team has the resources they need to succeed:

Create a Centralised Knowledge Base

A central repository of training materials, how-to guides, and troubleshooting resources can be a game-changer for scaling teams. When team members have quick access to the information they need, they are less likely to feel overwhelmed by new tools. This knowledge base should evolve alongside the technology, with regular updates to reflect new features and best practices.

Offer Real-Time Support

Technology-related issues don’t always arise during training sessions. They often happen in the moment, when employees are trying to complete a task. Offering real-time support, such as through a dedicated tech support channel or on-demand coaching sessions, can alleviate stress and ensure employees remain productive.

Conclusion: Empowering Teams to Thrive with Technology

Training and support are often overlooked components of technology strategy, but they are crucial for ensuring that your team can fully leverage the tools you’ve invested in. As leaders, we must remember that technology is a means to an end, not an end in itself. It’s the people who drive innovation, solve problems, and ultimately push the business forward.

By investing in robust training and creating a culture of continuous learning, you can transform your technology investments from underutilised resources into powerful engines of growth. The companies that will thrive in the future are not necessarily those with the most advanced technology but those with the best-prepared teams.