7 Tips To Help Your Team Adopt A New Construction Management Software

You may already have integrated project management software into some of your operational processes. If so, congratulations, you’ve made it through the first hurdles of acceptance and adoption by your staff. The benefits your team is experiencing from your other software applications should pave the way for adding new solutions like a homeowner portal and warranty system that will extend communication and transparency out to your circle of customers. 

Just as with your other software solutions, there are steps you can take to help your team get comfortable with these new modules. 

1. Involve Your Team Sooner Rather Than Later

Team buy-in is important. Involve yours early and get their input. Ask them to identify pain points that the new solutions should address. Does your sales team spend a lot of time on the phone keeping home owners up to date on the progress of their house? Do your homeowners come to you with many warranty questions? When you get a warranty request, are you scrambling to find all the information you need in various locations? Since no two businesses operate exactly the same, this can help you set your new software up to support your team effectively.

2. Choose Software Wisely To Fit Your Business 

Once you’ve asked for your team’s valuable input, pay attention to it. You want to invest in software that will truly help your business, and you can only do that by thoroughly understanding your challenges. So ask yourself and your team if the software you’re considering can help solve those challenges — without driving your team crazy trying to adapt it to the way they work. That’s why, at a minimum, your software should be designed specifically for home builders and, even better, should be customizable to your specific operations.

3. Explain How It Will Make Their Lives Better 

If you’re struggling with how to explain a new, sophisticated software system to members of your team who may not be technologically savvy, the answer is simple — forget explaining how it works, tell them what it is going to do for them. 

Talk about how your new homeowner/warranty software will:

• Keep you constantly in touch with your clients and their needs via desktop or mobile
• Save time on client phone calls by giving clients direct access to progress tracking plus statistics, documents, even photos
• Minimize delays (and cost overruns) due to poor or slow communication of needs and changes
• Enable a quick response to warranty tickets electronically created by your homeowners 
• Place all the information needed to plan and implement fix actions right at your fingertips
• Save time and effort for your team with digital logging and tracking of warranty cases
• Improve client satisfaction with their home and your service

4. Keep the Communication Flowing to Eliminate Surprises

It’s important to keep your staff in the loop as your new software is being implemented. Let them know the timeline in advance and what is expected of them at each stage. They are, as they should be, focused on doing their primary jobs; surprising them with additional tasks, no matter the long-term benefits, is counter-productive. 

5. Train Thoroughly and Support Sensitively

Provide training for everyone who will be impacted by the new software, but also be sensitive to the fact that not everyone in your organization learns the same way or at the same speed. The best software for your business should be easy to learn and use, but be patient and provide extra support for team members who need it.

6. Lead by Example(s) 

Learn the software yourself and share your experiences with the team. Let them see you using it every day. Also, enlist the help of some “influencers” who are well respected in your workplace and comfortable with the new software to help persuade and coach others. 

7. Welcome Feedback

Your staff will have opinions on the new software after the initial adoption phase. Be sure to be receptive. Their input can help you customize your new system to optimize its benefits. 

Adopt The Right Construction Management Software For Your Business 

Hyphen Solutions is a forward-thinking company that partners with its clients to produce innovative home builder and supply chain solutions. Our clients include 21 of the top 26 home builders in North America. Because of our commitment to all of our customers — production and custom, large and small — we offer functional, flexible solutions that fit your business needs and budget. 

Our innovative features include a portal that helps you communicate with your new homeowners from sale through warranty work. Homeowner Portal gives your new homeowners the ability to go online to check the status of their new home and, later, to submit and track warranty items. Our digital Warranty Management module then offers the home builder viewing, tracking and scheduling of all warranty requests in one place. 

To learn more about home builder management software solutions, view our webinar or schedule a demo to talk to a Hyphen Solutions expert about how adopting this technology can give you all the tools you need to build homes efficiently, sell homes quickly and grow your business.