Understanding the Role Humans Play in Digital Adoption with WalkMe’s Rafael Sweary - Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series

On this special edition of the Futurum Tech Podcast - Interview Series host Daniel Newman welcomes Rafael Sweary, President and Co-founder of WalkMe to discuss COVID-19, successful business pivots in the wake of a crisis and what the future now looks like for the company.

How WalkMe Addressed COVID-19

WalkMe was built around digital transformation. The ultimate goal of the company is to help other companies adopt technology faster. The Digital Adoption Platform was designed as a guidance system to simplify the user experience. Digital transformation is the name of the game for WalkMe, so when COVID-19 first started and the shelter-in-place orders happened across the globe, the company was ready to react.

Initially there were some difficulties with getting all employees connected, but the company quickly adapted their own technology to solve the problems. Leadership also implemented a three-touch system meaning all employees needed to be touched three times a day by the company to make sure employees still felt connected. Touches could be anything — webinars, team meetings, calls from managers or coworkers, etc. This communication effort has made a difference.

Culture and Leadership Make a Difference

The transition success for many companies has ultimately come down to culture and leadership. WalkMe was built embracing technology. They had the technology in place to support people working from home. But they also made small changes like giving Zoom free to every employee to help not only the company stay connected but families stay connected too.

The Leaders at WalkMe embrace change — and it shows. WalkMe’s Realize 2020 event was scheduled for March 19 in San Francisco, but it had to be cancelled. Instead of cancelling completely, the company pivoted and in four days held a very successful digital event. These small pivots have helped with business continuity and ultimately productivity of the employees.

Rafael made a good point that you can’t predict the future. You can’t plan for disasters like COVID-19. But you can flex the leadership muscle. You can train employees to be better prepared for pivots. You can ensure the tools are in place to support the pivots.

Helping Employees See Value in Technology

Like I mentioned previously, WalkMe is a digital adoption platform. The ultimate goal is to help employees of any company adopt technology faster. The last mile of digital transformation comes down to human effort. If employees don’t see value in technology the transformation won’t work. No matter how much you train or teach an employee to use a new CRM platform, if he doesn’t see value, he won’t use it. Sticking with that same analogy, Rafael explained that you have to take the time to show that a CRM will enable him to sell more, to make more profit, that it’s in his best interest. This is ultimately what WalkMe strives to do.

If you’d like to learn more about WalkMe’s products and solutions, check out their website and be sure to listen to the full episode. Don’t forget to hit subscribe so you never miss an episode of the Futurum Tech Podcast.