How Should I Roll Out MeisterTask? Improving Software Acceptance

If you’re here, you’ve probably already decided to start using MeisterTask to improve organization and productivity in your company. The big question: how to introduce MeisterTask to your team? You need to decide which rollout strategy makes most sense for the people who will use the software. Fortunately, this does not have to be difficult. With our guide to step-by-step and all-at-once rollout strategies, you will learn which method is best for your team and exactly how you can implement our award-winning task management tool.  

Task and project management tools are increasingly central to improving workplace communication, productivity and transparency. However, some teams struggle choosing a tool because of the daunting prospect of actually implementing it in their companies. In this post, we’ll discuss the two main rollout strategies for MeisterTask, exploring the benefits and drawbacks of each, and providing real-life case studies from Ritter Sport and the German State Bank, Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW). With this information, you’ll be able to decide on a strategy and feel happier introducing our task management tool to your team. With any luck, you’ll then experience a seamless transition to higher productivity. 

What Is a Rollout Strategy? 

A rollout strategy is simply the way in which you introduce a new product to your team, in this case a task and project management tool. We will discuss the two rollout strategies teams adopt most frequently, so that if you choose MeisterTask as your task and project management software, you’ll be able to incorporate the advice here directly. 

Why Do You Need a Strategy?

Employee acceptance and usage is key.

There’s always the risk that your team won’t take to a new tool, even if it’s something that could improve workplace productivity in the long run. So, when you decide to introduce something new, first impressions count. If your team doesn’t feel supported during the introduction, chances are that this will affect their perception of the tool you want them to use.

Your rollout method dictates how and when team members are introduced to a brand new tool, influencing how quickly and thoroughly the tool is adopted. Whichever method you choose, you can avoid many mishaps by simply considering rollout strategy and ensuring your team feels informed and supported.

The Step-by-Step Rollout Strategy

The step-by-step rollout is a gradual introduction of MeisterTask to a select group of people. You can explore MeisterTask’s fit to your company before introducing more team members to the tool. You’ll be able to evaluate potential use cases without managing too many new users at once or investing too much time, effort and money into the tool.

How To Implement MeisterTask Step by Step

1. First, choose the MeisterTask plan that meets your needs (Pro, Business or Enterprise).
2. Next, a small group of employees adopts the tool, learning about its features, implementing it in daily organization and task management, and wondering at its infinite practicality.
3. Later, these first MeisterTask users can invite others to specific projects by email or invitation link, thus growing the user count organically. 

Benefits

Let’s take a look at the key benefits of rolling out MeisterTask step by step. These include:

• Flexibility
• Cost
• Feedback

Flexibility

MeisterTask is an intuitive and flexible task management software which can be implemented by teams of various sizes and industries with ease.

Rolling out in stages is inherently flexible: you can add more users to your plan as your user base grows. Additionally, as you observe your team’s specific use of MeisterTask, you can make appropriate changes that enhance workflows even further. 

At first, you might use the tool for selected processes such as personal task management. Alternatively, you could develop a rollout timeline based on your team’s collaboration patterns, so that interdepartmental projects transition to MeisterTask seamlessly. For example, you might give departments working closely together, like marketing and sales, access simultaneously. Such flexibility means your rollout experience is highly tailored to your company, so MeisterTask is adopted with fewer roadblocks.

Cost

We believe in the benefits of our task management tool – and we want you to feel the same! That’s why we offer free test licenses, allowing you to see how your team responds to MeisterTask before you pay for it.

A step-by-step rollout strategy reduces the initial financial investment. With free test licenses, you can try MeisterTask before you subscribe to MeisterTask. Additionally, since only a small group of people is given access to the tool first, the time used to learn the new tool relates only to several people at once, not to your entire team (which matters because time is money). 

Feedback

Our IT team was surprised at how many employees used the tool and how quickly they got to grips with it. Initially, we only envisaged the software as a self-organization aid, but we quickly realized that it could be so much more beneficial.

Being able to observe your team’s response to MeisterTask is invaluable. While there are standardized ways to use MeisterTask, everybody adopts it differently, requiring some features more and needing others less. With a step-by-step approach, it’s easier to observe MeisterTask’s value to your company. Then, it’s possible to complete the later stages in the rollout with more focus on the ways MeisterTask is actually used (rather than how you think it might be used), fine-tuning the implementation of the software further. 

At Ritter Sport, MeisterTask was first introduced to five office-based staff. As the group learned more about MeisterTask, the objectives of implementing a task management software evolved. No longer was it seen simply as a means by which to enhance self-organization, instead it became clear that MeisterTask would streamline a variety of internal processes. 

Ultimately, as this rollout method requires more involvement, it’s also more thorough. At the end of the rollout, your team is likely to feel prepared and supported in adopting a brand new tool. And a happy team is always a positive thing. 

Potential Issues To Consider

Though many teams benefit from this strategy’s flexibility, it can take time to implement. The step-by-step rollout may work better for organizations that wish to take a more personal approach or those that have a smaller team. Similarly, if your organization needs to address an immediate demand for widespread digital task and project management, the step-by-step rollout may fall short and an all-at-once rollout might be a better option.

Customer Success Story: Ritter Sport

Usage of MeisterTask among our employees exploded in the first year after implementing it, because the tool is just so easy to use. There are countless benefits for our employees and it’s been key in our digital transformation process as a whole.

Ritter Sport’s Process Coordinator Torsten Schlegel managed the introduction of MeisterTask as part of the company’s digitalization efforts. The legendary German confectioner introduced MeisterTask to its office using a step-by-step rollout. 

To begin, Schlegel distributed five test licenses across his team in order to observe how the tool’s core functionality was applied to existing processes. Within a few weeks, the team was convinced of MeisterTask’s strong potential. Other colleagues were invited to use the tool, and eventually, MeisterTask was rolled out to all office-based administrative, sales and support staff. Over the course of a year, MeisterTask successfully became the digital task and project management solution for over 200 team members.

The All-at-Once Rollout Strategy

The all-at-once method grants your entire team access to MeisterTask simultaneously. There are two main ways of doing this. Firstly, there is a centralized approach in which the tool’s administrator develops a company-wide training schedule. Secondly, a decentralized approach involves the administrator providing resources for departments to study the tool at their own pace. In choosing between the two, you should consider your team’s size and technical capacity.

How To Implement MeisterTask All at Once

1. Start by choosing the MeisterTask plan that meets your needs (Pro, Business or Enterprise).
2. Next, decide whether a centralized or decentralized approach is more appropriate for your company.
3. Introduce MeisterTask to your entire team. 
4. Refer your employees to Meister’s helpful resources in case they get stuck. 

Benefits

The main benefits of the all-at-once rollout method include:

• Onboarding
• Easy import
• Speed
• Transparency

Onboarding

We believe everybody should have the opportunity to improve workplace processes without being concerned about the transition process. Our resources will help support you and reduce apprehension towards new methods!

Onboarding hundreds of people to a new tool all at once might seem daunting, but it’s possible to successfully onboard big teams with small efforts. Online, you can find answers to (almost) all of your questions in our Help Center, and if you don’t like reading, we’ve got lots of useful Youtube videos. Plus, we’re always happy to talk about MeisterTask!

Easy Import

When we developed MeisterTask we made sure it’d be easy for you to transfer existing data using an intuitive import tool. With this, you’re able to transfer projects from your previous task management software into MeisterTask.

Stuck with a different task management tool? Use our import feature to transfer existing projects from Trello, Asana, and more, directly to MeisterTask, so everything is ready and waiting for your team to begin collaborating immediately. 

Speed

While usability might sound like a humble objective, achieving it makes MeisterTask unique in a wide market of task management tools. MeisterTask features support a seamless rollout because they master the balance of usability and intuition.

The all-at-once rollout is appropriate for companies wanting to implement a task and project management software in a hurry. MeisterTask’s intuitive design means employees can adopt the tool quickly and independently. With the all-at-once rollout, your team will soon be using the MeisterTask efficiently. 

Transparency

It was our goal to make collaboration within and across our departments not only more efficient, but also more transparent.

The simultaneity of the all-at-once rollout is attractive to teams striving for more transparency. Regardless of position, sector or age, everybody gains access at the same time and works independently to understand the tool. Though support is available, the individual nature of this approach means everybody can focus on the features they’re most interested in and adopt the tool at a pace suited to their own tech knowledge.

When choosing a new task management tool, different companies have different objectives. For LBBW, it was important that their rollout method and new tool supported greater workplace transparency, reducing information silos and aiding smooth collaboration.

Potential Issues To Consider

Rolling out MeisterTask all at once makes sense if your team has the technical capability and experience to adopt the tool without much support. If your team is the sort of group that struggles with the office printer, you might find the process takes a lot of time as certain problems must be solved on an individual basis. 

Customer Success Story: LBBW

While large enterprises in the financial sector generally avoid modern software solutions, LBBW turned to MeisterTask to solve internal inefficiencies and increase transparency. 

LBBW first noticed the need for a digital task and project management tool during a company-wide event on agile working models. After researching the market, LBBW decided MeisterTask met their needs to improve workplace efficiency most closely, while also boasting an attractive German server location. LBBW has since become one of MeisterTask’s biggest users, with over 10,000 team members. 

LBBW chose an all-at-once approach to roll out the tool. More specifically, thanks to MeisterTask’s intuitive interface, LBBW used a decentralized onboarding approach. IT Project Manager Katja Esch’s team simply uploaded MeisterTask’s Help Center and brief video tutorials to their company intranet to support team members in onboarding independently. After just a few weeks, over 2,900 team members were working beautifully together in MeisterTask.

Get Started Today

We hope that by considering the benefits and potential issues we’ve shared, you’ll avoid the main pitfalls when choosing your rollout strategy. Remember to consider the ways in which you wish to use MeisterTask and the speed with which you hope to implement it, as well as your team’s size and technological ability.

Rest assured, as the cases above demonstrate, both rollout methods work successfully. And while it might seem like a difficult decision, we’re here to help you, just contact our sales team for further advice!