When small to mid-sized businesses implement new technology systems like CRM, unified communications platforms, or document collaboration tools, the initial training phase typically goes well. However, a common challenge emerges several months later: team members forget key features, new employees need onboarding, and questions arise that require outside help. This cycle of dependency on external consultants can be costly and inefficient.
The solution lies in developing internal champions, or power users within your organization who can provide ongoing peer-to-peer support and training. These champions bridge the gap between initial implementation and long-term adoption, ensuring your technology investment continues to deliver value well after the consultants have left.
Why Internal Champions Matter
Relying solely on external support or expecting everyone to become experts on their own creates several problems:
External support is expensive and creates delays
When your team encounters a problem with your technology systems, relying on outside consultants or vendor support means waiting for callbacks, scheduling appointments, and paying hourly fees. This creates frustration and lost productivity.
For example, imagine an employee needs help with a CRM feature to prepare an important client report. If they have to wait hours or even days for a consultant to call back, the report gets delayed, the client waits, and you’re paying for expensive support time. With an internal champion, that same employee could get help within minutes from a colleague who knows the system and can walk them through the solution immediately.
Knowledge gets lost when team members leave
In every organization, certain people become the “go-to” experts for specific systems. When these individuals leave the company, they take their expertise with them, leaving gaps in your team’s ability to use the technology effectively.
For example, imagine your best CRM user leaves the company. This person knew all the shortcuts, how to generate monthly sales reports, how to customize contact fields for different clients, and how to troubleshoot common issues. Once they’re gone, suddenly no one remembers these processes, and your team struggles with tasks that used to be simple. An internal champion program ensures that knowledge is documented and shared among multiple people, so losing one person doesn’t cripple your operations.
New employees struggle to get up to speed
When you hire new team members, they need to learn not just their job responsibilities but also how your organization uses its specific technology tools. Without structured internal training, new employees are left to figure things out on their own or learn through trial and error.
For example, a new sales representative joins your team and needs to use your CRM to track leads and communicate with customers. Without a champion to show them your specific workflows, naming conventions, and best practices, they might spend weeks entering data incorrectly, missing important features, or duplicating work that others have already done. This leads to frustration for the new hire and inefficiency for the entire team. Internal champions provide consistent, personalized onboarding that gets new employees productive much faster.
Technology adoption stalls without ongoing reinforcement
Initial training sessions are valuable, but people forget details over time, especially for features they don’t use daily. Without ongoing support and reminders, teams tend to fall back on old habits and familiar tools, even when better options exist.
For example, your team might have received comprehensive training on your unified communications platform six months ago, learning about chat functions, video conferencing, screen sharing, and presence indicators. However, months later, you notice everyone is still using email for everything because they’ve forgotten how to use those advanced features effectively, or they lack the confidence to try them. Internal champions provide that ongoing reinforcement through regular tips, informal coaching, and “lunch and learn” sessions that keep the team engaged and continuously improving their skills.
Creating Your Champion Program
1. Identify Potential Champions
Look for team members who demonstrate these qualities:
- Natural curiosity about how systems work. These are the people who explore features beyond their immediate needs and ask “what if” questions during training sessions.
- Willingness to help colleagues with technical questions. You’ll notice them already assisting teammates informally, showing patience when explaining processes.
- Strong communication skills and patience. They can explain technical concepts in simple terms without making others feel inadequate for asking questions.
- Respect and trust from their peers. Team members naturally turn to them for advice, making them effective influencers for new practices.
For example, you might notice that Sarah from accounting is always the first to master new features in your document collaboration system and regularly helps her coworkers troubleshoot issues. She’s an ideal champion candidate.
2. Provide Advanced Training
Once you’ve identified your champions, invest in deeper training:
- Schedule dedicated advanced sessions covering system administration and troubleshooting. For example, while basic users learn how to create tasks in your CRM, champions learn how to customize task categories, set up automation rules, and troubleshoot common sync issues.
- Provide access to vendor resources and documentation. Give champions direct access to knowledge bases, webinars, and support channels that regular users don’t typically see.
- Create opportunities for hands-on practice with complex scenarios. For example, have champions work through real-world situations like “A client changed companies, so how do we maintain their history while updating their information?”
- Connect them with vendor support teams or consultants for mentorship. Establish a relationship where champions can reach out directly with advanced questions, building their confidence and expertise.
3. Empower Champions With Authority
Make it clear that champions have official support to help others:
- Announce their role to the entire organization. Send a company-wide message introducing your champions and explaining that they’re the first point of contact for technology questions.
- Allocate dedicated time for support activities. For example, champions might dedicate 5-10 hours per week to helping colleagues, which should be recognized in their workload and performance reviews.
- Provide them with elevated system permissions when appropriate. Champions may need administrative access to help reset passwords, adjust user permissions, or troubleshoot configuration issues.
- Recognize their contributions publicly. Acknowledge champions in team meetings, performance reviews, or company communications to reinforce the value of their role.
4. Create Support Structures
Help champions succeed by building systems around them:
- Develop internal documentation and quick reference guides. For example, create a shared document with step-by-step instructions for common tasks like “How to Share a Document With External Clients” or “Setting Up Video Conferencing for Client Meetings.”
- Establish regular champion meetings to share knowledge. Monthly meetings where champions discuss challenges, share solutions, and learn about new features keep them engaged and informed.
- Create a communication channel for questions. Set up a dedicated chat channel or email address where employees can ask technology questions and champions can respond quickly.
- Schedule ongoing training sessions led by champions. For example, monthly “lunch and learn” sessions where champions demonstrate advanced features or walk through common challenges.
Sustaining Long-Term Success
To keep your champion program effective over time:
- Regularly update champions on new features and system changes. When your CRM vendor releases updates, ensure champions learn about them first so they can guide the team.
- Rotate or expand the champion role to prevent burnout. As champions develop, consider adding new team members to the program or rotating responsibilities.
- Gather feedback on common pain points. Champions are your front-line insight into what’s working and what’s not, helping you identify training gaps or system issues.
- Celebrate wins and share success stories. When champions help solve a major problem or significantly improve someone’s workflow, share these stories to reinforce the program’s value.
Partner With Experts
At Positive Results, we regularly help organizations implement training alongside their technology deployments. Our team understands that successful technology adoption isn’t just about the initial setup, but building sustainable practices that last.
If your business needs assistance developing internal champions or addressing other CRM, Unified Communication, or Document Collaboration challenges, reach out to our team. We’re here to help you create systems that empower your team and maximize your technology investment.