When organizations roll out new technology, the intention is almost always positive: improve efficiency, reduce costs, and deliver better customer experiences. Yet for frontline teams, these initiatives often feel misaligned, disruptive, or even counterproductive.
In a recent episode of the Frontline Innovators podcast, host Justin Lake spoke with Anna Karousis, Senior Director of Change Management at Quantum Health with over 15 years of experience, about why frontline technology adoption so often falls short, and what leaders can do differently to achieve real ROI.
The Real Cost of Poor Frontline Technology Adoption
When frontline teams don’t adopt new technology, the consequences extend far beyond unused software. As Anna explains, organizations lose the financial ROI promised to boards and CFOs, but they also lose people ROI.
Frontline employees are often told that new tools will simplify their work. When those promises go unmet, workers disengage, create workarounds, or leave entirely. Over time, this erodes trust and confidence, making future change initiatives even harder to execute.
Why ROI Stops Being Measured After Go‑Live
Technology investments typically begin with clear ROI projections. Yet once implementation starts, measurement often disappears. Teams move on to the next initiative, and success becomes defined by whether the system launched on time and on budget.
The deeper questions: Did productivity improve? Did errors decrease? Did customer experience improve? These all go unanswered. The one reason is ownership. IT may own the implementation, but the business impact shows up elsewhere. Without clear accountability, meaningful measurement falls through the cracks.
Automating a Broken Process Doesn’t Fix It
“Automate” has become a default response to operational strain, but Anna calls it a dangerous shortcut. Automating an unclear or inefficient process only embeds those problems into a system.
Before introducing technology, leaders need to take the time to map the end-to-end process, understand who is involved in each step, and identify where non-value-added activities or breakdowns occur. When these elements are made visible, technology can be measured against real operational improvements rather than assumptions or promises made during procurement.
The Time Leaders Forget to Budget
Organizations are usually comfortable estimating time for system design and rollout. Where they fall short is what happens next.
Two phases are frequently underestimated:
1. Transition time – when productivity typically dips as people learn new ways or working.
2. Stabilization time – when efficiency gains gradually emerge, often months after go-live.
Setting realistic expectation helps leaders maintain trust with frontline teams and prevents premature judgements about failure or success.
Frontline Reality Is Different by Design
Frontline workers don’t experience technology the same way office-based teams do. Many lack consistent access to email, have varying levels of technology literacy, or work long shifts that leave little time for formal training. Anna emphasizes the importance of going where the work happens, observing frontline work without judgment to understand real constraints, language barriers, and usability challenges that no dashboard can reveal.
Consumer Apps vs. Enterprise Systems
Comfort with consumer technology doesn’t translate automatically to confidence with enterprise systems. In personal apps, mistakes carry little risk. In enterprise systems, errors can feel permanent and high-stakes.
Without reassurance that mistakes are fixable and support is available, anxiety increases, and adoption slows.
The Power of Unspoken Leaders
Beyond formal leadership roles, every organization has informal influencers: super users and change champions who shape peer behavior. When these individuals are identified early and invested in, they become trusted ambassadors of change. Their enthusiasm, feedback, and credibility often determine whether new tools are embraced or resisted.
“Act and Transact”: A Simple Phrase with Big Impact
One of the most effective change strategies Anna shares is the concept of acting and transacting.
Frontline teams often do excellent work, but if that work isn’t recorded in enterprise systems, it effectively doesn’t exist. In connected environments, action and transaction must happen together.
By reinforcing this message consistently, and explaining why it matters downstream, organizations help frontline workers see the purpose behind the process.
Skyllful’s Digital Readiness Platform equips teams with what they need to excel on the frontlines and gives leaders deeper insight into their experiences. With real-world, mobile training, teams gain more accurate data, improved employee satisfaction, and better internal alignment.
Reach out today for a demo of the platform to see Skyllful’s tech in action.
Want to learn more frontline change management strategies from Anna Karousis? Watch Skyllful’s Frontline Innovators podcast episode, or find it wherever you listen to podcasts.
Frequently Asked Questions: Takeaways From the Frontline Innovators Podcast With Anna Karousis
Why do frontline technology initiatives fail so often?
Because organizations focus on deployment instead of adoption. Without clear processes, realistic timelines, and frontline support, even well-funded tools struggle to deliver value.
What's the biggest mistake leaders make during change?
Underestimating time, both for people to transition and for benefits to materialize.
Is automation always a bad idea?
No, but automation should follow process clarity. Automating broken workflows only amplifies inefficiency.
How can leaders improve frontline adoption?
By involving frontline teams early, investing in training and practice time, supporting informal leaders, and clearly explaining why change matters.
Poor frontline technology adoption erodes both financial ROI and people ROI - damaging trust,engagement, and retention.
