Why Systems Don't Fail — Adoption Fails

Here's a truth that technical teams don't like to hear: you can execute a perfect migration and still fail.

Data migrated cleanly. Systems configured correctly. Everything works as designed. But three months later, half the team is still using spreadsheet workarounds, the new CRM has gaps in the data, and the sales manager has quietly gone back to tracking deals the old way.

The technical migration succeeded. The adoption failed. And adoption is what actually matters.

Case in Point: The 25% Stock Drop

Sleep Number, the mattress company, implemented a new technology platform that worked exactly as designed. The problem? Their sales teams weren't properly trained to use it. The adoption failure led to missed sales targets, and the stock dropped 25% in a single day. The technology wasn't the issue. The change management was.

This article covers the human side of integration: how to get people to actually use the new systems, and what to do when they don't.

This article is adapted from Chapter 7 of The Roll-Up Integration Playbook, our free guide to post-merger technical integration.

Why Training Gets Overlooked

Integration projects naturally focus on the technical work. There's a system to migrate, data to move, configurations to set up. These tasks are concrete, measurable, and satisfying to complete.

Training and adoption feel softer. They're harder to plan, harder to measure, and easier to deprioritise when the project is under pressure. "We'll do training once the system is ready" becomes "we'll do training next week" becomes "people will figure it out."

The result? Technically successful integrations that fail in practice because nobody changed how they work.

Here's the core problem: You can migrate systems faster than people change behaviour. A CRM migration takes weeks. Changing how a sales team works takes months. If you only plan for the migration, you've planned for failure.

Research backs this up. According to Mercer, 67% of delayed synergies are due to cultural and people issues, not technical problems. McKinsey found that companies with effective culture management are 50% more likely to meet their synergy targets.

Change Is Hard, Even When Expected

Even when integration expectations are communicated clearly during the acquisition, actually living through the change is different from hearing about it. People intellectually understand that systems will change. That doesn't mean they're emotionally ready when it happens.

Acquired employees are dealing with uncertainty about their future, new leadership, new colleagues, and now new tools. The systems change can become a focal point for broader anxieties about the acquisition itself.

Remember: 47% of acquired employees leave within the first year. How you handle the human side of integration directly affects whether you keep the people you need.

You're not just training people on software. You're helping them through a transition that affects their daily work, their sense of competence, and their place in the new organisation. A bit of patience and empathy goes a long way.

Understanding Resistance

Not everyone who struggles with new systems is being difficult. Resistance usually has reasons.

Competence threat: Someone who was an expert in the old system is now a beginner in the new one. That's uncomfortable, especially for senior staff. They may avoid the new system to avoid looking incompetent.

Workload concerns: Learning a new system takes time. People already feel busy. The new system feels like extra work, even if it will save time eventually.

Loss of control: The old system may have been imperfect, but it was theirs. They understood it, could work around its quirks, and had control over their domain. The new system is imposed from outside.

Genuine problems: Sometimes the resistance is valid. The new system might actually be worse for their specific workflow. The data might have migrated incorrectly. The training might have been inadequate.

Before labelling someone as resistant, understand what's driving it. The solution for "afraid of looking incompetent" is different from the solution for "the system genuinely doesn't work for my role."

Digital Champions: Your Secret Weapon

You can't train everyone personally, and even if you could, peer influence matters more than top-down instruction. Identify and empower digital champions within the acquired company.

Who Makes a Good Champion

• Respected by their peers (not necessarily senior, but trusted)
• Reasonably comfortable with technology
• Positive about the change, or at least open to it
• Willing to help others

How to Use Champions

• Involve them early in the process so they become invested
• Train them first and more deeply than others
• Give them a direct line to the integration team for questions
• Publicly recognise their role (this gives them status)
• Let them deliver some training to their peers

Champions extend your reach and provide support in the language of the team. When Sarah in accounts says "this is actually better once you get used to it," it carries more weight than when the integration team says the same thing.

Training That Actually Works

Most training fails because it's generic, poorly timed, or disconnected from real work.

Just-in-Time, Not Just-in-Case

Training delivered weeks before go-live is forgotten by go-live. People can't retain information about a system they're not using yet. They don't know what questions to ask until they're doing real work.

Train as close to go-live as practical. Ideally, training happens in the final days before migration, and people apply what they learned immediately.

For complex systems, consider a brief overview before go-live ("here's what's coming") followed by deeper training in the first week of use ("now let's do it for real").

Role-Based, Not One-Size-Fits-All

A sales rep doesn't need to know how the finance team uses the CRM. A technician doesn't need training on the admin configuration. Generic training wastes everyone's time and misses the specifics that matter for each role.

Design training around job functions:

• What does this person actually need to do?
• What are the 5-10 tasks they'll do every day?
• What's different from how they did it before?

Focus training on their workflow, not the system's features.

Show, Don't Tell

Lectures and documentation don't stick. Hands-on practice does.

• Use real scenarios from their work, not generic examples
• Have them do the tasks, not just watch
• Create a safe environment to make mistakes
• Provide quick reference guides they can use afterward

Recorded training sessions can supplement live training, but they rarely replace it. People learn by doing.

The Language of Change

How you describe changes matters as much as what you're changing. Most integration announcements focus on the system: "We're migrating to Salesforce." This means nothing to the person hearing it except "more change I didn't ask for."

Instead, frame changes in terms of problems solved:

Instead of...Try..."We're migrating to Salesforce""You won't have to manually update three systems every time a deal closes""We're consolidating to one ERP""Month-end reporting will take hours instead of days""We're standardising on Microsoft 365""You'll be able to see everyone's calendar and book meetings without the email ping-pong""We're implementing a new scheduling system""No more Friday afternoon scramble to build next week's rota"

This isn't spin. It's translation. The technical change is real, but most people don't care about the technical change. They care about whether their job gets easier or harder. Tell them which it is.

Communication Before, During, and After

Communication isn't a one-time announcement. It's a continuous process.

Before Migration

• Announce what's changing and why (weeks in advance)
• Explain the timeline and what people need to do to prepare
• Address concerns proactively: what happens to my data? Will I lose access?
• Introduce the training plan so people know what support is coming

During Migration

• Provide real-time updates if there are delays or issues
• Celebrate milestones (data migration complete, system live)
• Remind people where to get help
• Acknowledge difficulties if the transition is rough

After Migration

• Check in regularly during the first few weeks
• Share early wins ("the new system helped us do X faster")
• Address ongoing issues openly
• Gather feedback and act on it where possible

Silence during any phase breeds anxiety and rumours. Even "everything is on track" is better than no communication.

Measuring Adoption

You can't improve what you don't measure. Define adoption metrics before go-live so you know if things are working.

Quantitative Metrics

• Login frequency: are people using the system?
• Feature usage: are they using it properly, or just logging in?
• Data completeness: are required fields being filled?
• Task completion rates
• Support ticket volume (high tickets might indicate problems)

Qualitative Signals

• Are people asking good questions (engaged) or no questions (checked out)?
• Are workarounds emerging? That's a sign of system gaps.
• What's the tone when the new system comes up in conversation?
• Are champions reporting concerns from their peers?

Set targets and review them weekly during the first month. If adoption is lagging, you want to know early while you can still intervene.

When Adoption Fails

Sometimes despite your best efforts, adoption struggles. Diagnose before you act.

Training gap: People don't know how to use the system properly.
Solution: Additional training, focused on the specific gaps. Often small-group or one-on-one.

System problem: The system genuinely doesn't support their workflow.
Solution: Configuration changes, workarounds, or acknowledgment that this is a known limitation.

Data problem: The migrated data is wrong, incomplete, or confusing.
Solution: Data cleanup, often with user involvement to validate corrections.

Change resistance: People capable of using the system are choosing not to.
Solution: Address underlying concerns, increase management visibility, enforce expectations where needed.

Champion failure: Your champions aren't championing.
Solution: Re-engage champions, find additional ones, or provide more direct support.

The fix depends on the cause. "More training" doesn't help a system problem. "Enforce usage" doesn't help a training gap. Diagnose first.

Hypercare: The Critical First Weeks

The first 2-4 weeks after go-live are critical. This is when problems surface, adoption habits form, and the integration succeeds or struggles.

Hypercare means:

• Integration team remains fully engaged (not moved to next project)
• Faster response times for issues
• Daily check-ins with champions and key users
• Proactive monitoring of adoption metrics
• Immediate action on emerging problems

Support channels during hypercare:

• Dedicated person or team for questions (not just a generic helpdesk)
• Quick reference materials accessible where people work
• Drop-in sessions for questions and troubleshooting
• Clear escalation path for urgent issues

Don't declare victory on go-live day. The real test is whether the system works under real conditions, and that takes a few weeks to know.

The Long Game

Adoption doesn't end after hypercare. Full adoption of a new system typically takes 3-6 months, not 3-6 weeks. People need time to move from "following the training" to "actually proficient."

Plan for:

• Ongoing support, even if reduced after hypercare
• Refresher training for features people didn't use initially
• Process refinements based on real-world feedback
• Recognition of people and teams who've adopted well

The goal isn't just "using the system." It's "getting value from the system." That takes time.

Key Takeaways

• Technical migration isn't enough. A perfectly migrated system that nobody uses properly is a failed integration.
• Change is hard, even when expected. People intellectually understanding that systems will change doesn't mean they're emotionally ready. Patience and empathy help.
• Understand resistance before fighting it. Fear of incompetence, workload concerns, and genuine system problems all require different responses.
• Empower digital champions. Peer influence matters more than top-down instruction. Find respected people who can help their colleagues.
• Train just-in-time and role-based. Training weeks early is forgotten. Generic training wastes time. Focus on what each person actually needs to do.
• Communicate before, during, and after. Silence breeds anxiety. Keep people informed even when the news is "on track."
• Measure adoption and act on what you learn. Set metrics, review them weekly, and intervene early if things aren't working.

Get the Full Playbook

This article covered the human side of integration. For the complete guide, including the 100-day execution timeline, system migration guidance, and ready-to-use checklists, download The Roll-Up Integration Playbook.

Download the Playbook

About PMI Stack

PMI Stack helps small-to-mid cap roll-ups unify systems, data, and workflows across their acquired companies. We specialise in the technical side of post-merger integration: data migration, system consolidation, and the change management that makes new tools stick.

If you're planning an integration and want to talk through your specific situation, book a free discovery call.

Statistics cited from McKinsey, Mercer, and EY. For the full research compilation, see 50+ Post-Merger Integration Statistics (2026).