A successful implementation depends as much on your overall approach as on the specific step-by-step actions you take. Follow these six best practices to ensure a successful implementation.

1. Have confidence. More than 1,600 institutions have completed a successful Slate implementation, and Technolutions is there to guide you every step of the way. Our extensive collection of support resources helps you build resilient processes to achieve your goals.

2. Mobilize your team. Your Slate Captain or Captains leads your implementation. A Slate Captain is an operation-focused Slate expert. However, your team should also include users with more specific roles, such as marketing staff and campus leaders, to help plan your strategy. A team provides the depth you need to keep your implementation on track when staffing issues or competing priorities arise.

3. Be prepared. You must do three things first before developing any operations in Slate. First, familiarize yourself with basic Slate capabilities by completing the online training courses . Then, audit and catalog your current goals and processes. Third, establish a project plan to help you and your team stay on track while you build new operations. Proper preparation is the key to success.

4. Dream big. Don't set out to reproduce only your current process in Slate or to restrict Slate operations to just one aspect of your overall process, like communications. Slate is a comprehensive, integrated system designed to help you achieve every admissions goal. Once you are familiar with what Slate can do, you will identify areas where Slate can provide improvements. The more you do in Slate, the easier every task becomes.

5. Follow the Roadmap. Technolutions provides an overall implementation guide and an itemized list of action items that you can use to develop a project plan. These resources help you build all essential operations promptly. Don't derail your implementation by trying to duplicate every single aspect of your current process during your first months in Slate. This plan also delivers functional knowledge in a helpful, step-by-step manner, preparing you to create even more effective automated processes as you advance.

6. Get your hands dirty. The best way to begin your work in Slate is to just begin. Forms, messages, automations, queries, and more can all be built and tested in a short amount of time. Slate also provides multiple options for testing new features safely once you have live records in your production environment.

These best practices will help you develop a successful implementation strategy!