UC Tools Widely Adopted, but Employees Need Training

by Nathan Eddy

More than half (58 percent) of employees said they are not consulted on a unified communication (UC) tool, or its usefulness, after it’s been implemented, and a whopping 77 percent said they aren’t even consulted before the technology is implemented.

The top reason employees will use a new tool that IT has implemented is that it makes them more productive. The next most popular reason was because it’s easy to use. The third most popular reason employees will use a new tool is that it has multiple uses. Compatibility with their mobile device and the ability to work from anywhere were also key reasons.

The lack of training by IT departments is also a major issue when it comes to the productive use of UC technology, the report indicated. A third of employees said they don’t receive any training from IT leaders, and of those who do, half said they get less than 30 minutes. In addition, 38 percent of employees said they have access to communications tools they don’t know how to use and, thus, never use.

A full 60 percent of organizations provide screen-sharing capabilities, yet only 8 percent of people use them daily, Van Noort said. “This isn’t because they don’t see value in this,” she said. “When you ask people, it’s generally because they don’t know how—or, more specifically, they don’t know how in the context of their role and what they do every day.”

The number one reason employees will not use a UC tool is that it simply doesn’t work, the survey revealed. The other top reasons employees reject a communications platform were feelings that it didn’t make them more productive, followed by the fact that they believe they already have too many tools from which to choose.

Four in 10 (44 percent) IT managers said they struggled to deploy a UC solution, and more than half (54 percent) seek the help of third-party solutions providers for UC implementations, an indication that it is difficult for many IT pros to implement and support communications tools.

Employees who are not actively consulted on communications tool rollouts are twice as likely to be dissatisfied at work and three times as likely to see their companies as temporary places of work. What’s more, 26 percent of employees who are consulted about UC tool rollouts said they are more likely to feel they’re given the tools to do their best work, and 23 percent said they are more likely to be satisfied in their current jobs.

Softchoice recently asked one of its clients what collaboration means for the company. “They are a financial services organization and very committed to the overall customer experience, which in turn is supported by a great employee experience,” Van Noort said. “They see collaboration as a critical success factor to support their growth, as well as employee satisfaction.”

IT needs to extend its vision for their UC investment beyond the rollout,” Van Noort said. “Investing in programs that take training to a new level and incorporate real-life, day-to-day situations for the technology and how it can be seamlessly integrated into an employee’s workflow ensures a greater level of overall usage and adoption.”