BROUGHT TO YOU BY

The IT End-User Disconnect

Today, employees have more communication options at work than ever before, from traditional desk phones and email to social collaboration apps, video conferencing and unified messaging.

Many IT managers, however, are hesitant to invest in new collaboration technology, claiming what they’ve already implemented is not being used. This study discovers why most unified communications and collaboration implementations fail, and what your organization must do to increase user adoption and employee engagement.

STUDY METHODOLOGY

Softchoice, one of the largest technology solutions and managed services providers in

North America, set out to discover IT departments’ processes and priorities around unified

communications and collaboration rollouts, training, and support.

They surveyed 250 IT Managers and 750 line-of-business employees to determine the impact

typical UC and collaboration rollouts have on employee communication habits, preferences, and

workplace satisfaction.

COMMUNICATION TOOLS BY THE NUMBERS (AND HOW REGULARLY EMPLOYEES USE THEM)

MOBILE PHONE

68% 69%

SCREEN SHARING

60% 8%VIDEO CONFERENCING

70% 5%

DESK PHONE

86% 82%SOCIAL COLLABORATION

40% 10%

EMAIL

97% 95%INSTANT MESSAGING

68% 40%TELECONFERENCING

69% 12%

PROVIDED THE TOOLS USE THEM EVERY DAY

But rely on communications tools to collaborate most of the day

FINDING #1:

74% OF EMPLOYEES PREFER FACE-TO-FACE COMMUNICATION AT WORK

30% SPEND 5+

HOURS A DAY

26% SPEND 2-5

HOURS A DAY

26%

SPEND <30 MINUTES A DAY

IN FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS…

1. It makes them more productive

4. It’s compatible with their mobile device

2. It’s easy to use

5. It lets them work from anywhere

3. It has multiple uses in one

There are 5 reasons employees will use it

FINDING #2:

WHEN IT IMPLEMENTS A NEW COMMUNICATIONS TOOL…

1. It doesn’t work properly

2. It doesn’t make them more productive

3. They already have too many tools to choose from

There are 3 reasons employees won’t use it

FINDING #3:

WHEN IT IMPLEMENTS A NEW COMMUNICATIONS TOOL…

• 1/3 of employees say they don’t receive training

• Of those that do, 1/2 say they get less than 30 minutes

• 71% of employees say, at most, they use half of a communications tool’s features

• 38% of employees say they have access to communications tools they don’t know how to use and thus never use

• 77% of employees say they’re not consulted before the new tool is rolled out

• 58% of employees say they’re not consulted on the tool’s usefulness post-implementation

FINDING #4: WHEN IT IMPLEMENTS A NEW COMMUNICATIONS TOOL:

FINDING #5:

THE CONSULTATION EFFECTEmployees that are not actively consulted on

communications tool rollouts are…

2x More likely to be

dissatisfied at work

18% More likely to have to troubleshoot

their own support issues

3x More likely to not see

themselves at their current employer long-term

THE CONSULTATION EFFECT CONTINUED...

Employees that are consulted on communications tool rollouts are…

18% More likely to feel the tool

makes them more productive

23% More likely to be satisfied

in their current jobs

26% More likely to feel they’re given the tools to do their best work

But they should enhance, not detract from, the meeting

FINDING #6:

MOST EMPLOYEES USE COLLABORATION TOOLS IN MEETINGS

69% OF EMPLOYEES USE WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS

TOOLS IN MEETINGS

76% OF THOSE EMPLOYEES SAY

THEY’VE BEEN DISTRACTED BY THEM IN MEETINGS

FINDING #7:

TALKING ABOUT MY GENERATION

• Millenials are more likely to bring communications tools to meetings

• Suprisingly, we found that baby boomers are more likely to be distracted by them

• Millennials are more likely to say that having many communications tools at work makes them more productive

• Millennials are also most likely to know how to use at least half of a communications tool’s features

FINDING #8:

COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWN

How hard is it to implement and support communications tools?

4 out of 5 IT managers say < 25%

of support calls are related to malfunctioning communications

tools

11%of IT managers that haven’t

integrated voice, video & data in one solution plan to do it soon

2 out of 3 IT managers think UC solutions are

easy to manage post-implementation

44% of IT managers found it difficult to

implement a UC solution

54% of IT managers seek the help

of a third party solutions provider for UC implementations

FINDING #9:

OUT OF OFFICE

Understanding user behavior beyond the firewall

49%

of employees work 5+ hours a week outside the office. Most are beyond business hours

85%

of IT managers support communications tools outside office hours

68%

of IT managers think the variety of communications devices employees access creates security risks

Unified communications and collaboration tools have the power to accelerate productivity, bring people together and increase employee engagement. However, most UC implementations fail because employees are left out of the process.

There are two critical, often overlooked, components to a successful implementation:

1) Long before any technology decision is made, organizations must first understand their own culture, employee work habits and productivity needs to find the right technology fit.

2) Once the tool is deployed, organizations must engage employees with a robust communications and adoption strategy to help them learn to use the tool and, more importantly, appreciate how it makes their everyday jobs better.

Implementing and using the technology is the easy part. Unleashing your employees’ potential through that technology takes strategic planning, great communication, and superior employee engagement.

CONCLUSION

It’s about people , not technology

2. COMMUNICATE Make it clear to employees what the new tool will solve for them

3. EDUCATE Thoroughly train employees on

how to use the new tool

4. MEASURE

Set objective, measurable adoption goals and benchmarks pre-rollout and monitor progress

5. REPEAT

Continually seek employee input, address employee hesitations and

measure user adoption

1. CONSULT

Survey and create a vision by talking with employees to understand what

will make their jobs easier

RECOMMENDATIONS

5 Steps to ensure a successful communications tool rollout

CONTACT US

WWW.SOFTCHOICE.COM/SERVICES1-800-268-7638