"Working Hard Or Hardly Networked" Examines Why Most UC And Collaboration Tools Fail

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

A new study has confirmed that unified communications (UC) and collaboration tools have the power to accelerate productivity, bring people together, and increase employee engagement successfully when employees are included in the selection process.

According to the new study by SoftChoice, “Working Hard or Hardly Networked,” 77 percent of employees reported that they are not consulted by their organization before a new office communication tool is implemented. And among employees who are consulted about tool selection, 72 percent feel that their communications tools make them more productive, while only 54 percent of those who were not consulted feel the same way.

Based on the responses of 250 IT managers and 750 line-of-business employees, the research found that when employees are left out of the decision-making process, they tend to ignore new communication and collaboration tools, and they are less productive and less satisfied with the available technology.

On top of that,” the study states, “employees generally fail to use the majority of collaboration tools selected and provided for them.”

“Employees are the most invested group in the adoption of a new office communications tool, but they have the least say in choosing which tools to adopt,” says Erika Van Noort, Softchoice's director of consulting, in a press release. “Far too many organizations jump right to making technology decisions without first consulting with employees, and understanding how they work and why. In doing so, they are setting themselves up to fail.”

The study also found that 45 percent of businesses do not currently have an integrated voice, video, and data solution, and only 11 percent of those businesses are presently considering it. The study also demonstrated that, where such solutions were available, employees did not engage with them in many cases. For example, while 70 percent of those surveyed provided video conferencing tools, only 5 percent of employees used the technology daily. Similarly, while 60 percent of respondents provided screen sharing, only 8 percent of employees utilized the capability.

More importantly, when new solutions are implemented, the survey demonstrates the real need to provide adequate training and familiarization of the tools for employees, and a need to avoid extraneous tools. One-third of employees reported that they do not receive training on new solutions, while training for those who do receive it cited 30 minutes or less for total training times. Further, 71 percent of employees reported that they use less than half of the communication tools’ features, and 38 percent say they don’t know how to use their communications tools and therefore they do not use them.

Meanwhile, 54 percent of IT managers reported that they turn to third-party solutions providers to implement UC. Further, 68 percent of IT managers report that the variety of communications devices used by employees increases security risks.

Ultimately the study concludes that implementing communications solutions must be about the people, not the technology.

"Most IT departments own the unified communications project of getting the technology out to the users in the organization," Van Noort told eWEEK. "Rarely does anyone, or any group, own teaching it to employees or communicating why it helps them be better and more efficient in their jobs."