Putting the YOU in UC....

I see a lot of business cases pitching for the introduction of new technology into the enterprise. There are always a multitude of statistics detailing increases in agility, additional productivity and associated reduction in overheads. However, very few talk about You, the user and the risk to the ROI of the user adoption. If the technology doesn't work for the employee, how is the business supposed to benefit?

This is particularly crucial in a UC deployment as the technology is meant to facilitate and improve user to user interaction or productivity behaviour improvements and therefore its success as a technology is intrinsically linked to user adoption. How do you stop the investment just becoming a telephony replacement? 

Some argue this is a generational issue and that "generation Z" understand newer technology intuitively and therefore need less support to embrace new ways of working. I disagree, and propose that the adoption needs are just different. In fact, watching my children "learn" new games on their tablets and seeing how apps which are not able to be picked up and progressed with easily and almost subliminally, face the ignominy of being deleted and replaced in minutes, suggests younger workers are likely to be less patient or tolerant in adopting new technology. The instruction manual has officially been put to pasture!  

So how do you drive adoption? And how do you cater for employees who are likely to want to consume training and guidance in different ways and at different paces? In my opinion the six steps below will lead to a more successful uptake and therefore give the ROI the best chance of being reached or exceeded:

1.    Communicate early. Ensure that the new technology isn't deployed in a Big Bang (lest you don't take the dinosaurs with you!). Let the users know what's happening. Let them see and hear about the technology without necessarily needing to use it to operate. Phase in the adoption in manageable steps or prioritise a department which can have a big pull effect. Ensure you have covered off all adoption snags before you move to the next tranche of users.

2.    Ensure you replace ALL the features of the incumbent technology you are replacing with at least equal functionality. There's nothing that destroys adoption more than the impression the new can't do what the old did, even if most aspects are better.

3.    Go above feature replacement and demonstrate the value to the user, if the user doesn’t see why they should use the technology in the first place, they don’t see the value.   

4.    Provide a variety of learning material. A traditional train the trainer/super user approach goes some of the way, but it should be supplemented by online learning in the form of classroom of VoD content to allow users to progress their adoption at their own pace. New starters can also then start learning in advance of any scheduled face to face sessions. Where necessary, gamify the learning such that people are incentivised to complete the learning and therefore drive adoption.

5.    Work hard to find personalised use cases where the technology improves productivity or saves time. Focus face to face learning sessions on this. This will ensure adoption is improved and people remain engaged with the technology. Ensure you focus on the way the technology directly interacts with the user. Whilst some of this is in the domain of the software vendor, the other aspects can be customised to improve the particular user's experience.

6.    Set KPI's and measure adoption. In the first month there might be fantastic uptake as it's something new and shiny, but do people continue to see benefit and therefore will adoption extend beyond the initial period of excitement?

Bottom line, technology works if the business involves the user, i.e. you!

At GCI one of the main technology transformations we help our customers with is Microsoft based UC&C using the Skype for Business and Azure EM+S software sets. As a managed service provider, adoption is key and so work hard to nail the six points above in conjunction with our customer for any UC&C deployment we get involved with. This is done by understanding the different groups of users in the customer and their individual or functional requirements and then planning appropriate technical deployment and tailored learning material to these user communities. To enhance and supplement this on-site trainer and design led activity, GCI will be launching its UCversity product in May which will provide enterprises with a range of online learning and adoption reporting for end users.