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BROUGHT TO YOU BY

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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.

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COMMUNICATION TOOLS BY THE NUMBERS
(AND HOW REGULARLY EMPLOYEES USE THEM)
MOBILE PHONE
68% 69%
PROVIDED THE TOOLS USE THEM EVERY DAY
SCREEN SHARING
60% 8%
VIDEO CONFERENCING
70% 5%
DESK PHONE
86% 82% SOCIAL COLLABORATION
40% 10%
EMAIL
97% 95%
INSTANT MESSAGING
TELECONFERENCING 68% 40%
69% 12%

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FINDIN G #1:
74% OF EMPLOYEES PREFER FACE-TO-FACE
COMMUNICATION AT WORK
But rely on communications tools to
collaborate most of the day
30%
SPEND 5+
HOURS A DAY
26%
SPEND 2-5
HOURS A DAY
26%
SPEND <30
MINUTES A DAY
IN FACE-TO-FACE MEETINGS…

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1. It makes them more productive
2. It’s easy to use
3. It has multiple uses in one
4. It’s compatible with their mobile device
5. It lets them work from anywhere
FINDING #2:
WHEN IT IMPLEMENTS A NEW
COMMUNICATIONS TOOL…
There are 5 reasons employees will use it

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1. It doesn’t work properly
2. It doesn’t make them more productive
3. They already have too many tools
to choose from
FINDING #3:
WHEN IT IMPLEMENTS A NEW
COMMUNICATIONS TOOL…
There are 3 reasons employees won’t use it

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

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FINDING #5:
THE CONSULTATION EFFECT
Employees that are not actively consulted on
communications tool rollouts are…
2x
More likely to be
dissatisfied at work
3x
More likely to not see
themselves at their current
employer long-term
18%
More likely to have to troubleshoot
their own support issues

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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

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FINDING #6:
MOST EMPLOYEES USE
COLLABORATION TOOLS IN MEETINGS
But they should enhance, no t detract from, the meeting
69% OF EMPLOYEES USE
WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS
TOOLS IN MEETINGS
76% OF THOSE EMPLOYEES SAY
THEY’VE BEEN DISTRACTED
BY THEM IN MEETINGS

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

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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

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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

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CONCLUSION
It’s about people, not technology
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.

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2. COMM UNICATE
Make it clear to employees what
the new tool will solve for them
Continually seek employee input,
address employee hesitations and
measure user adoption
4. MEA SURE
5. RE PEAT
Set objective, measurable
adoption goals and benchmarks
pre-rollout and monitor progress
3. EDU CATE
Thoroughly train employees on
how to use the new tool
1. CON SULT
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

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CONTACT US
WWW.SOFTCHOICE.COM/SERVICES
1-800-268-7638