In the digital age we live in, technologies are an essential part of any progressive business strategy. It is therefore widely accepted that investment in robust technology and IT software plays a pivotal role in an organisation’s success whilst offering the expectation of enhancing workplace performance and productivity.
But why is it that some companies that commit substantial budget to technology, see little or no return on their investment? It would appear that investing in state of the art technology isn’t always enough to drive results.
The answer may be seen in the decision of whether to extend the investment into end-user training. When faced with an expensive and often disruptive project involving replacement of legacy systems, justifying further costs for training after the initial investment can be an uphill battle. Often the incorporation of Unified Communications (UC) into a business is viewed as a simple telephone replacement project where the system will easily integrate into the business. This view does not account for the extensive features and applications UC offers including video and conferencing, telephony and collaboration apps. Unfortunately, in the eyes of the budget holder, training is often seen as a ‘nice to have’ rather than a need.
It is true, UC is an intuitive experience and can be incorporated into a business without the need for training but allowing staff to ‘muddle through’ with a system they do not fully understand will never produce optimum results. Effective end-user training should form an essential part of the overall project resulting in increased adoption rates, more confident users and enhanced operational efficiency.
The decision to dismiss training as part of the project is often down to budget constraints but ironically a lack of end-user training can actually increase costs and reduce return on investment (ROI) in the long run. Time is often wasted when employees with little understanding of the system attempt and fail to resolve technical issues. A recent study conducted by 3Gem, on behalf of Teleware, revealed that 36% of workers admitted to wasting office time trying to resolve an issue with limited knowledge of the IT system. When applied to UC, the need to contact the provider helpdesk for technical support can be a costly means for solving what should be straightforward trouble shooting problems which a well-trained user could handle effectively internally if armed with the knowledge to do so.
End user training is available in various forms from online self-learning programmes to scheduled instructor led classes and one-to-one support. Train-the-trainer courses offer businesses the opportunity to arm their team with inhouse system experts who can not only deliver training to staff but also offer ongoing support to colleagues with extended user knowledge and problem-solving skills. This level of inhouse support can help to reduce the need to contact the provider with everyday trouble-shooting issues. When choosing the best training options, it is also important to evaluate the technical skill of the end users. Workforce technical knowledge may be limited and the choice of training should be tailored to the audience with various levels of support for the more and/or less tech savvy of the group.
It seems clear that businesses should consider not simply what technology to invest in, but how best to integrate the system of choice into the organisation. With the adoption of any new system, leaders must consider the people behind the technology. While an organisation can certainly choose to let staff ‘muddle through’ with little or no training, they run the risk of overwhelming users with what appears to be an overly complex system. In this situation, users often choose to simply use the features they understand while disregarding the rest. Employees can be become confused and disillusioned losing faith in not just the technology but in the company leaders for investing in the new system in the first place. The result is an expensive investment in technology that users do not understand and therefore choose not to use.
In order to maximise results in UC investment, businesses must commit to structured initial and ongoing training support for staff. Effective supportive training that meets the needs of the employees can transform work practices increasing productivity and ultimately driving results. The only way to really see the benefits of UC and a return on the investment is to empower the workforce with the knowledge and skills to fully utilise the features and applications available to them.
Guest Blog by John Brett, Technical Operations Manager at Nexus Open Systems
Nexus Open Systems delivers IT solutions, services, support, training and exams to organisations of all sizes.
Their products and services include: Managed Services, Proactive Management, Remediation work, Networking, Switching, Firewalls, Storage, Unified Communications, Collaboration Platform.
