It’s no secret that Microsoft Teams has established itself as a key driver of digital transformation, making it possible for employees in any sized business to collaborate on projects and share ideas, as well as communicate via instant messaging, video collaboration and voice calls.
But although many forward-thinking organizations are jumping aboard the digital transformation train to meet the challenges of our dynamic global economy, the whole process can quickly turn sour if employees fail to adopt the new technology.
In a previous post I covered some of the external factors that should be considered before migrating to Microsoft Teams. Today, I want to shine a spotlight on something else that can make or break Microsoft Teams adoption – the human factor.
1
Disruption or Transformation?
It’s fair to say that today’s technology is as disruptive as it is transformational, since it compels employees to completely change the way that they work. The biggest mistake made in deploying digital transformation technologies such as Microsoft Teams is the somewhat naïve assumption that everyone will want to use it. This is rarely the case.
The truth is that organizations can’t just go full steam ahead and implement a disruptive solution without ensuring that their employees are onboarded, educated and given all the assistance they need to make the project a success.
2
Dodging the Bullets
So how can today’s enterprises best address the potential minefield of user adoption to ensure that their digital transformation strategy is executed successfully? Here are some pointers to start with:
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- Engage with employees to understand exactly how they work, how they communicate as a team, what technology they use and why. Obviously, this will differ by job role.
- Gently explore any deficiencies and gaps in their current ways of working. Discuss the issues and see where improvements can be made.
- Be aware that different generations might not communicate or work in the same way. Millennials might figure out new technology instantly, while older employees might need more time.
Armed with these valuable insights, enterprises can then look at the bigger organizational picture, including:
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- Identifying the key departments and service areas across the organization.
- Understanding the specific role that each department and service area plays within the organization.
- Identifying the primary methods of communication used today, both peer-to-peer communication and group/ team interaction such as meetings.
- Identifying common interactions between internal departments and external stakeholders such as customers or partners.
- Understanding the key communications challenges that each area faces today.
3
Let’s Talk!
Once this information is in, enterprises should hold workshops to understand the objectives and needs of each part of the enterprise.
This is also a great forum for employees to raise any issues that they experience while working with the current communications tools.
4
Taking It Personally
These workshops help the enterprise to sort groups of employees into user personas, which are based around each employee’s role profile, way of working, and what tools they need to do their job properly.
Most organizations end up with around four or five different user personas.
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5
Never Stop Learning
Having defined the user personas, the next step in driving successful user adoption is training.
Organizations need to identify those users who will benefit from training to ensure that they feel comfortable with the new technology.
6
Power to the People
Adopting a people-centric strategy to any digital transformation project, including Microsoft Teams adoption, will massively improve the chances of success.
At AudioCodes, we excel at seeing the wider picture. We are proven experts in ensuring that the user’s voice is heard when organizations deploy Microsoft Teams, all backed up with a comprehensive range of products for the best Teams experience out there..
And for those enterprises that would prefer to deploy Teams as a fully managed service, we’ve got that covered too.
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