Are your employees reluctant to embrace collaboration solutions and other tools meant to increase productivity? Do they worry that managers will be monitoring every minute of their workday? That’s a real dilemma at many organizations. Fortunately, there are ways to ease these concerns. Some good solutions are highlighted in a GCN article about federal agencies that are trying to implement more telework tools.
The best way to approach user adoption is to understand the culture of your organization. Address the concerns that your employees have about telework tools. Be sure to also get the value statement out to employees, focus on the benefits they’ll gain rather than promoting what the organization hopes to achieve, and explain how and why telework tools will make their lives easier. The key is to clearly explain to employees how collaboration solutions can positively impact them.
Not all organizations or employees will use collaboration software in the same way. For example, due to security restrictions, some employees might not be able to use certain video conferencing or file-sharing tools. But they might be able to work from home with a laptop or log into a remote virtual desktop. It’s important to take small steps to get users comfortable with using telework tools.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is an example of a federal agency that is embracing collaboration solutions, the GCN article explains. Managers are working to expose employees to the benefits of virtual environments.
Mika Cross, USDA’s Work/Life and Wellness program manager, tells GCN that she’s pleased with “baby steps” that USDA employees are taking, such as transferring calls from their office phone to their home phone or cellphone.
A survey of federal workers who participated in Telework Week this year indicated that most used laptops with virtual private network connections. Less than 10 percent reported using video conferencing, virtual desktops and tablets.
Again, the key for organizations — whether federal or private — is to expose employees to virtual environments and collaboration solutions. Demonstrate how such tools and working environments can address their concerns and help them.
Source: GCN, June 2013
