How to spare your workforce from software paralysis 

Has your enterprise stepped up its use of high-tech tools and technologies of late? If you answered in the affirmative, you’re far from alone. 

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses were pensioning off their old school, manual processes and embracing new platforms and applications at a steady clip. The pandemic caused restrictions that placed an urgent imperative on business-critical digital transformations to enable employees to work remotely, and drive efficiencies across the enterprise. 

That wave of digitisation continues to sweep across the commercial landscape. Studies show the average large enterprise now has close to 200 apps in its tech stack. That sounds like an extraordinary number, yet we see this first-hand at most of the enterprises we work with. 

A significant proportion of the solutions deployed by the average enterprise relate to core business functions and are critical to successful operations – think finance, HR and CRM for starters – while others may be needed to facilitate the flexible working practices which have now become the norm. Then there are applications to enhance security and the employee experience, the list goes on. All of these applications were bought with the promise of value to the business. Now the time has come to assess that real value. 

All apped out

The sheer volume of these apps can, however, lead to what could perhaps be termed ‘app fatigue’ on the part of employees. As a result of this fatigue combined with lower than expected adoption, the efficiency and productivity gains that every spanking new solution promises to deliver are very often not realised.

Part of the problem is that, in their race to do things smarter, faster and better, business leaders fail to look at the big picture. Having to become familiar with a slew of different programs – and switching between them constantly throughout the day – can slow users down, rather than speed them up. 

Overwhelmed by too many apps, employees may well develop ‘Software Paralysis’; becoming demotivated and unwilling to persist with the tools and platforms they were assured would make their jobs easier and more rewarding, when incorporated into their workflows.

Avoiding the new

More technology isn’t necessarily better shouldn’t come as a surprise – at least not to anyone who has a modicum of insight into human nature. As a species, we’re creatures of habit and many of us are resistant to change, in whatever guise it comes. We’re routine driven and feel most comfortable when we’re doing things the way they’ve always been done.

Hence, having to master a multitude of tools and platforms isn’t a challenge to be relished. Rather, it’s a tribulation that some employees will actively seek to avoid. 

That’s why a proportion of your team members will persist with using spreadsheets to manage various aspects of their roles, despite the fact you’ve provided them with new generation alternatives that leave this legacy technology in the shade and provide time saving integrations, for example. And it’s why their time at work isn’t spent in the most productive and efficient ways. 

Digital deployment done smartly

So, what’s the solution for organisations that want to capitalise on the benefits digital technology can deliver, without inducing app fatigue in their workforces or encountering a wall of resistance to each new program and platform?

Simplifying the user experience at an individual level is a good place to start. That means making it easier for employees to work across different applications, user interfaces, and workflows. 

This is where a digital adoption platform (DAP) can help. Software that enables enterprises to accelerate the return on their technology investments, a DAP can be used to identify and resolve user issues while improving the user experience, productivity, and maximising technology investments.

It can be configured to deliver a ‘concierge’ style service – guiding employees through your suite of applications and automating workflows that cause friction and frustration.

DAP technology can also deliver value at a strategic level, by enabling decision makers to measure the impact and effectiveness of the apps in use across the enterprise. Those insights can be used to optimise the organisation’s technology stack, by decommissioning duplicate functionalities and reducing investment in those that don’t deliver quantifiable business benefits and an acceptable return on investment.

Towards long term profitability and growth

With wages and input costs rising and the spectre of recession continuing to loom, the upcoming financial year will not be short on challenges, for Australian businesses of all stripes and sizes. Digital solutions can deliver efficiency and productivity dividends, and provide a better employee experience to boot, but only if they are deployed smartly and strategically. Investing in a digital adoption platform can help you achieve these ends. If optimising your investment in transformational technologies is important to your enterprise, it’s foundation technology you can’t afford not to have in your stack.

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