Every organisational change project starts off with lofty ambitions. Apart from replacing outdated systems and lowering expenses, the objective is to optimise processes, accelerate sales growth and improve customer success.
In reality, organisations rarely meet these goals. Many implementation projects fail because project leadership and implementation teams tend to underestimate one crucial factor – user adoption.
Successfully implementing new technologies involves more than just carefully choosing tools and giving your employees access to them. It’s about ensuring your workforce adopts and uses them effectively.
Ultimately, user adoption is a critical factor that can make or break the return on investment (ROI) of your technology initiatives.
The Impact of Poor User Adoption
The scenarios below show how poor user adoption can impact various aspects of an organisation.
- Reduced Return on Investment
Organisations with low user adoption rates often fail to realise the full ROI on their technology investments. According to a report by McKinsey, 70% of digital transformation efforts fail due to lack of user adoption and resistance to change. The full potential of the new technology remains untapped, resulting in inefficiencies and wasted resources.
When employees do not effectively use the new tools, the anticipated improvements in productivity, cost savings and operational efficiency are not realised. This underperformance means the initial investment in the technology does not generate the expected returns.
This becomes even more pronounced in the case of user-centric technologies such as Copilot for Microsoft 365. If the change is not managed effectively a user could choose not to engage with the application at all, and as such no performance or productivity gains are realised from investment the organisation has made.
- Decreased Productivity
Poor user adoption in the workplace can significantly hamper productivity. When people don’t know how to use a specific software, they waste a lot of time figuring out. According to a study confirmed by the Harvard Business Review, employees lose up to 22 minutes a day or more than two working weeks a year looking for information or dealing with software-related issues.
Out of frustration, employees may end up not using the new software at all, causing them to revert to outdated methods. This leads to inefficiencies and errors that require extra time to correct. This underutilisation of tools designed to enhance efficiency diverts valuable resources and disrupts workflows.
Without effective user adoption, the potential benefits of new technologies are lost, resulting in a less productive workforce.
- Higher Support and Maintenance Costs
Research indicates that companies with low user adoption rates spend significantly more on IT support compared to those with high adoption rates. This increased expenditure includes increased helpdesk requests, additional training needs and the cost of addressing issues that may arise from improper use of new tools.
This additional support not only inflates costs but also diverts IT resources from other critical projects, further hampering overall productivity and ROI.
- Resistance to new technology initiatives
Poor user adoption sends a message that change initiatives and process changes can be ignored. If this is coming from a small pocket of resistance then it can be contained and dealt with, but left unchecked it can contribute to a culture of resistance to change within an organisation. The resistance may affect future technology initiatives, making it challenging for a business to introduce new tools or systems successfully .
Given the pace of change of technology currently, organisations have enough to do when guiding an engaged team though transformation, new processes and tooling changes. If we add on the, often gradual, task of changing the underlying cultural approach to change, this can result in much slower progress, impacting innovation and causing an organisation to be left behind the competition.
- Competitive Disadvantage
Companies with poor user adoption can risk falling behind competitors who leverage technology more effectively, leading to a competitive disadvantage in the market. When organisations do not fully utilise new systems and optimise their processes, they face challenges in scaling their business and achieving higher sales targets. This inefficiency leads to slower innovation cycles, reduced responsiveness to market changes and missed opportunities for growth.
Over time, these issues can result in a sustained loss of market share and a weakened competitive position. For instance, a study by Deloitte found that companies with high technology adoption rates are 2.5 times more likely to be market leaders, demonstrating the critical importance of effective user adoption in maintaining a competitive edge.
- Security Risks
Organisations may be exposed to bigger security vulnerabilities due to low user adoption and engagement with best practices. A lack of training, engagement and understanding of individual responsibilities can expose an organisation to data breaches, compliance issues and reputational damage.
Take the example of an organisation moving their data from on-premises storage to Microsoft365. As part of this change, employees should be trained on which application to use to store different types of data. Additionally, site owners of sites that hold sensitive data need to understand their responsibilities in keeping that data secure. Not following the correct processes through either lack of understanding, or a choice to not engage, can result in sensitive data being shared more widely than it should be, and even leaked outside the organisation.
Security is an even bigger critical concern now in the age of AI. With more and more companies incorporating AI tools, such as Microsoft Copilot, into their workflows, it’s important that their workforce fully understands how to properly and safely use these technologies to avoid security breaches and the oversharing of data.
The Role of Change Management in User Adoption
Effective change management and training is vital to addressing user adoption challenges. Research shows that 70% of transformation initiatives fail due to various reasons, from employee resistance to a lack of executive support and guidance. This huge percentage of failed initiatives underscores the need for a proper adoption and change management (ACM) strategy in every transformation project.
With a solid ACM plan in place, organisations can empower their workforce with the knowledge and skills required to properly use new tools and software. Employees can incorporate these technologies into their day-to-day work routines, allowing companies to fully realise their anticipated improvements in productivity, cost savings and operational efficiency.
To know more about ACM, download our eBook, “Driving Seamless Change: The Role of Adoption and Change Management in Digital Transformation” or contact us today to schedule a consultation or explore our ACM services.
