How to Persuade Different Non-tech Savvy Stakeholders to Adopt. Unified Communications. Unified Communications

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1 How to Persuade Different Non-tech Savvy Stakeholders to Adopt

2 There will always be people who are reluctant to change and whose immediate reaction will be to oppose it. Unified Communication is a digital tool, so you must be prepared for some users to be reluctant or unwilling to embrace it, especially if they are not tech-savvy. To counteract this resistance, it s important to consider how will appeal to stakeholders individual interests and pain points, and ensure that the program you choose is highly customised to what they actually want and need. Our suggested approach is to focus on a small group of stakeholders first and educate them on the benefits, explaining how Unified Communications can help the business to meet key objectives and goals. Gaining the backing of a handful of stakeholders initially will help to bolster your attempts to persuade other stakeholders, as they will have more influence over decisions. This guide will highlight the main reservations that stakeholders may have and the most effective ways to address them. These include: Lack of understanding about & fear of the unknown Concerns about the new system being difficult to implement The project being disruptive and taking a long time to implement Cost of integration Not viewing unified communications as a priority 2

3 Lack of understanding & fear of the unknown It is common for many stakeholders to have a lack of knowledge or limited understanding about technology and the positive impact that new technology can have on the business. They may hold the view that I m not good with tech and there will be lots of employees like me or I like and am used to the programs we use currently and I don t want them to change which can present problems when it comes to encouraging a positive user adoption. To avoid this, you need to ensure that all employees have a clear understanding of why Unified Communications would be an improvement on what they have currently. Speak to stakeholders to identify what they like about your existing communications systems and find out whether they use any external non-it approved applications. This will help you to pre empt any problems or difficulties that stakeholders may have with getting to grips with the new platform, and plan the best way to respond to these through workshops and training. It s imperative that you educate and train non-tech savvy stakeholders in a clear and concise way without using jargon-heavy explanations as this will only alienate them, causing further disengagement. Comprehensive training needs to be given to all and adapted to suit different levels of tech-savviness; a one size fits all approach is not sufficient. Arkadin s Operational Change Managers can provide expert guidance on the best methodologies for achieving excellent user adoption and creating a positive culture change throughout your organisation and minimise uncertainty throughout the process. In addition to getting stakeholders to understand how to use Unified Communications applications in their day-to-day work, it s also crucial to communicate the value of a new communications platform. Before pitching to stakeholders, you need to understand their main priorities and be able to communicate how can make their own and their team s lives easier, as this will help them to recognise how this new way of working can personally benefit them. It s also important to understand the main challenges that different stakeholders face and how Unified Communications can help to overcome these (e.g. boosting productivity by improving IT efficiencies). 3

4 Difficulty with implementation Another significant factor that may cause stakeholders to be hesitant about introducing Unified Communications is whether it will be difficult to roll out. Creating a comprehensive project plan showing how you will implement the new communications system can help to alleviate these concerns. The project plan should include a clear strategy that is closely mapped to different stakeholder profiles and levels of technical competency. Arkadin will assign you with a dedicated Project Manager who can help you to understand and plan for key user profiles to ensure your the implementation strategy works for all the key stakeholders. Arkadin provide expert support and guidance throughout to ensure a seamless end-to-end delivery of your program. This includes tailored training, coaching and 24/7 support to ensure that all users feel comfortable using Unified Communications and can access help easily if they need it. Arkadin s Organisational Change Managers have a proven success methodology and extensive understanding of key user profiles to ensure that the new way of working is tailored for maximum benefit realisation. A key concern of stakeholders when deciding whether to implement is whether it is suitable for the long term and easily scalable for future business needs. Stakeholders will look for solutions that can be easily scaled up across departments and different global divisions without disrupting business operations. It s essential that your Unified Communications solution continues to meet the demands of your growing workforce, so employing a scalable solution is paramount. To persuade stakeholders to adopt, you must clearly communicate how it can grow with your business and explain the scalability benefits of UC: Flexible infrastructure enables new users to be added quickly as your business grows. The program can be extended across departments and global divisions without the need for additional software licences. Arkadin has proven global experience with over 50,000 seat deployments across the world to help you achieve a seamless global rollout. Additional functionality can be added to meet the requirements of different user profiles. 4

5 Cost of integration Cost is a huge influencing factor when it comes to stakeholders embracing. For many, despite the numerous benefits, their main concern will be the financial value can bring to the business. Therefore, explaining the practical and financial benefits of a new communications service is essential. When communicating the monetary advantages of UC to stakeholders, adopt a clear business-like language and avoid overly-technical explanations. Focus on providing a clear overview of the technological functions and explain how they will help to improve business operations. 5

6 However, just explaining the benefits verbally is unlikely to be enough to persuade a finance-focused stakeholder to invest in Unified Communications; you will need to provide a comprehensive list of cost savings and a projected ROI. gives your employees the flexibility to work anywhere and be available at all times - meaning you never miss a business opportunity. Working with one provider to implement a comprehensive unified communications program enables better IT efficiency, and reduces IT operating costs. provides companies with easy-to-use tools which can transform the way that employees interact with customers and colleagues, leading to higher productivity levels. UC is easy to scale up or down, making businesses more agile and preparing them for future expansion across the UK, or globally. Learn more about the financial benefits of Speak to an expert also frees up staffing and expensive training costs as Arkadin can provide expert training, coaching and maintenance. 6

7 It s not a priority Some stakeholders may be indisposed towards investing in Unified Communications if they do not see it as a priority for the business and think the current system is sufficient. In order to persuade these stakeholders that adopting should be a priority, it s important to highlight the weaknesses in your current system and explain how these are holding the business back from reaching it s full potential. Provide examples of how Unified Communications can remedy these shortcomings, for example, how introducing the latest cloud technology empowers employees to work from home, thus opening up a new talent pool by removing geography as a limiting factor for who can work for the organisation. gives companies flexibility, boosts collaboration and enables them to be agile when it comes to expansion and reacting to unforeseen events. It does, therefore, provide organisations with a competitive advantage. When persuading stakeholders to adopt, it s important to explain why the organisation cannot afford to wait as they risk falling behind their competitors and highlight the importance of leading instead of catching up when it comes to communications innovation. According to a study by IDC, more than one-third (37%) of respondents said they currently use UCC, and another 36% plan to implement UCC within the next two years. This illustrates that there has never been a more crucial time to adopt (IDC, 2017). It s essential that stakeholders understand the positive long term effects will have on the business and how it can actually help the company to achieve some of the goals that they deem to be more of a priority than implementing UC. For instance, how implementing can help to facilitate future expansion and boost collaboration between global divisions. 7

8 Why choose Arkadin? Founded in 2001, Arkadin is now the world s fastest growing collaboration services provider - and a proud member of the NTT group, one of the largest communications companies in the world. Arkadin provides full service management services, guiding your business through every step of the digital transformation journey. Arkadin adopts a people-first approach, putting customer service at the core of everything we do. A one-vendor approach enables our clients to build the perfect systems for their businesses, knowing they have experts supporting them every step of the way. Contact one of our team today Speak to an expert Arkadin s Organisational Change Managers can help to ensure a quick adoption of the new services across the company thanks to appropriate communications, training and preparation. 8

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