Do your staff prefer the old apps?

The pandemic brought a massive shift in the way people worked. It's a fairly safe bet to say the way you and your staff work now is not the same as before the pandemic. It might have taken a few months to get into the flow of things or you could have been the lucky ones to be working with us and be up and working very fast, but now over 2 years on things should be stable but flexible to adapt to the bumps now.

Now that we’ve settled into permanent new ways of working, we can pick the software tools that best suit our businesses. Unfortunately, your employees sometimes might not like your choice of which apps should be used within the company. Worse some might just keep using the old and retired apps.

A recent survey found a massive 92% of employees want more control over the software, collaboration tools, and applications they use. And 51% continue to use apps that have been banned by IT departments.

This is starting to put business owners in a tricky position. If the owners start to block applications it makes employees feel unheard and untrusted, which leads to lower morale and disengagement from employees. These can have a real negative impact on your business.

Equally ignoring the issue and letting employees continue can be as bad, or worse! There can be data loss, and security breaches and leave you vulnerable to viruses, malware and crypto-ransomware attacks!

The answer is to talk to your staff! Get their feedback. Why do they prefer the old software? Why isn't the new working for them? Let them feel heard and let them influence how they work. You don't have to follow exactly what they want but they need to feel like you care! Explain why the old needs to be removed or changed. They don't always get to see the whole picture so bring them up to speed if you can.

It’s also a very good idea to make sure your people fully understand the risks that come with using unapproved apps and the impact that can have on a business.

Even if you have a team who are not pushing back it's good to follow this mantra as it keeps people engaged and on board. It's also a good idea to keep a general level of security training up for all staff!

Can we help you find the most suitable communication and productivity tools for your business? We’ve helped lots of business owners in York and Lincoln (and around the UK) do this. Get in touch.

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