I’ve been noticing a few common elements around organizations that are having trouble with adoption of enterprise 2.0 technologies.  Adoption is oftentimes the greatest challenge that organizations are faced with.  The first thing many people want to do is immediately find a solution.   However, it is not possible to find a solution without first understanding the problem and why it happening to being with.  It’s just like a chess game.  You can’t create a position and hand it to someone and say, “ok, move.”  You need to look at the board first and see what’s going before you know what the proper next move is.  Only after you understand the problem can you begin to create a solution.  I have seen a few reasons for why adoption levels might be weak amongst employees, if you have others to add then please share them below.

Here are some of the challenges I am seeing around enterprise 2.0 adoption:

  • The platform itself is too hard or confusing to use and thus employees just don’t use it
  • Employees might not be aware that the platform even exists (this was the case for one of the largest hotel chains on the Vegas strip)
  • The value of using such a platform(s) is unclear
  • There is a lack of training and education
  • The corporate culture just does not support collaboration and thus even though the proper vendor is selected and training is provided, employees still do not use the solution
  • Perhaps expectations of employees was not met, oftentimes these initiatives start out strong but overtime resources are diminished, feedback isn’t implemented as often as it once was, and the usage begins to decline.
  • Employees don’t see anyone else engaged in the platform and thus even if they themselves find it useful the, “nobody else is using it, why should I?” mentality prevents them from using it
  • There is a perception that using a collaboration platform will mean additional work outside of an already busy workday
  • Fear of security forces the platform to be so restricted and structured that employees do not want to use it

Obviously, not all organizations are experiencing these challenges and I’m sure there are plenty of organizations that are experiencing none of these challenges.  Every company I speak with, interview, or work with, always sheds some additional insight and ideas on adoption and implementation of social and collaborative tools and strategies within their enterprise.  I have yet to meet two organizations that are very similar in their approach, challenges, deployments, and strategies.

Have you seen any other challenges to enterprise 2.0 adoption?

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