CIO Survey: Majority of Tech Failures Due to Lack of Employee “Buy-in”

Featured article by Brian Anderson, Chief Marketing Officer, POP

Too many failed technology initiatives stem from weak lines of communication between chief information officers and their IT teams – even more so than inadequate technologies or budgetary shortfalls, according to a surprising new survey.

This communication breakdown was identified by a survey of global CIOs conducted in December 2015 by POP, a crowd-solving app maker. The survey found that 52% of respondents said technology initiatives fail due to “slow” or “reluctant” adoption from end users. That compares to just 23% of respondents who cited budget concerns for IT failures, and 17% who cited lack of support from senior management.

Understanding the Scope of the Buy-In Problem

More than half of respondents (58%) strive to maintain open communications across various business units and departments, yet they lack a solid process to regularly share ideas.

Employees need some time to “come up the learning curve” when embracing new technologies, according to 78% of respondents. Just 18% said that employees understand new initiatives right away, working “in lockstep” with senior management.

One big stumbling block for new IT projects involves a lack of sufficient processes for management to collect employee feedback and quickly take action. Ironically, many technology leaders have not yet adopted the latest technology platforms to create a strong feedback loop with their employees.

Nearly half (46%) of respondents consider it a “top priority” to understand employee needs to improve productivity and become more efficient in their jobs. Yet fully half of CIO respondents only pay attention to employee concerns as they arise, rather than getting out in front of problems before they boil over.

Just one-fourth of companies surveyed have a process in place to give employees the right tools to do their jobs. More than half (57%) said they have “some” processes in place, but they “could be more nimble” in this area. Another 18% cited “limited resources” to react to their employees’ suggestions in a timely manner.

Implementing Modern Technology Solutions

Unfortunately, just 3% of CIOs surveyed said they have the ability to solicit feedback directly from individual employees. To solve a significant business problem, 42% of CIOs try to physically “get everyone together and brainstorm” possible solutions in regular in-office meetings. Another 36% prefer doing so by email, while 18% rely on town-hall style meetings.

Just over half (51%) of those surveyed recognized that mobile technologies provide a powerful new communication channel to gather employee feedback and improve alignment. Nearly one-fourth of CIOs (22%) admitted they are ineffective in communicating with other departments, and just 21% have developed a strong process to cull new ideas from employees in different locations.

Although 22% of respondents said mobile technologies have “significantly improved” collaboration, another 26% admitted they have not determined how to effectively use mobile tools for alignment and ideation. Just 21% now use social collaboration or traditional surveys, and 7% admitted they don’t even know where to start.

Crowd-solving solutions on smartphone apps can be an efficient platform to increase staff buy-in by combining elements of social media, surveys, and text messages. Most of the workforce already feels comfortable using mobile apps in their personal lives, so the next logical extension involves new business uses.

Almost half (49%) of CIOs have had some experience with crowd-solving solutions, but another 48% have never used crowd-solving. Just 4% regularly rely on crowd-solving today to collect feedback and make decisions.

Too often, the failure rate for technology initiatives has intensified due to a lack of user adoption, not due to the merits of the technology itself. This disconnect is a result of employee disengagement, inadequate tools, and a sense that management isn’t listening to staff concerns. CIOs and IT managers need to adopt new ways to solve these problems and motivate their teams, or they will continue to struggle with failed initiatives and disgruntled employees.