App overload wastes 32 days of employee productivity each year

Dive Brief:

Apps designed to streamline workflow and raise productivity are instead causing chaos for workers, a new report from RingCentral, Inc. found. Including communication applications for texts, phone calls, team messaging, web meetings and video conferencing, employees are using on average four apps, and 20% are using six or more.
Most employees said that the volume of communication makes getting work done difficult, resulting in users toggling between apps up to 10 times per hour. Users switching between platforms can waste as much as an hour per day, totaling up to 32 wasted days per year, according to the report. Most users prefer to communicate through one platform to simplify the workday, restore productivity and eliminate chaos.
Team messaging was cited as the least disruptive form of communication during the workday and the preference of workers ages 18 to 44. Though team messaging is growing more popular as the preferred single communication platform, workers age 45 and older generally prefer email.

Dive Insight:

Business leaders want to cultivate and maintain a satisfied, productive workforce. This means removing any work habits, practices or systems that create chaos for workers.

As employers undergo digital transformation, they'll need to help workers understand the kinds of changes in thinking and behavior that will be necessary. And while that often involves adopting new tools, it also may mean giving some up to better streamline the work.

However that is easier said than done. Too often, organizations will adopt yet another tool, creating an IT-sanctioned quilt of software and applications employees are expected to engage with daily. From email to office programs to file sharing, the "always on" culture demanded by technology can lead to frustration among workers.

If teams find a tool doesn't meet work flow needs, many are quick to adopt more intuitive tools, leading to an increase in shadow IT and causing a headache for corporate compliance concerns. The only real solution is for companies to adopt suites of tools that integrate with other platforms and to avoid adopting too many single use applications.