Everyone suffers from frustration at times at work.

And this frustration can often be linked to technology. How often do we find that our computers are slow, programs won’t lead or software isn’t as intuitive as we might like.

In this post, we’re going to look at how to deal with employee frustration and how a Digital Adoption Solution can reduce the issues that often comes when employees are using certain software tools.

Reduce frustration by putting employees first

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, famously once said:

“Clients do not come first. Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of the clients. The way you treat your employees is the way they will treat your customers.”

As the man who took on British Airways in their own backyard, Branson knows a thing or two about delivering a great customer experience as the means to winning market share.

First, you need to deliver a great employee experience to avoid employee frustration.

This is not just about providing the obvious perks – salary, health care, holiday entitlement etc. Irrespective of the organisation’s size, individuals need to feel they can make a difference and that their opinion counts.

They need to be able to grow and develop as people as well as further their careers. It’s about the emotional connection of belonging to a community of like-minded people with a common purpose who share similar values.

These characteristics have been found wanting in the world of work. The experience of working for an enlightened employer such as Branson remains the exception. Employee frustration is the norm.

Employers have traditionally been the arbiters of their employee experience, calling the shots on what they think their people need to feel valued, supported and motivated to do great work.

Too often, it’s a top-down process with little input and buy-in from employees. The emphasis is on what management feels the business needs from its training and development programs to improve productivity and company performance.

Personal development and tailored learning for dual employees are not prioritised. Learning and development are for the “greater good”.

The result? Employees are too often disengaged.

Employees are suffering from “burn out”

Gallup’s recent research from more than 31 million respondents cites “The ability to do what they do best” as the number one aspect of employee satisfaction and happiness at work.

When this is compromised by employers who aren’t providing the tools and support their people need to do their jobs to the best of their ability, employee frustration creeps in.

The recent extensive coverage on the subject of “Quiet Quitting,” where employees do the absolute minimum when doing their jobs, bears this out. This attitude flies in the face of most research into employee motivation. After all, it takes effort on the part of the employee to work out how to “do the minimum”.

But even this is too simplistic an explanation.

Josh Bersin points out that managers and employees are “burnt out”. This affects every lev– from senior management to the shop floor.

Bersin cites Mercer’s data in the USA confirming that 81% of employees have “had it” to some extent. Many people are feeling overwhelmed, having been through a global pandemic, only to emerge in a world of high inflation, energy price hikes and across-the-board cost of living crises.

Unemployment levels in the UK fell to 3.6% in the three months to July – the lowest since 1974 (Office for National Statistics – ONS). Yet, wages are falling behind, with inflation running at over 10% pa.

This means there are fewer people about to do the work. Employees are being asked to do more than they’ve ever done before. And they’re having to accept a drop in income in real terms.

So, when employers fail to provide adequate support, tools and training, the feeling of employee frustration is heightened even more in such sensitive times.

At the same time, remote working is up 138%* compared with pre-pandemic levels. Whilst this is generally seen as a positive factor, the latest Learning Performance Benchmark report also highlights some negative aspects that employees have reported:

• An absence of well-being and increased feelings of isolation
• Workers lack the skills, hardware and software to work remotely
• People’s concentration is affected by too many virtual interruptions
• There’s a blurring of personal and professional boundaries
• Workers are struggling to make time for learning

It’s a perfect breeding ground for employee frustration.

Digital adoption offers transformational workplace learning

With such low levels of unemployment, it’s never been harder for organisations to attract and retain talent.

Employees have realised that they are in a strong position. They have a bigger voice in demanding personal development and self-learning programs that can further their careers. This can be the difference between staying or leaving a current job.

Yet, fixing this issue is a longer-term challenge. It requires an organisation to move from a transactional L&D approach to a more challenging transformational strategy.

Transactional learning delivers a relatively low level of impact, providing low-level tactical “one-off” learning interventions for things such as basic compliance training necessary for operating in the short term.

Transformation learning has a much deeper effect on how an organisation operates with proactive talent and performance programs contributing to a high-impact learning culture.

According to the latest Learning Performance Benchmark report, 78% of organisations are in the “transactional” category of learning and development delivery.

Only 22% of organisations are in the transformational category. It can take years to embed a learning culture and create the necessary programs to move from transactional to transformational.

One quick win that can help move an organisation along the path to transformational learning is by implementing a Digital Adoption Platform (DAP).

Is Digital Adoption the solution to several common frustrations?

Digital Adoption Platforms such as Omniplex Guide address one of the biggest causes of employee frustration – immediate, real-time access to prompts, guides and training in the flow of work that aid and support employees with the adoption of digital applications.

Most employees at all levels in the management hierarchy have had cause to ask questions such as:

• Should I fill in this box now?
• What data format should I use to fill in this section?
• Where do I go now?
• What information do I need to add here?
• How do I add a file to this area?
• How do I know I’ve completed this section properly?
• My app isn’t working correctly. How can I get support on this?

Too often, employees enter incorrect information and data because they are unsure of what’s required. The language used in apps can be ambiguous or technical, using jargon to confuse people. It may make sense to those who designed it but not to those using it daily.

Companies run courses and training programs to try to improve digital adoption. Employees may have attended these and passed tests, gaining accreditations. But so often, the learning doesn’t stick. Or the course took place so long ago that it’s impossible to remember the relevant content.

When most of us worked in offices, we could wander over to colleagues and ask them to help. With so many of us working remotely for at least part of the week, it’s not that simple.

Employees are asked to raise tickets or call support desks. Precious time is wasted raising cases and waiting for a response.

Organisations must spend large budgets on providing these support services – a high and unnecessary cost of failure.

Digital Adoption Platforms provide immediate help to anyone using the app or software at the time of need. It’s like having a “buddy” on your shoulder whenever you need them to show you what to do. It can prompt the user if it senses the wrong information is being inputted. Or the user can request clarification if in doubt. Like a SatNav, it guides and prompts employees on what to do, how to do it and where to go.

It can soothe the frustrations of employees who genuinely want to do a great job.

And it can save the company money and improve efficiency by removing the need for large amounts of frontline support that could be more usefully deployed elsewhere.

Please get in touch if you want to learn more about DAPs, such as Omniplex Guide.

*2022 Learning Performance Benchmark

More at Omniplex Learning

What is a digital adoption solution?

Is Learning in the Flow of Work the future of workplace learning?