51% of employees don’t want to use email

Web conferencing technology and workplace instant messaging platforms have been essential for employees across the world to continue to work effectively from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the adoption of these tools accelerated during 2020, it has now levelled off. Four in five businesses are now using web conferencing tools, according to research by Spiceworks Ziff Davis (SWZD).

SWZD’s survey of 1,000 IT decision makers in Europe and North America found that employees like using these communication tools at work.

In fact, 51% said they preferred real-time messaging tools like Slack or Microsoft Teams to email for internal communication; this is up from 31% in 2019.

Head of technology insights at SWZD Peter Tsai shares with UNLEASH: “Our research shows this preference shifted over the course of the pandemic as more workers used tools like Slack and Microsoft Teams on a daily basis to stay in touch with coworkers while working remotely.

“Messaging apps allow for more a more organic back-and-forth interactions that more closely mimic natural conversations.

“Additionally, as more ‘digital natives’ who grew up using text and instant messaging apps enter the workforce, this trend will likely continue in the future.”

While Tsai picked this out as the most interesting finding, SWZD’s survey also found that companies – and IT teams in particular – are less concerned now about security issues with workplace communication tools than they were earlier in the pandemic.

63% of IT decision makers now believe that communication tools offer adequate encryption – this is up from 49% in 2019.

Workers want better communications tools

A new security concern is arising for IT however because employees are increasingly using unapproved communication tools at work. 31% of workers were doing this pre-COVID-19 in 2019, but this has grown to 37% in 2022.

A major reason why employees are discontented with their workplace tools is because they are overwhelmed by the quantity of tools.

Thankfully, employers are aware of this challenge – at the end of the day, they need to make sure they are investing in the tech that employees want to use.

51% of businesses want to work with vendors that provide all-in-one workplace communication solutions, according to SWZD’s research.

It looks like the communication tech of the future must be easy-to-use, integrate seamlessly with other tools and be continually updated for future security risks.

Vendors take note, but employers also ensure you don’t settle for less than what their workers need to do their jobs as productively as possible.