The shift to remote and hybrid work changed how organizations deploy and support unified communications tools. Adoption increased rapidly, but many organizations focused on speed rather than structured enablement. As work patterns stabilized, the limitations of ad hoc training approaches became more apparent.
During the initial shift to remote and hybrid work, organizations rolled out whatever tools they felt necessary to support remote work. As a result, employees learned how to use the tools on the fly as the traditional methods of user adoption training -- such as classroom-style trainings in the office -- were no longer possible.
Now, as organizations have become more strategic about their unified communications (UC) investments to support hybrid work environments, they must also consider employee training to ensure adoption success. There is a direct correlation between preparing end users before deploying a new tool and user productivity post-deployment, COMMfusion LLC President Blair Pleasant said. That shift has placed renewed emphasis on intentional user adoption strategies rather than one-time enablement efforts.
Most end users who felt they were well prepared with training before a deployment believed the new tool made them more productive, according to a BCStrategies survey of end users and IT leaders. Of those end users who said they weren't adequately trained, only 17% said they felt more productive.
Pleasant and other industry analysts and leaders emphasized these themes during Enterprise Connect discussions. One key topic was the importance of supporting user adoption in a hybrid workplace to ensure UC deployment success and employee productivity, regardless of location.
Hybrid work means new training models
As organizations think about user adoption programs in a hybrid workplace, they have to ensure training is equal for both remote and office-based employees, said Eric Hanson, then chief marketing officer at Fuze (acquired by 8x8 in 2022) and now CMO of Mitel’s communications business.
Some user adoption training methods, such as classroom-style instruction, are no longer sufficient on their own as work spans remote and in-office environments. Other training strategies emerged, like Yammer community forums, to create more of an online discussion, said Alan Shen, former CTO at Unify Square, acquired by Unisys in 2021, where he serves as chief architect.
Video training will also be key, especially to recreate the feeling of in-office training. For more successful video training, organizations should consider virtual events that combine real-time activities with asynchronous, on-demand content, Hanson said.
When deploying new technology, we just think about the technology. We don't think about the organizational changes, the cultural impact and change management.
Blair PleasantPresident, COMMfusion LLC
Training structured with synchronous and asynchronous content can address the different ways people learn and create a more engaging experience, he said. On-demand materials can also be used for reference after a training session.
"Adoption isn't something that happens right after deployment," Hanson said.
However, using video for training can be challenging, despite the overall growth of video across organizations, Pleasant said.
"The problem is end users can do it on their own time, but it doesn't mean they're going to," she said.
Training goes beyond business workflows
Organizations need to remember that UC tools are not just for business workflows and communication.
"When deploying new technology, we just think about the technology," Pleasant said. "We don't think about the organizational changes, the cultural impact and change management."
Rolling out a new application or system is not the main and end goal. The deployment needs to help employees collaborate more effectively, she said.
For example, many employees have used UC tools not just for collaboration workflows, but to maintain company culture and personal connections with their co-workers. User adoption training could include educating employees on how to use a new tool for social communications, like virtual happy hours, to support team cohesion, Shen said.
Employee experience platforms support user adoption
While training is key to boost user adoption, a major roadblock to adoption is the actual experience when using the tools. According to a global Omdia survey on the future of work, the biggest barrier to achieving successful outcomes with digital workplace technology is employee resistance.
"It's not a surprise as employees and line-of-business decision-makers have an idea of what tools they need to be successful, and IT isn't listening to them," noted former Omdia analyst Tim Banting.
According to the survey, 45% of companies said the IT department determines the need for workplace tools and makes the final recommendation. Only 15% of companies involve other stakeholders in the business when making buying decisions.
The result of not including employees and lines of business in buying decisions is not achieving ROI because employees aren't using the tools, he said.
Employee experience platforms can help identify where user adoption is faltering and where more training may be necessary.
Addressing the gap between performance and experience
The operational data and application performance metrics that IT sees do not always reflect what employees are experiencing, said Johnny Russ, director of product management at Qualtrics, a provider of employee experience tools.
IT may see data about the tools employees are logging in to or the number of help desk tickets filed, but they don't see data around situations where employees are logged in to an app but having frustrating UX.
"We're often missing appropriate understanding of why this is happening," Russ said.
Employee experience platforms, such as Qualtrics and Microsoft Viva, can provide greater insight into how employees are engaging with tools through features such as training effectiveness surveys, automation and AI-driven analytics. Without these metrics, IT could have a hard time addressing UX.
Or, as Pleasant put it, "You can't fix what you don't measure."
Editor’s note: This article was lightly updated in 2026 to reflect the normalization of hybrid work and evolving approaches to UC user adoption training.
Katherine Finnell is senior site editor for Informa TechTarget's unified communications site. She writes and edits articles on a variety of business communications technology topics, including unified communications as a service, video conferencing and collaboration.
