Prysm revealed today in a new commissioned study conducted by Forrester Consulting that while 75 percent of IT and facilities leaders said their executives and line-of-business leaders are putting moderate to extreme pressure on them to create or implement innovative collaboration solutions for employees, information workers find in-office technologies stunted and ineffective – much to the surprise of IT technology managers.

What are the disparate notions among IT and facilities leaders and information workers in the workplace regarding technology initiatives?

The majority of IT and facilities leaders surveyed said that the following initiatives are a top or high priority for their company, while the majority of workers disagreed. Answers to the following questions varied widely between the two groups, with key findings including:

• Is improving employee productivity prioritized?
• 88 percent of IT leaders say it’s one of the top priorities or a high priority, compared to only 47 percent of             workers.
• Is your company fostering employee collaboration?
• 74 percent of IT leaders identify it as a priority, while just 31 percent of workers feel the same.
• Is fostering innovation a priority?
• 72 percent of IT leaders say their company is placing sufficient focus on innovation, while only 39 percent of             workers feel their companies are making it a priority.

What do workers want their IT and facilities teams to know?

• Workers do not define work as a “place” anymore, and it has changed the way they work and what tools they need at their disposal.
• Nearly all workers surveyed reported challenges with their company’s collaboration application and technology tools.
• IT and facilities managers consistently underestimate the challenges and overestimate the effectiveness of technology-enabled meetings at their companies.
What benefits are available to IT managers who can bridge the gap for knowledge workers?

• Gains can be easily found, as money is currently left on the table due to lost innovation and delays resulting from lack of collaboration technology in many of today’s enterprises.
• Helping workers succeed with technology in their ability to work at any time, in any place, on any device, will promote better collaboration, productivity and gains for their company.
• Next-generation collaboration technologies will boost employee engagement, which the study suggests can improve productivity, engagement and business initiatives, as well as staff growth and retention.

“We were also surprised that this study revealed such a big disconnect in thinking from the IT and facilities leaders to the information worker. What we were not surprised by is the enthusiasm from both sides of the aisle, both IT/facilities and information workers, that next-generation collaboration features have broad appeal across both groups,” said Paige O’Neill, CMO, Prysm. “We have seen firsthand from Prysm customers the gains they have made in boosting collaboration, efficiency and employee engagement by implementing Prysm Visual Workplace, and most recently our mobile feature – connecting employees from any location, at any time and on any device.”

While the study revealed a large gap between IT and facilities leaders and information workers, it also revealed that next-generation collaboration features appeal to workers and decision-makers alike. The May 2016 commissioned Thought Leadership Paper developed from the survey: Digital, Disparate, and Disengaged: Bridging the Gap Between In-Office and Remote Workers, conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of Prysm, offers three key recommendations to quickly help drive productivity, effectiveness and employee retention. The study can be downloaded below.

Prysm is here.