It can be very disheartening, seeing your people not using the new AV technology systems when your organisation has invested many thousands of dollars into an upgrade. You have spoken to the experts, you have looked at all the great technology options, you are convinced that what you are implementing is the right choice. But, for some reason, your people just don’t use the technology. Why is that?

Here are three of the top reasons or barriers to the uptake of new AV Technology.

The technology is too hard to use.

Perhaps, there are too many steps to get the system working. So, eliminating the steps is probably the key here. You should start by asking some simple questions like “how are you going to be using the technology?”, or “how many steps are there to use that system?” The more steps involved, the worst the experience can be for an end user. People are not really going to adopt new technology, if it is too hard to use. So what can we do about this? You need AV systems designed with the end user experience in mind. The right combination of smart design and product selection can reduce those steps to use right down to one, or maximum two. Ideally, the AV system should require minimum training. By doing this you will see all of a sudden the same people who were hesitating to use the technology, will now start using it.

There is a mismatch of technology and actual needs.

Sometimes people want something, while they really need something else. To avoid making expensive mistakes, taking the time to do a proper Needs Analysis and Discovery can be very helpful. Asking specific questions like “How will this AV technology benefit the end users and the organisation?”, “What specific functions does the tech need to perform, and why are they important?”, "Will the AV be helping to solve specific problems, or achieve specific goals?" These are the types of questions that help uncover true needs and ultimately help organisations make the right AV technology decisions, especially if asked to the right people.

End users were never involved in the journey.

AV technology uptake can often be an emotional decision. You can do everything right, hire the right experts, involve the right people in the design process, but you might still find the end users not wanting to adopt to the technology. As human beings, we need to like something, and more importantly, we need to trust it to be able to use it. These are two big barriers. And if you can’t overcome these barriers, it is difficult to move people from status quo and take an interest in the AV technology.

As a tip from someone who has been working in the AV and Construction industry for a long time, I can tell you we find that a Proof of Concept works really well in commercial projects. The idea behind a Proof of Concept is to take the time to trial a new AV technology solution on a small scale. Set it up in a dedicated area and invite different people in the organisation to come and test and work with it. Let people get comfortable with the new tech and then obtain their real and honest feedback. This way you can take big steps towards overcoming the trust barrier. When you listen to the feedback from end users, you can tweak the AV technology to a point where they like it and will want to use it once implemented on a wider scale in the future. Do this crucial step, and then watch the adoption of new AV technology go through the roof!