When companies invest in a Digital Asset Management system, they do so with high hopes for reducing duplicated efforts, enabling a more efficient content supply chain, and ultimately increasing revenue.
What they get… doesn’t always measure up.
88% of businesses say their DAM solutions aren’t being utilized the way they were intended to be used at the time of purchase. That means just one in eight businesses is getting what they expected. Why?
The biggest roadblock to DAM implementation is user adoption. 91 percent of businesses say that user adoption of new systems is their greatest challenge in implementing new DAM solutions.
Common wisdom holds that the reason for this is simple: people hate change. New DAM systems require workers to learn new systems and content management workflows, and many users are simply unwilling or unable to adapt to the necessary changes.
But far more common than employees who hate change are employees who hate feeling like the processes they’ve spent months or years finessing are being overhauled in favor of a new, untested system. Teams start to feel like the core of their mission is compromised by spending more time on systems of record at the expense of getting day-to-day work done. Resentment toward management builds when team members start to feel like changes are made primarily for the benefit of management, not to make their work easier.
The result is all too familiar to many companies that have had a DAM implementation stall (or fail completely) because of low user adoption. Some teams use the new system, but others find their own ways to workaround it. Content silos re-emerge, and low user adoption rates keep many DAM solutions from delivering a true return on investment.
If you’ve had problems implementing Digital Asset Management in the past, you’re not alone. Early uses of DAM created a perfect storm for user adoption conflicts. Most early Digital Asset Management softwares focused on housing all content in a central repository, changing the way users search for and access assets. But not every department thinks of content in the same way, and every team spends time developing processes that work for them. When teams use their old processes and shortcuts in (or around) the new system, they don’t get what they expect, leading to cognitive friction and frustration. Users start to feel they’re spending more time babysitting new software than performing high-value, high-engagement tasks.
Getting users onboard with a new DAM system doesn’t have to be painful. Choose a DAM software that makes your assets visible to every team, while empowering them to see every asset from every department in an intuitive, user-friendly manner.
With modern DAM solutions, your employees can keep their old content management workflows intact — so their intuitive processes stay in place — while realizing efficiency gains from fast access to digital assets across departments, offices and systems.
The best way to ensure strong DAM user adoption is to ask the right questions about your solution before you buy. Check out Avoiding the DAM Value Trap: 10 Questions Your DAM Vendor Doesn’t Want You To Ask for powerful tips on choosing the right solution for your company.