Ever since Microsoft launched Windows 11 for public use in October 2021, many companies have shown hesitance in accepting it as their new operating system, especially because of the fear of bad employee experience.
Here are four reasons why Microsoft Windows 11 is leading to a bad employee experience at the moment:
Device Compatibility Issues
Running Windows 11 on your old laptops might be challenging considering the kind of minimum requirements listed by Microsoft. According to Lansweeper, at the moment, only 44.4% of the CPUs in the work environment are compatible with the OS.
This problem in itself the various companies’ IT departments with two very simple questions – Should we replace older laptops with newer, compatible versions just to get a new OS? And is Windows 11 really worth all the added expenditure cost at the moment?
Commonly, the answer to these questions is a big ‘No’.
Non-Instinctive User Interface
Credit: Future
User Experience is a big part of how well and quickly will a user accept the new operating system. In Windows 11, some basic features like opening a file’s folder location have been made more complicated than before. Until now, it used to be a simple one-step process of right-clicking the file. However, if you have Windows 11, you will either have the option to ‘copy full path’ or ‘open’ the file.
Other features like personalising your taskbar and changing your default web browser from Edge to any other brand has also become a lot more complicated than they used to be in Windows 10.
The Fear Of Migration
The big task that IT teams would love to avoid as much as possible – migrating from one system to another. It is not the daunting task of carrying out the process that troubles IT professionals, instead, it is the fear of ‘what if’ that makes them sweat at night. ‘What if the migration process goes wrong?’
The safest option here is always to create a ‘demo project’ of sorts, where the migration takes place on a smaller scale before involving the entire organisation. The shortlisting process may require a few criteria such as:
High Digital Employee Experience (DEX) score.
Variety of devices that will be involved in the migration process.
The various applications that will be used on the new OS.
The Pain Of Getting Familiar With Change
Credit: YouTube/Explaining Computers
While the process of migration always remains a nightmare for the IT team, another issue that negatively affects productivity is the time taken by the employees to adopt the new technology. Ideally, a four-step process must be followed throughout the migration process during which employees might be constantly updated by the IT team for a smoother transition. This process includes:
Creating awareness about the migration date and time, and all the other important guidelines.
One final announcement just before the migration takes place.
A walkthrough of the new technology just after the migration is complete.
Taking feedback from the employees about the migration process for future references.
While the process does feel quite cumbersome, it can easily be carried out through automation. We suggest using Nexthink to enhance the Digital Employee Experience (DEX) in your organisation with the help of real-time analytics, automation, and employee feedback across all endpoints.
Learn More About Nexthink And How It Can Help Your Company Become More Productive
When Should Your Company Start Using Microsoft Windows 11 For Better Employee Experience?
While Windows 11 is struggling to gain the confidence of companies and IT professionals at the moment, it is expected to meet its potential with the upcoming updates. For instance, Microsoft have announced a major update codename Sun Valley 2 for Summer 2022. It is reported to improve user experience with features like a more dynamic taskbar and a system-wide dark mode.
Such initiatives suggest that Microsoft are well aware of the shortcomings of Windows 11 at the moment and are taking the necessary steps to make their newest product the dreamy operating system that it was meant to be.
Therefore, we’d recommend delaying the migration from Windows 10 to Windows 11 until October 2022 to ensure better employee experience.