Brief:

• Only half (55%) of key decision-makers feel prepared to implement voice-activated technologies to improve their organization's internal operations, according to tech developer Globant.
• Globant's report highlights a gap between personal and professional uses of voice technology. For example, 44% of senior employees use the tech daily in their personal lives, but only 31% say that they use it daily at work. Likewise, 72% of employees use the tech weekly in their personal lives, but only 53% use it weekly at work. One-third (33%) report never using it while on the job.
• Despite many companies not being prepared to implement voice into daily operations, the report also shows that most respondents think the technology is important. Three-fourths of decision-makers said they think companies that can offer voice interactions are more sophisticated than those that can't. In addition, 34% of executives think voice can provide their organizations with faster customer service responsiveness, 23% think it will help them connect with customers in a more conversational manner and 22% think it will improve search capabilities.

Insight:

The Globant study indicates significant skepticism toward voice technology in the workplace, even as many professionals are accustomed to using the assistants at home. These results point to a challenge facing voice hardware and services from companies like Amazon and Google, as opposed to smartphones and tablets, which have been widely adopted by businesses. This could hinder overall adoption of voice technology.

​Globant recommends that organizations learn from their experiences with other emerging technologies like social media, and apply those lessons to their voice strategies. Businesses felt pressure to join sites like Twitter and Instagram in 2017, and the compulsion to do what was trendy overpowered measured decision-making, per the report. The lack of strategy has led companies to undo their investments in social channels after realizing their customers didn't respond as expected, Globant said. The firm recommends that organizations try to demystify voice tech now and develop strategies to guide future investments in the tech.

Voice may be useful in business settings that are heavy in physical interaction or manual labor, including warehousing, merchandising, mail rooms and conference meetings, Globant said. For example, fulfillment specialists in warehouses may be able to use voice to identify, order and communicate missing inventory by announcing the product in question hands-free. The voice system would respond by logging the event, placing an order in real time and updating inventory numbers while the employee moves on to the next task.

When it comes to customer service, the biggest consideration is in determining how voice engagement is relevant to consumers and how they wish to interact with a brand. A voice-powered experience could be relevant because consumers may need to be hands-free while doing another task, like driving or doing things around the house. It's important to bring on voice where it's most useful for the user, not where it most easily mimics humans, per Globant.