The phrase "associates use" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used when referring to the way in which associates (colleagues or partners) utilize something, such as tools, methods, or resources.
Example: "The associates use a collaborative platform to share their ideas and progress on projects."
Alternatives: "partners utilize" or "team members employ".
Kleiner partner Chi-Hua Chien tells us that partners and associates use a proprietary data-mining software called Dragnet.
Jackal and his associates use search engines and thousands of RSS feeds to stream information from every possible source on the Internet.
For another thing, when we're sitting around the campfire we never speak in the tumid rhetoric of armageddon and violent conflict which Mr. LaPierre and his N.R.A. associates use much of the time.
Nordstrom, an avatar of customer service, is installing a wireless network and stationary terminals that can replace the sales staff's "personal books," notepads that sales associates use to write down personal information about regular customers, like clothing sizes and favorite brands.
In this issue of Cell Metabolism, Rakova and associates use an unprecedented study design to characterize long-term salt balance in humans (Rakova et al., 2012).
Teamster Union officials, such as 1957 Union President Jimmy Riddle Hoffafandnd 1983 Union President Jackie Presser, were intricately linked with Moe's previous syndicate, i.e., the Cleveland Syndicate, and the organized crime group in Las Vegas, and they let Moe Dalitz and his associates use the Pension Fund as their private bank (Newton 2009).
Ms. Chávez and her accused associates used technology no more advanced than their cellular telephones and sport utility vehicles, court documents show.
Francis Dunne and his associates, using their discretionary powers, allowed the placing of the first three to stand but suspended Marquez, who rode Rube the Great, for 10 days.
According to the Panama Papers, Putin's associates used a variety of offshore structures to move vast sums of money around the world.
Mr. Tan and his associates used Milan as a gateway for their endeavors in Italy.
Too few people were willing to speak, much less allow a reporter to use their names, and Weinstein and his associates used nondisclosure agreements, payoffs, and legal threats to suppress their accounts.
