Four Hidden Work

Personalities

Conducted by Amarach Research,

commissioned by Microsoft Ireland

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Engaged well respected research firm Amarach

A short 10 minute questionnaire was developed to ask

employees questions in relation to information sharing and

knowledge exchange in their workplace.

The survey was conducted online and quotas were set on

Gender, Age & Region to be representative of workers in Ireland

according to the 2011 census.

A total sample of 600 workers was achieved and Interviewing

fieldwork dates were January 14th – 17th.

Research Methodology

3

7

29 4

18

4

29

39

20

38

4 8

C. Profile of Sample - II

C-Suite/Owner

% % %

(Base: All Irish Employees - 600)

The sample provided a mix of junior to senior level employees, from companies ranging in

size and sector. The public sector represented the largest group at 22%.

Seniority No of Employees Sector

MD/Manager Director

Supervisor

Junior

Other

22

14

11

10

9

7

5

5

5

3

9

Public sector

Professional services

Retail

Engineering/Construction

Technology

Tourism/Hospitality

Financial Services

Not for profit

Pharma/Life Sciences

Marketing/Sales

Other

250+

51-250

6-50

1-5

Don’t know

4

Research Findings

Broker Bill

• Aged 35-44

• Mid to senior level

management

• On €60,000+ (ABC1)

• Office based

• Tech savvy and a

heavy Linked In

User (up to 4 social

network platforms)

• Use tech to share

information – sees

info as valuable for

collaboration

• Uses more

channels to share

• Will use a variety of

devices to share

information

• Broker Bill is the

ideal candidate

for ES

Hoarder Harriet

• Female

• 55+

• ABC1/C2DE

• Earns less than

€20k

• Office (part time)

• Laptop prime info

tool

• LinkedIn user

• Believes other

hoard info for

value

• Expect reward for

sharing

• Will resist

change and new

technology

Dissipating

Denise

•Male/female (15-24 &

45-54 years

•C2DE (some will be

part time)

•Earns Less than €20k

• Uses Facebook

heavily to share

information.

• Will not use other

technology to share

information

• Prefer face to face

communications

• Does not see much

value in collaboration

• Not always sure that

the information that

they have is valuable.

• Waster Wills are the

least positive

knowledge worker

profile.

Trader Theresa

•Male/female (equal

split)

•15-24 years

•C2DE

•Most likely to use a

smartphone and

apps to share

information as well

as a laptop

•Trader Theresa

uses knowledge to

gain advantage but

may not be fully

aware of value.

•She will work in

organisations that

encourage trading

of information, but

not be totally aware

of what is being

traded.

Professional

Services/Engineering Tourism/Hospitality

Retail/Technology Not for Profit

Broker Bill Hoarder Harriet Trader Theresa Dissipating

Denise

• Aged 35-44

• Mid to senior level

management

• On €60,000+

(ABC1)

• Office based

• Tech savvy and a

heavy Linked In

User (up to 4 social

network platforms)

• Use tech to share

information – sees

info as valuable for

collaboration

• Uses more

channels to share

• Will use a variety of

devices to share

information

• Broker Bill is the

ideal candidate for

ES

• Female

• 55+

• ABC1/C2DE

• Earns less than

€20k

• Office (part time)

• Laptop prime info

tool

• LinkedIn user

• Believes other

hoard info for value

• Expect reward for

sharing

• Will resist change

and new

technology

•Male/female (15-24 &

45-54 years

•C2DE (some will be

part time)

•Earns Less than €20k

• Uses Facebook heavily

to share information.

• Will not use other

technology to share

information

• Prefer face to face

communications

• Does not see much

value in collaboration

• Not always sure that

the information that

they have is valuable.

• Waster Wills are the

least positive

knowledge worker

profile.

•Male/female

(relatively equal split)

•15-24 years

•C2DE

•Most likely to use a

smartphone and apps

to share information as

well as a laptop

•Trader Theresa uses

knowledge to gain

advantage but may not

be fully aware of value.

•She will work in

organisations that

encourage trading of

information, but not be

totally aware of what is

being traded.

Common areas/issues across all these personas: • Value Face to Face Communication (but not for all the reasons you would expect)

• They seek out companies that best match their sharing style (small business in

particular attracts Broker Bills)

• Nearly two thirds really value the information/knowledge they have, again higher

among older employees (who probably have more valuable information). They

believe information should be more freely shared, but fear others hoarding for

advantage

• Individuals who recognise themselves as traders or wasters are much more likely to

say they work in waster companies

• Only 27% of companies say they are utilising technology effectively to allow for the

transfer of information and knowledge within their organisations. Those in the public

(21%) and retail (19%) sectors are least likely to score highly on this question.

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Internal vs External Perception

How the Personae's

see their sharing in a company

How Personae's colleagues

see their sharing

Insights

• People over rate themselves as

brokers

• People are attracted to what they know

(small business in particular attracts

Broker Bills)

• Employees of small companies (1-5

employees) are more likely to share

competitor info or marketing

knowledge while employees of bigger

companies (250+) are sharing

company info and HR info.

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Information Sharing Channels Used in the

Company

%

(Q.12b/c)

(Base: All Irish Employees - 600)

1-5 6-50 51-250 251+

60 (82) 50 (82) 45 (81) 44 (82)

19 (54) 26 (63) 33 (72) 40 (84)

6 (14) 3 (23) 5 (38) 6 (49)

3 (59) 6 (62) 6 (57) 2 (66)

2 (21) 5 (42) 4 (39) 1 (47)

2 (10) 4 (16) 3 (38) 3 (42)

3 (11) 3 (13) 3 (15) 1 (14)

3 (8) 2 (7) 1 (12) 1 (14)

2 (36) 1 (34) 2 (35) 1 (39)

81% of employees say that face to face communication is the most used channel to share information in

their business additionally 48% of workers believe that this is the most effective method for getting the

right information around. 30% also see Email as the most effective way to share information.

Most Effective Method

Company Size Method Used

48

30

5

4

3

3

3

2

1

81

69

32

60

38

26

14

10

36

Face to Face

Email

Share via Internal System

Telephone

Hard Copy (Paper)

Shared Company Drive

Social Networks

Shared Cloud Drive

Mobile Phone

(Text/Whatsapp)

( ) = Method use score

9

57

43

20

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Reasons Colleagues Do Not Share Information

Total

%

(Q.18)

(Base: All who said some colleagues do not share 534)

Trader Broker Waster Hoarder 1-5 6-50 51-

250 251+

58 56 60 54 47 51 63 67

42 44 39 49 39 46 37 42

16 17 20 24 14 17 22 24

10 9 8 5 10 10 6 6

57% of employees who said that their colleagues don’t share information have the view that

they do so because they want to use it for their own personal advantage. Those in 51-250

(63%) and those in 251+ (67%) companies were more likely to have this point of view.

They use information

for personal

advantage

Do not have any

valuable information

They use knowledge

to trade with others

Don’t Care/Don’t think

it’s relevant/Not

Interested in job/Other

Colleague Profiles Company Size

10 This is about getting the culture and technology correct. Larger companies use more channels to share information. However, the gap in attitudes towards channels is consistent across company size, e.g., phone is recognised as a poor method for sharing information. While tech sharing methods do not score highly on effectiveness, we know that companies who are leading the way on are more likely to be broker companies. 41% say a centralised system for storing information would be effective, with most support coming from large companies, 48% Employees see customer research as a potential channel to mine to gain more information relevant to their job. SM & customer support information represents valuable untapped sources of information. Organisations need to recognise that the broker culture is key to successful sharing and effective use of information across the organisation. Sufficient training is key to effective Enterprise Social tool adoption

Summary

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