THE BLOG
OF JANE McCONNELL
September 6, 2016
Here is more data I’d like to share as I continue to work on the 2016 report. Please think about this and share your reactions. #wol
One of my first reactions is to ask “where did search go?” Both enterprise search and social search are at the bottom of the list. Why?
Responses on the chart show the % that said “available organization-wide” and “available in some parts”.
Maybe Search is just too hard to do well. So we focus instead on the fun stuff—the things that make media buzz.
As I’ll show you later, these deployment figures are just the beginning. What really matters is how they impact work practices—as individuals, as teams and across the organization.
In the meantime, here’s the chart. The full descriptions for each item follow.
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August 31, 2016
Today I’m working on the learning theme for the 2016 report. I’d like to share some data with you and see what you think.
The survey question asked respondents to indicate their agreement or disagreement (5-point scale) on these statements:
- Our approach to training/learning is primarily experiential and is based on simulations, games and case studies, coaching and mentoring.
- Our approach to training/learning is primarily delivered by experts/trainers explaining and giving talks either online or in a classroom.
- When it comes to personal development, our organization’s philosophy is that people are primarily responsible for acquiring new skills and knowledge.
- When it comes to personal development, our organization’s philosophy is that HR and managementare primarily responsible for ensuring that people acquire new skills and knowledge.
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August 29, 2016
For the first time, in this 10th year, I looked into working out loud.
Background: For those not familiar with the concept, you can read more here on my blog where there’s a brief list of early proponents. You can download a copy of Dennis Pearce’s thesis (University of Kentucky) Developing a Method for Measuring ‘Working Out Loud‘ (immediate pdf download) published in 2014. You read the blog of John Stepper, author of Working Out Loud (published in 2015). You can simply do a search on the internet “working out loud” or search Twitter using the hashtag #wol.
There’s lots of stuff out there, but I wanted to know what’s really happening. So I asked the following question on this year’s survey- The Organization in the Digital Age 2016.
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August 27, 2016
As you know, I’m working out loud this year as I prepare the 2016 report: The Organization in the Digital Age. Well, I’m embarrassed and very annoyed with myself that I made a significant mistake. I was going too fast in my desire to share. I trust you to forgive me, and I promise to continue working out loud over the next weeks anyway!
Here’s the deal. This past week, I published 2 posts and charts here and here about the primary goals for digital transformation initiatives from the full survey viewpoint and the HR viewpoint. Unfortunately, they were based on an error in the database which has now been corrected.
Impact on the findings: Efficiency now at the top. Talent and new business models still at the bottom
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August 25, 2016
Aug 26, 2016: This post has been updated based on correcting an error in the data base. More here about that.
I posted a chart a couple days ago showing the primary goals for digital transformation according to the 311 people who participated in the 2016 survey. Quite a few comments came back to me about the low position of “support talent management and recruitment” and one person asked about the profiles of the respondents.
So I ran the chart for the segment of people who reported having an HR function—25 out of 311—and found no major differences. In both cases, “Support talent management and recruitment” is the lowest goal. (paragraph updated) 
There are different ways to interpret this chart as well as the previous one. (more…)
August 22, 2016
Aug 26, 2016: This post has been updated based on correcting an error in the data base. More here about that.
The 2016 research involved 311 people from 27 countries. I’m now working full out on analyzing the data, writing and interviewing people for the case studies. That’s my excuse for being “offline” for the past weeks.
But, in the spirit of working out loud, I will be sharing pieces of information and analysis as I work through the data.
One of the first observations is that implementing fundamentally new business models is clearly on the back burner, as organizations are focusing on what needs to be improved today. Surprised?
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June 12, 2016
I got a lot of requests at the end of last week for more time to do the 2016 survey: The Organization in the Digital Age. It made sense to extend the deadline, and it is now June 30th.
Get in touch if the new deadline makes it easier for you to participate!
Some useful links are:
Participation options
Topics covered
Sign up form
And, last but not least: Sponsorship opportunities
June 8, 2016
This is the presentation I gave in Paris early June at the Enterprise Digital Summit (#entdigi). Please note that all the data from 2016 is provisional until the on-going survey actually closes! But my gut feeling is that the overall picture won’t change much.
I’ll update this presentation as soon as possible. Drop me a note if you’d like to know when it is updated.
May 22, 2016
For the first time in 10 years of annual surveys and reports, I’ve decided to look for sponsors — people or organizations who want to support independent research about organizations in the digital age. The three sponsorship packages along with demographics and distribution information are described in the slide deck below. You can view it on SlideShare by clicking on the link below.
You can also download it in PDF format here: Organization Digital Age-Sponsorship Opportunities.
You can read more about the research here, as well as industry feedback here.
May 16, 2016
Most people believe that knowledge goes out the door when people leave their organization. In both my 2014 and the 2015 research results, fewer than 15% of the respondents felt very confident or relatively confident that knowledge stays in the organization when people leave. The vast majority expressed varying degrees of lack of confidence.
Knowledge is dynamic. It is not something you can store in a document so that others can find and use it. People often confuse knowledge for information, except when they really need it. Then they see that knowledge—information in context shared by people with experience—is radically different from information gleaned from reading a document.
Knowledge evolves over time. Knowledge that was considered authoritative yesterday may be out of date today. Even worse, we don’t know if something is still valid or not. How can we get around this dilemma? By making knowledge sharing part of the foundation of how we work today.
Forget tomorrow, and focus on today. Tomorrow will then take care of itself.
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