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Working out loud: Obstacles on the “digital workplace journey” and approaches for overcoming them.

This document is compiled from 2 workshops and will be filled out soon from more workshops. We are “working out loud” on a global scale: Copenhagen, Paris (and soon Berlin.)

Process guided by Jane McConnell @netjmc

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Obstacles on the “digital workplace journey” and approaches for overcoming them.

Membership-based work group: intranet/digital workplace practitioners Paris, Mars 2014 (www.intranetwork.fr)

Workshop in Copenhagen at IntrateamEvent, February 2014 www.intrateam.com, annual conference

From workshops

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•  Make ROI tangible through success stories, interviews, benchmarks •  « Identify exisiting projects that are part of the digital

workplace even if that word is not used. Take advantage of these other initiatives.

•  “Do not fall into the ROI game. •  Focus on examples, external or internal, that illustrate

business value.” •  « High level champion to spread the DW throughout the group »

•  “You often have to do a sales pitch to individual senior managers. Find one person who ‘gets it’ who can then sell it across the Board level through peer pressure. For this to work, you need to have a toolkit to give to the senior manager to use in their discussions with their peers.”

Top management wants to see ROI

From workshops

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•  Global versus local conflicts –  “Accept the situation: this ‘conflict’ is normal and common in

most organizations. Understand that there are many different ways of doing things, and be flexible. Build on your current situation, do not try to “destroy” it . Find out what can bring your different locations/offices together. Meet people in person, and get involved with them. Focus on this common ground, even if it is not ideal.”

•  Create a « human infrastructure », a ‘digital workplace’ community where members will participate in decision-making

•  « Define 1 sponsor + 1 ambassador per country + facilitators/leaders for communities »

Balance between common and specific

From workshops

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•  Prioritize (content, processes) –  Build "persona" based on "how do you work" and not "what

do you need from the digital workplace”. See what the persona need in common.

•  Be alert to process dysfunctions. •  Use them as opportunities to rethink how people work.

•  Start simple. Be concrete. –  “It is hard to get the organization to understand and focus

on the “digital workplace” so start instead with something very concrete: create incentives for people to complete their profiles. See if you can use technology to retrieve profile information from other sources (LinkedIn?).”

Adoption

From workshops

ü  Too much focus on the tool, not enough on people and change

ü Hesitation to rethink processes and ways of working ü Management needs proof of quantifiable ROI ü Decisions based on consensus, slow and long ü  Stakeholder politics, power struggles impact

decision-making

Toughest Challenges (from 314 organizations that participated in the digital workplace survey at the end of 2013)

Manageable, requires special effort

Serious challenge, holds us back

Approximately 50 % of the Majority Approximately 50 % of Early Adopters

From survey