Digital Workplace Trends survey now open

This week sees the launch of this year’s Digital Workplace Trends survey, the largest and most detailed study of intranets and enterprise online services.  Now in its seventh year, this annual report has become an invaluable reference tool, providing detailed analysis of technology, management, strategy and governance of all aspects of the digital workplace.

Today the Intranetizens give you five reasons why you should participate in this year’s survey.

1. The more of us take part, the better the data will be

Any type of organisation, from global megacorps to SMEs, can participate as long as the respondent is someone who has some degree of responsibility or involvement in the intranet or digital workplace.

The scope of the survey includes digital workplace context and capabilities, leadership & management, social collaboration, mobile, cloud computing, security in the digital workplace, and budget policies & plans. The more diverse the participants, the better the quality of the report will be – reflecting the wide spectrum of digital workplace maturity across diverse organisations and industries.

2. Take part and you get a copy of the research

Adding to the sum total of knowledge is all well and good, but what’s in it for you personally? Well, by taking part you get a free copy of the resulting report, “Digital Workplace Trends 2013″, when it’s published in December.
The report is an invaluable reference to help write a business cases, benchmark progress and levels of innovation with other organisations and gain an invaluable perspective on future trends. As in previous years the survey also highlights the characteristics and achievements of “leadership class” organisations,  identifying what they are doing today and what they are planning for the future – helping organisations understand what they need to do to become leadership class themselves.

3. It’s actually a great way to understand the scope  of your own digital workplace

While you’ll gain value from reading the report when it comes out, the very process of gathering the required information is surprisingly useful too. The detailed nature of the survey means you’re likely to need to reach out to others in your organisation to get all the necessary information. This provides a handy annual audit of your own intranet strategy, and helps you gain a clearer understanding of the digital workplace in your own organisation – giving you information you can act on right away.

4. It’s more focused than ever before

In the seven years it’s been running, the survey has evolved, reflecting the way intranets and digital workplace innovation has evolved.

In 2011 the Global Intranets Trends survey was re-named the Digital Workplace Trends survey, marking a change of emphasis – away from traditional intranets, instead seeking to define and characterise the digital workplace.

Commenting on the launch of this year’s survey, Jane said: “This year is a turning point for the digital workplace.  We all know people need more than the intranet. The question is: why do they need more and how can we provide it?  For me, the fundamental questions are why, how and what, in that order.

“We too often start with the what:  for example, “what is the digital workplace”. We forget the why. This year’s survey will identify the whys and hows for organizations around the world. The what will be an obvious conclusion based on the answers to the first two questions.”

This year, Jane put together an Advisory Board, with over 250 years digital experience between them. This group – collaborating online, of course – helped define the scope and questions, providing feedback on iterations of the survey in order to make it even more focussed and relevant.

5. It’s easier to complete than previous years

This year Jane’s introduced a Word format copy of the survey which can be easily emailed to colleagues to gain their input – a simple innovation which makes gathering information from within your organisation much easier.

I’m sold. How do I take part?

The survey opened yesterday (10 September) and runs until the end of the month. Visit the signup page on Jane’s NetJMC site and give your details.

You’ll need to set aside around 45 minutes to complete it, plus some additional time to collect information from colleagues. We’d say this is time very well invested.