itd #5 09 sep 2011 | social media and the cio
TRANSCRIPT
8/4/2019 ITD #5 09 Sep 2011 | Social Media and the CIO
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ITD #5 ‘Social Media and the CIO’
© IT Decisions 9 September 2011 - All Rights Reserved
SocialmediaandtheCIO ITDResearch#5:Sep9,2011
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ITD #5 ‘Social Media and the CIO’
© IT Decisions 9 September 2011 - All Rights Reserved
IntroductionWeb and mobile technologies are now focused on
encouraging dialog – social media is everywhere. Every
newssiteyoureadwantsimmediatefeedbackfromthe
readers.Everybloghasanoteattheendsoyoucan‘like’itorsenditontoyourfollowersonTwitter. The web has moved on, from pushing information to
readerstoencouragingparticipantstouploadtheirown
information, and a new evolutionary wave offers an
immediate feedback loop. Web users don’t just upload
their comments and photos, but offer immediate
feedbackontheinformationcreatedbyothers.
Andsocialnetworkinginparticular,theuseofsocialtoolstoconnectwithotherpeople,hasexplodedinpopularity
overthepastfiveyears.Butwhilemanyexecutivessee
these tools as a way of listening to conversations,
learning what people think, and just plain old business
networking,othersstillseethemasawasteoftime.
It’s no surprise that many companies ban their
employees from accessing tools such as Facebook and
Twitteratwork.TakealookatthewallofmostFacebook
users; it’s rarely got anything to do with work. Twitter
‘tweets’ can be serious one moment, sharing political
information in another, and then debating the football
resultswithaTVcelebrity.
But tools such as LinkedIn, use similar principles to
connect people together and yet are
seen as “serious” business tools. Many
largeorganizationsnowturntoLinkedIn
asthefirstplacetolookwhenhiringnewemployees. LinkedIn use has increased
byover400%inBrazilinthepastyearso
there must be something that
companies are finding useful in these
tools.
Genuine business applications of social
networking, such as recruitment, has
shifted the perception of these tools
frombeingfocusedonteenagegamesto
the exploration of how greater
connectivityandinformationsharingcan
helpbusinessleaders.
In our research this week, we have
explored the question of how CIOs
should be using social media and
networking tools. Is it essential for you
to take the lead as an IT leader, or do
these tools still need to prove their
worth in the real world of business
beforebeingadoptedintheoffice?
“…LinkedInusehasincreasedby
over400%in
Brazilinthepast
year.”
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ITD #5 ‘Social Media and the CIO’
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ParticipantFeedbackToexploretheissueofexecutivesusingsocialmedia,inthisweek’sresearchsurveyweaskedfour
questions–threeofwhichweremultiplechoiceandonedesignedtopromoteanopendiscussion. Wereceivedanswersfrom23executivesfrom17industrysectors:consumerservices,financial
services,shipbuilding,cosmetics,foodproduction,insurance,retail,logistics,media,automotive,
chemicals, telecommunications, internet, oil & energy, recruitment, food & beverages and
engineering.
Question1:IsitimportantforseniorITexecutivestobeseentobeusingsocialmedia?
Thisisanalmostoverwhelmingvoteinsupportofsocialnetworkingandmediatools.With47.8%
ofourITleaderrespondentssayingthatitisimportanttobeseenusingsocialmedia,andafurther34.8%sayingthatitisimportantin‘somejobs’itisclearthattechnologyexecutives
believethattheyshouldbeseenusingthesetools.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12
Yes
No
Insomejobs,butnotall
47.8%
17.4%
34.8%
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ITD #5 ‘Social Media and the CIO’
© IT Decisions 9 September 2011 - All Rights Reserved
Incrudeterms,8outof10ITleadersinBrazilbelievethattheirpeersandteamsshouldseethat
theyareusingsocialmediatools.
Butwhatdotheygetfromtheironlinepresence?Thenextquestionasksspecificallyabout
businessnetworking.
Question2:Doyoufindsocialmediausefulfornetworkingandexchangingideaswithpeersin
othercompanies?
Thoughsocialmediaisthebroadtermsforallformsofmediathatinvolvesomesocialinteraction,socialnetworkingisperhapswhereitismostuseful–usingtoolssuchasLinkedIntoconnectwith
peopleandtoexchangeideas(orjusttofindanewjob!)
Whenaskedaboutnetworkingusingsocialtools,theanswerisclear–theITexecutivesinourpoll
allfindsocialmediaausefulwaytostayintouchwithpeers.Justunder70%claimedtofindit
usefulfornetworking,andtheremainingITleadersallsaidthatitwassometimesusefulfor
networking.
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
Yes
No
Sometimes,butnotregularly
69.6%
0%
30.4%
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ITD #5 ‘Social Media and the CIO’
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NotasingleITleaderinourpollsaidthattheydonotfindsocialmediausefulfornetworkingwith
peersintheirindustry.
Clearly,networkingisthe‘killerapp’forsocialmedia,buttherearemanyotherwaystousesocial
connectivity–suchascommunicatingtoyourownteamwhenitislarge,diverse,andspread
acrosstheworld.
Question3:Doyoufeelthatsocialmediaplaysausefulroleforinternalcommunications,
helpingyouworkwithalarge,diverseteamthatmayevenbeglobal?
Heretheresponseismoremeasured,butstilloverwhelminglyinfavorofsocialtools.Themost
popularresponse,at43.5%,indicatesthatITleaderssometimesfindsocialtoolsusefulin
communicatingwiththeirteam,butanalmostequal39.1%saythatthetoolscertainlyareuseful.
Ofcourse,thequestionaboutinternalcommunicationandmanagementcanbeaffectedbythe
sizeofthecompanyanditsfootprintinBrazil.Largermultinationalcompanieswillprobablyfind
internalcommunicationsisextensivelyboostedbytheuseofsocialtools,companiesbasedona
singlesite,orevenasinglecountry,maybeabletomanagewithagoodold-fashionednotice-
board.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Yes
No
Sometimes,butnotregularly
39.1%
17.4%
43.5%
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ITD #5 ‘Social Media and the CIO’
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Whatisclearthoughisthatonly17.4%oftheITleadersinourpollsaidthattheydon’tfindsocial
mediausefulatallwhencommunicatingwiththeirteam. Question4:Itisnow12yearssincebloggingstartedand8yearssinceFacebooklaunched,could
you explainyour thoughtsonwhatyou thinksenior ITexecutives can gain fromusingsocial
mediaand whether it is possible for a senior IT executive towork effectivelywithout these
tools?
ThemostinterestingandrelevantCIOresponsesexploringthesechallengesaregroupedtogether
byindustry:
Engineering-Theissueistodealwithexpectationsandreceivingfeedback
I really dobelieve that the use of social mediawouldbe interesting in the management of IT
departments as well as internal marketing. Internal communications would flow more easily
throughthestructureofthecompanyandinaconsistentmanner.
Butthisappliesmuchmoretomanagerswhoareconfinedtothestrategiclevel,whichisnota
realityformostITexecutiveswhostillneedtobalancethestrategicmanagementwiththeday-to-
dayofthefunction,alwaysrunningshortoftime.Evenwithalltheknownbenefits,theuseofany
mediaalsogeneratesexpectationsonthepartofthepersonreceivingtheinformation,aswellas
therisksofoverexposure.
Wemustalsoconsiderthatmanymanagersarenotpreparedtoreceivefeedbackaboutwhatis
disclosed to provide appropriate follow-ups, consideration and return - which may end up
underminingthewholeeffortinusingthesetypesofmediaandgeneratingatotallyadverseresult
towhatwasinitiallyplanned.
ConsumerServices-Socialmediacanincreaseproductivity,butitisstillunderused
Surely, itispossibletoworkwithoutsomeof the toolsavailabletoday.Theemergenceofnew
patterns of communication and information management is creating new situations and
possibilities,allowdifferent ways ofworking,and insome casesmakeswork easier and moreproductive.
However,Ithink[socialmediatools]arestillunderusedinthecorporateenvironmentasameans
toimproveeffectiveness,exceptforgreaternetworkingopportunities,whichisveryeffectivefor
anyprofessional.
FinancialServices-Neitherfirmsnorworkerscanbeeffectivewithoutsocialmedia
Thechangebroughtaboutbysocialmediaaffectsallseniorexecutivesincompanies,notjustIT.It
turnsusersintoconsumersofmedia.Thisbasicandfundamentaldifferencechangesthewaywe
thinkaboutITanditslimits.Neitherfirmsnorworkerswillbeeffectivewithouttheuseofthesetools.Donotfight,adapt.
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ITD #5 ‘Social Media and the CIO’
© IT Decisions 9 September 2011 - All Rights Reserved
Shipbuilding-Socialmediarefuseniksaremissingoutonabehavioraltrend Ibelieveitispossibletobepresentinsocialnetworksinordertointeractandunderstandhow
theycanhelpinthewayorganizationsdobusiness.Thiscanbedonewithoutnecessarilyhavingto
sharedetailsandinformationyoudonotwanttodivulge.Insummary,Ibelievenottobeinsocial
networksistobeoutofwhatisafundamentalbehavioraltrend.
Cosmetics-Youcannotreplacetheagilityofsocialmediaforreallife
Thesocialmediabringtogetherwhoisfarawayandwho'snear.Theremustbeabalanceandnot
a dependencyon the use of tools such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn. Wecannot lose the
essenceofwhoweareinreallifeinexchangefortheagilityofvirtuallife.
Food&Beverages-CIOsmustunderstandsocialmediaandbereadytosupportitsuse
SocialmediaisarealityandICTmanagerhastounderstandthemandbepreparedtorespondto
requestsforitsinternaluse.Atthesametime,wemustnotforgettheproblemofsecurityandthe
employeeproductivitydilemmathatforcesustocreatecontrolsinthefrequencyofuse.
FoodProduction-SocialmediaresultshavebeenlimitedtoHR
Despitethesignificantgrowthofsocialmediaovertheyears,Ihaveaslightperceptionthatfor
CIOs, significant gains with its use have not come about, except from the perspectives of
recruitment/selectionofITstaff.
FinancialServices-Geographicallydisperseteamscanbehelpedbysocialmedia
Thesetoolsfacilitatetheinteractionwithdispersedteams,andhelpsintermsofkeepingintouch
withcolleagues,whomayalsobegeographicallydispersed.
Insurance-Socialmediacanhelpareasincludingsales,butitisnotcrucialfortheCIO
Socialmediatoolsarethemeansandnottheend.Theyrepresentmorethanonechannel,which
is,ofcourse,veryusefulforsales,relationshipbuilding,researchandcommunication.Ithinkitis
veryefficient,butnotrequiredformanagementperformance.
Retail-Infrastructureplanningcanbesupportedbysocialmediatools These tools have the potential to indicate trends and behaviors, which should be taken into
accountintheplanningprocessofthecompany’sITinfrastructure,dependingonthesectorin
whichthebusinessoperatesandtheimportancethatitplacesonsocialmedia.
Insurance-Instantmessagingcanhelpovercomelocation-basedbarriers
Yes,itispossible[toworkwithoutsocialmediatools],buttheuseofTwitterorinstantmessaging
softwaregreatlyfacilitatescommunicationincaseswherethegeographicquestionpresentsitself
asanimpediment.
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ITD #5 ‘Social Media and the CIO’
© IT Decisions 9 September 2011 - All Rights Reserved
Logistics-Fast-flowinginformationcanbringmanybenefitsinashortspaceoftime Ithinkthewayinwhichwecommunicatehaschangedandinformationflowsmuchfasterinthe
socialmediarealm.Itisalsotruethattheremaybeaproblemaroundqualityofinformation,but
thepersonalnetworkitselfsolvesthatproblemquickly. Ibelievethenetworksareveryeffectiveinmaintainingtheevolutionofknowledgethroughthe
distributionofinformationandespeciallyofthediscussionsthatariseoneachtopic.Itisanopen
fieldwherethedirectandfrankdebateoftenbringsmanybenefitsinashortspaceoftime. Itisworthmentioningthatwhatmayhelpmayalsodestroy:anexamplewouldbecomments
and/ormisleadinginformationbeingusedasthesolesourcefordecisionmaking. Media-Theexecutive’sdailylifecanbeimprovedwithsocialmediause IdonotthinkthesetoolsinterferewiththeeffectivenessofaseniorITexecutive.Ibelievethat
theyenhanceandfacilitatetheday-to-daylifeofprofessional,bringingadvantagessuchasbetter
approachesandrelationshipswithyournetwork,exchangeandacquisitionofideas,experiences
andpointsofviewandopportunitiesforexposureoftheirpersonalandprofessionalvalues. Automotive-Blogscancreateadirectchannelbetweenmanagersandstaff Forlargeorganizations,theuseofinternalblogscanbeausefultooltodisseminateideasand
decisions,whichinsomecircumstancescreatesadirectlinebetweenthemanagerandallthe
stafforcommunitywherehe/sheoperates. ButtheuseofFacebook,despiteitbeingsimpler,cangenerateproblemsofunwantedexposure
ofcompanyfactsacrosstheweb. Chemicals-Twitterisanexcellenttoolto“feelthepulseoftheplanet” Personally,IuseTwitterasabasisofmytechnicalandgenericreading.Ithinkanamazingtoolto
feelthe"pulseoftheplanet."Fromanenterprisestandpoint,wewereslowertoadoptthem,but
wehavesomesuccessstories.Ithinkitisnotpossibletobeleftout! Insurance-Socialmediamaybearoundforawhile,butresultsarenotyetsignificant Sure,Iwouldsaythatevenaftersolongthesekindsoftoolshaveyettodemonstrateitsvalueto
thecorporateenvironment.EvenamongorganizationsactiveinthatrespectIstillthinkthatthe
benefitsintermsofproductionofsocialmediaarestillverysuperficial.However,inthe
relationshipwithcustomers,ithasshowngreatresults.
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ITD #5 ‘Social Media and the CIO’
© IT Decisions 9 September 2011 - All Rights Reserved
ConsumerServices-ITteamsstillcan’tusesocialmediainaprofessionalmanner
ThereareseveralothercollaborativetoolsthatcanbeusedbyITmanagers(suchasemail,video
conferencing,andsoon)tocommunicatewiththeirteams.ITteamsarenotmatureenoughto
usesocialmediaonlyinaprofessionalsenseandtheriskoflosingproductivityandfocusistoo
big.
Telecoms-Socialmediacanimprovethedisseminationofinternalcommunication
Socialnetworkshelpspreadtheideasandguidelinesofthecompanyacrossteams,especiallywhentheyaredistributedinseveralsiteswithalotofpeople.Communicationiskeyandthe
(internal)socialmediatoolssupportthatgoal!
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ITD #5 ‘Social Media and the CIO’
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Conclusion&ExecutiveSummarySocialnetworkingisanemotivetopic.Employeesbarredfromusingthesetoolsatworkcomplain
thatitistheir‘right’toremainconnectedtotheirsocialnetwork–evenwhenatwork.Asaresult,
manysubvertworkplacebansbyusingsocialnetworksviatheirsmartphonesorotherdevices.
Many executives see social networks, and media in general, as little more than a marketing
device,awayofbroadcastingcorporatemessagestoenthusiastic‘viewers’.Yet,asLinkedInhas
demonstrated,thereareindustriessuchasrecruitmentthatarebeingtornapartandreshaped
becauseofsocialnetworkconnectivity.
SeveraloftheITleadersinourpollrespondedwithwordstotheeffectof:“Itwouldbepossibleto
workwithoutsocialmediatools,butitwouldnotbeaseffectiveorcomprehensive…”or“these
toolscangreatlyfacilitateyourwork.”
This grudging acceptance of social media tools can be summarized as executives with the
followingattitudes:
• Thereisnoprovenbusinesscasethatforcesmetousethesetoolsand,untilitisproven,I
willwaitandseewhathappens.
• Thetoolsarejustnotneededformetodomyjob.I’vealwaysmanagedwithoutthesetoolsandIcancontinuetodoso.
• Ijustdon’treallyunderstandthevalueoftellingpeoplewhatIamdoingallthetime.Who
readsthisstuff?
• Igivetheordersaroundhere.WhywouldIwant‘feedback’onwhatIgetmyteamtodo?
The bottom line is that many executives find the application of the tools exciting and useful.
Informationcan beshared and locatedeasily,but defininga businesscase thatwouldactually
encourageemployeestoactivelyusesocialnetworkingtoolsisharder.
Can investment in hardware and software be justified and how exactly can endless hoursnetworkingalwaysbeconsidered‘productive’?
However, most of the IT leaders featured in our research were receptive and positive to the
possibilities.Justlookattheresponsetoquestion2whereeverysingleITleadernotedthatthese
toolsareveryusefulforconnectingtoindustrypeers.
ThesearethefivekeyareaswheretheITleadersinourresearchfoundthatsocialmediaand
networkingtoolscanplayausefulroleforthemodernITexecutive:
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• Informationmanagement.Intimesofinformationoverload,toolslikeTwittercanbea
veryusefulwaytofilternewsfromthejournalists,publications,analysts,andindustry
expertsyouadmire.Farfromwastingtime,byfilteringthenewsinthiswayyoucangain
andabsorbmorerelevantinformation,faster.
• Industrynetworking.Keepingintouchwithcolleaguesyouonceworkedwithandmay
workwithinfuture,aswellasalumnifromthesameuniversityandpeersinthesame
industryisfareasierwithsocialnetworks–withtheaddedbonusoffuss-free
communication.
• Recruitment.ToolslikeLinkedInofferincrediblefacilitiesforscoutingpeoplebylocation
andexperienceandkeepingintouchwithpeopleyoumaypossiblyworkwithinfuture.
Thishaschangedtheentirenatureoftherecruitmentprocess–anyHRspecialistwill
confirmthis.
• Internalmarketing.TheCIOalwayshastoensuretheinternalcustomerknowswhatis
happeningwithIT.Ifthecustomerdoesn’thearfromyou,theyassumeyouarenotbusy,
sosocialtoolscanbeagreatwaytoshareinformationaboutITprojectsandpriorities.
• Connectingteams.ManyITteams–whethertheyareinternalorexternal–arebasedin
multiplelocations,sometimesindifferentcountriesandsometimesworkingfordifferent
companies,butonthesameproject.Socialtoolscanbeusedtocreateacohesivevirtual
team.
Butdespiteallthesebenefits,ITexecutivesstillneedtowalkthetalk.SeveraloftheITleadersin
ourresearchnotedthat,despiteallthebenefitsofferedbysocialmedia,ifthemanagerdoesnot
workwithhisteam,orexpectssocialnetworkingtoreplacepersonalcommunication,thenthey
willsuffer–noteveryinteractioncantakeplaceonline!
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ITD #5 ‘Social Media and the CIO’
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