Power to the people? Managing technology democracy in the workplace

Power to the people?
Managing technology democracy in
the workplace
Sponsored by
A report from the Economist Intelligence UnitPower to the people?Managing technology democracy in the workplace
Contents
Preface 3
Executive summary 4
Introduction: Challenging the established order 7
Democracy in action 9Freedom to innovate 10Happier employees, more effective teams 11For the BBC, social media opportunities outweigh the risks 11
New technologies, familiar risks 13Efficiency drain 14Freedom to lose information? 14High-risk technologies 15
Keeping chaos at bay 17No rest for the vigilant 18Training goes missing 18Should IT ease up on the reins? 19
Conclusion 20
Appendix: Survey results 21
© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2009 Power to the people?Managing technology democracy in the workplace
Preface
ower to the people? Managing technology democracy in the workplace is an Economist Intelligence
PUnit white paper, sponsored by Trend Micro. The Economist Intelligence Unit bears sole responsibility for the content of the report. The Economist Intelligence Unit's editorial team executed the survey, conducted the analysis and wrote the report. The findings and views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsor.Our research drew on two main initiatives:
l We conducted an online survey in March and April 2009. In all, 390 executives from seven European countries took part.
l To supplement the survey results, we also conducted in-depth interviews with senior executives and independent experts on technology use in the workplace.
The author of this report was Svetlana Grant and the editor was Denis McCauley. Our sincere thanks go to the survey participants and interviewees for sharing their time and insights on this topic.
June 2009
© The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited 2009 Power to the people?Managing technology democracy in the workplace
Executive summary
echnology changes are often accompanied by fanfare, but in recent years at least one quiet
Ttechnology revolution has been developing in the workplace. Individuals are adopting for work use the applications and devices they have learned to use in their personal lives. Applications previously accessed only on home computers, such as wikis and social networking sites, now appear on business PCs. Nearly every employee is now equipped with a personal mobile device and can become an online publisher with the help of blogs. As a result, employees are challenging the technology status quo in their organisation. Many are demanding "technology democracy"-greater freedom to use the information technology (IT) applications and devices of their choice in order to conduct their work more effectively. Companies are not entirely ready for this development. In Europe, many firms resist the notion of according greater technology choice to employees and business units. Just under one-half-48%-of respondents to an Economist Intelligence Unit survey of European executives conducted for this study say that management of their firms is supportive of expanding technology freedom at the grassroots level, but virtually the same number, 47%, say the opposite. On a hopeful note, executives tend to see more opportunity than risk to their business from this development. Nonetheless, the use of new IT tools goes on at many firms without clear IT guidelines and proper training. In their absence, business risks are likely to increase for these firms.This pressure from below on company management and the IT function will to continue to mount. Generation Y, also known as the "millennials", is populating the workforce in increasing numbers, and it will not be long before they begin advancing to middle management positions. Increasingly reliant on social media, messaging and other personal networking technologies to conduct their work, this generation will challenge the established modes of IT management in organisations.Other key findings from the research are highlighted below.
l Innovation and morale stand most to benefit from technology freedom. Over 40% of European executives are prepared to deal with the risks of technology democracy in order to reap its business benefits. The chief gains, they believe, will come in the form of better grassroots innovation, as well... [download for more]