Findings from an Amárach survey for Microsoft on the four types of personalities in the workplace when it comes to sharing data and information. More details here: http://www.amarach.com/blog/2014/03/broker-trader-hoarder-or-squanderer.html

1. Four Hidden Work
Personalities
Conducted by Amarach Research,
commissioned by Microsoft Ireland

2. 2
Engaged well respected research firm Amarach
A short 10 minute questionnaire was developed to ask
employees questions in relation to information sharing and
knowledge exchange in their workplace.
The survey was conducted online and quotas were set on
Gender, Age & Region to be representative of workers in Ireland
according to the 2011 census.
A total sample of 600 workers was achieved and Interviewing
fieldwork dates were January 14th – 17th.
Research Methodology

3. 3
7
29
4
18
4
29
39
20
38
48
C. Profile of Sample - II
C-Suite/Owner
% % %
(Base: All Irish Employees - 600)
The sample provided a mix of junior to senior level employees, from companies ranging in
size and sector. The public sector represented the largest group at 22%.
Seniority No of Employees Sector
MD/Manager
Director
Supervisor
Junior
Other
22
14
11
10
9
7
5
5
5
3
9
Public sector
Professional services
Retail
Engineering/Construction
Technology
Tourism/Hospitality
Financial Services
Not for profit
Pharma/Life Sciences
Marketing/Sales
Other
250+
51-250
6-50
1-5
Don’t know

4. 4
Research Findings

5. Broker Bill
• Aged 35-44
• Mid to senior level
management
• On €60,000+ (ABC1)
• Office based
• Tech savvy and a
heavy Linked In
User (up to 4 social
network platforms)
• Use tech to share
information – sees
info as valuable for
collaboration
• Uses more
channels to share
• Will use a variety of
devices to share
information
• Broker Bill is the
ideal candidate
for ES
Hoarder Harriet
• Female
• 55+
• ABC1/C2DE
• Earns less than
€20k
• Office (part time)
• Laptop prime info
tool
• LinkedIn user
• Believes other
hoard info for
value
• Expect reward for
sharing
• Will resist
change and new
technology
Dissipating
Denise
•Male/female (15-24 &
45-54 years
•C2DE (some will be
part time)
•Earns Less than €20k
• Uses Facebook
heavily to share
information.
• Will not use other
technology to share
information
• Prefer face to face
communications
• Does not see much
value in collaboration
• Not always sure that
the information that
they have is valuable.
• Waster Wills are the
least positive
knowledge worker
profile.
Trader Theresa
•Male/female (equal
split)
•15-24 years
•C2DE
•Most likely to use a
smartphone and
apps to share
information as well
as a laptop
•Trader Theresa
uses knowledge to
gain advantage but
may not be fully
aware of value.
•She will work in
organisations that
encourage trading
of information, but
not be totally aware
of what is being
traded.
Professional
Services/Engineering
Tourism/Hospitality
Retail/Technology Not for Profit

6. Broker Bill Hoarder Harriet Trader Theresa
Dissipating
Denise
• Aged 35-44
• Mid to senior level
management
• On €60,000+
(ABC1)
• Office based
• Tech savvy and a
heavy Linked In
User (up to 4 social
network platforms)
• Use tech to share
information – sees
info as valuable for
collaboration
• Uses more
channels to share
• Will use a variety of
devices to share
information
• Broker Bill is the
ideal candidate for
ES
• Female
• 55+
• ABC1/C2DE
• Earns less than
€20k
• Office (part time)
• Laptop prime info
tool
• LinkedIn user
• Believes other
hoard info for value
• Expect reward for
sharing
• Will resist change
and new
technology
•Male/female (15-24 &
45-54 years
•C2DE (some will be
part time)
•Earns Less than €20k
• Uses Facebook heavily
to share information.
• Will not use other
technology to share
information
• Prefer face to face
communications
• Does not see much
value in collaboration
• Not always sure that
the information that
they have is valuable.
• Waster Wills are the
least positive
knowledge worker
profile.
•Male/female
(relatively equal split)
•15-24 years
•C2DE
•Most likely to use a
smartphone and apps
to share information as
well as a laptop
•Trader Theresa uses
knowledge to gain
advantage but may not
be fully aware of value.
•She will work in
organisations that
encourage trading of
information, but not be
totally aware of what is
being traded.
Common areas/issues across all these personas:
• Value Face to Face Communication (but not for all the reasons you would expect)
• They seek out companies that best match their sharing style (small business in
particular attracts Broker Bills)
• Nearly two thirds really value the information/knowledge they have, again higher
among older employees (who probably have more valuable information). They
believe information should be more freely shared, but fear others hoarding for
advantage
• Individuals who recognise themselves as traders or wasters are much more likely to
say they work in waster companies
• Only 27% of companies say they are utilising technology effectively to allow for the
transfer of information and knowledge within their organisations. Those in the public
(21%) and retail (19%) sectors are least likely to score highly on this question.

7. 7
Internal vs External Perception
How the Personae's
see their sharing in a company
How Personae's colleagues
see their sharing
Insights
• People over rate themselves as
brokers
• People are attracted to what they know
(small business in particular attracts
Broker Bills)
• Employees of small companies (1-5
employees) are more likely to share
competitor info or marketing
knowledge while employees of bigger
companies (250+) are sharing
company info and HR info.

8. 8
Information Sharing Channels Used in the
Company
%
(Q.12b/c)
(Base: All Irish Employees - 600)
1-5 6-50 51-250 251+
60 (82) 50 (82) 45 (81) 44 (82)
19 (54) 26 (63) 33 (72) 40 (84)
6 (14) 3 (23) 5 (38) 6 (49)
3 (59) 6 (62) 6 (57) 2 (66)
2 (21) 5 (42) 4 (39) 1 (47)
2 (10) 4 (16) 3 (38) 3 (42)
3 (11) 3 (13) 3 (15) 1 (14)
3 (8) 2 (7) 1 (12) 1 (14)
2 (36) 1 (34) 2 (35) 1 (39)
81% of employees say that face to face communication is the most used channel to share information in
their business additionally 48% of workers believe that this is the most effective method for getting the
right information around. 30% also see Email as the most effective way to share information.
Most Effective
Method
Company Size
Method
Used
48
30
5
4
3
3
3
2
1
81
69
32
60
38
26
14
10
36
Face to Face
Email
Share via Internal System
Telephone
Hard Copy (Paper)
Shared Company Drive
Social Networks
Shared Cloud Drive
Mobile Phone
(Text/Whatsapp)
( ) = Method use score

9. 9
57
43
20
11
Reasons Colleagues Do Not Share Information
Total
%
(Q.18)
(Base: All who said some colleagues do not share 534)
Trader Broker Waster Hoarder 1-5 6-50
51-
250
251+
58 56 60 54 47 51 63 67
42 44 39 49 39 46 37 42
16 17 20 24 14 17 22 24
10 9 8 5 10 10 6 6
57% of employees who said that their colleagues don’t share information have the view that
they do so because they want to use it for their own personal advantage. Those in 51-250
(63%) and those in 251+ (67%) companies were more likely to have this point of view.
They use information
for personal
advantage
Do not have any
valuable information
They use knowledge
to trade with others
Don’t Care/Don’t think
it’s relevant/Not
Interested in job/Other
Colleague Profiles Company Size

10. 10
This is about getting the culture and technology correct.
Larger companies use more channels to share information.
However, the gap in attitudes towards channels is consistent across
company size, e.g., phone is recognised as a poor method for sharing
information.
While tech sharing methods do not score highly on effectiveness, we
know that companies who are leading the way on are more likely to
be broker companies.
41% say a centralised system for storing information would be
effective, with most support coming from large companies, 48%
Employees see customer research as a potential channel to mine to
gain more information relevant to their job.
SM & customer support information represents valuable untapped
sources of information.
Organisations need to recognise that the broker culture is key to
successful sharing and effective use of information across the
organisation.
Sufficient training is key to effective Enterprise Social tool adoption
Summary

11. 11