GlobalWebIndex Launches B2B Workforce Dataset, Partners with Slack on First Report Examining Global State of Work

Industry-first research capabilities help businesses understand the modern B2B professional

The 'State of Work' report from Slack and GlobalWebIndex identifies the top global challenges organizations face in the modern workforce, and how to overcome them. | www.slack.com/state-of-work (Graphic: Business Wire)

NEW YORK--()--GlobalWebIndex, the leading supplier of digital consumer insights to the global marketing industry, today launched its Workforce dataset to help Business-to-Business (B2B) organizations inform brand and product strategy with unprecedented insights into how professional and consumer behaviors collide.

The first study to leverage the new Workforce dataset, commissioned by Slack Technologies, Inc., explores The State of Work with unprecedented insights from a dedicated B2B panel of 17,000 respondents overlaid with 40,000 existing data points from the GlobalWebIndex core dataset.

“The demands on knowledge workers are manifold - analytical thinking, innovation, active learning, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and complex problem-solving all demand their time and attention,” says Jason Mander, Chief Research Officer at GlobalWebIndex. “To be effective, workers need more transparency into the strategic objectives of their organization -- they need a line of sight into the company’s North Star. With this new B2B research capability, we aim to provide leading organizations of all sizes with a data-led, actionable understanding of the employee and consumer requirements their business outcomes rely on.”

Christina Janzer, Director of Research and Analytics at Slack adds, “In today's fast-paced, high-pressure world of work, the immediate impulse is often to try and manufacture alignment by doubling down on communication for communication's sake. This research illustrates that by streamlining information and helping workers communicate and use their time more efficiently, businesses can bring increased alignment and productivity to the workplace.

Top findings of The State of Work report include:

The benefits of an aligned workforce are readily apparent -- aligned workers have a clear understanding of their company’s strategy, their own personal goals and how those two things connect. 90% of them know what they need to do in their roles to be successful.

‘The Alignment Paradox’ puts 325,000 hours of productivity at risk if not addressed carefully -- globally, collaboration and communication must be improved, but organizations must refine, not simply add to, alignment strategies; 64% of workers spend at least 30 minutes per day switching between apps, amounting to 325,000 hours of lost annual productivity for an enterprise of 2,500 employees working 260 days per year.

Hourly communication with coworkers, 3-4 meetings per day and quarterly goal-setting create the most aligned workers -- these parameters resulted in workers being the most aligned with their company’s vision, values and principles, and in turn being more engaged with contributing to its progress.

A combination of team meetings and collaborative channels provides the most effective communication -- while workers report meetings and email announcements are most useful for delivering strategic communications, collaborative channels offering two-way communication are key to helping them understand the strategies.

Slack’s State of Work Report leverages this data to better understand the experience of modern workers and how they want their employers to set them up for success. Specifically, what do aligned workers look like, why does having aligned workers matter, and how do companies attract and retain aligned workers? To access The State of Work report in full, visit www.slack.com/state-of-work.

To learn more about GlobalWebIndex’s Workforce dataset visit https://www.globalwebindex.com/b2b.

Methodology

In 2019, Slack partnered with market research firm GlobalWebIndex to undertake multi-market, quantitative research designed to understand the views of knowledge workers as well as the trends impacting the future of the workplace.

Slack and GlobalWebIndex co-designed the questionnaire, which GlobalWebIndex then fielded as an online, 20-minute survey to 17,000 knowledge workers across 10 markets. The surveyed population spanned an age range of 16-64 years; more than 40 industries; all company sizes; and all career levels (from skilled/semi-skilled workers and office staff to senior executives).

Definitions:

Knowledge worker: Employed individuals who hold an office position and/or work with data, analyze information or think creatively in a typical work week.

Aligned worker: Survey respondents who agreed with the statement, “I feel aligned with my company’s vision, values and operating principles.”

Unaligned worker: Survey respondents who disagreed with the statement, “I feel aligned with my company’s vision, values and operating principles.”

About GlobalWebIndex

GlobalWebIndex is a market research company headquartered in London that provides audience insight across 46 countries to the world’s largest brands, marketing agencies and media organizations. It gathers in-depth insights into audience behaviors, perceptions and interests through a combination of survey and analytics data using the GlobalWebIndex platform.

Clients including Twitter, Google, Spotify, WPP, IPG and Omnicom Group can gather in-depth insights into audience behaviors, perceptions and interests through a combination of survey and analytics data using the GlobalWebIndex platform. The company maintains a global panel of more than 18 million connected consumers, which it leverages to create over 40,000 data points on the behaviors and perceptions of internet users around the world. In 2019, GlobalWebIndex expanded its profiling capabilities to include 17,000 working professionals across 10 global markets and 40 industries.

About Slack

Slack is where work happens. Slack is a new layer of the business technology stack that brings together people, applications and data – a hub for collaboration where people can effectively work together, access critical applications and services, and find important information to do their best work. People around the world use Slack to connect their teams, unify their systems and drive their business forward.

Contacts

Hotwire Global for GlobalWebIndex
Nikeisha Maddox
globalwebindexus@hotwireglobal.com

Slack PR
Kate Sheehy
pr@slack.com

Release Summary

GlobalWebIndex introduces 'Workforce' dataset for B2B; the first report, commissioned by Slack, explores the experiences and needs of modern workers.

Contacts

Hotwire Global for GlobalWebIndex
Nikeisha Maddox
globalwebindexus@hotwireglobal.com

Slack PR
Kate Sheehy
pr@slack.com