Digital skills in central government
In October 2013, Claremont Communications
commissioned Dods, a leading information provider to
the public sector, to conduct research into current
attitudes to social media in central government, and
barriers to use.
These findings are based on an online survey of 1,722
members of the Civil Service World network.
Source: Dods research for Claremont Communications
Methodology: online survey of 1,722 central government contacts in October 2013
Digital skills in central government
About one in five central government respondents
uses social media for work
74%
18%
I use social
media in my role
3%
I do not use social media and I
do not manage those who do
5%
I am responsible for social
media communications
within my organisation
I manage those who
user social media
Source: Dods research for Claremont Communications
Methodology: online survey of 1,722 central government contacts in October 2013
Digital skills in central government
Social media will become more important to government
Q. How important do you think the use of social media will be for achieving your aims in 12 months' time? Please select
the statement that most closely reflects your views
Much less important than today
1%
Less important than today
1%
25%
As important as today
More important than today
Much more important than today
37%
20%
Source: Dods research for Claremont Communications
Methodology: online survey of 1,722 central government contacts in October 2013
Digital skills in central government
Social media promises the ability to reach audiences and
get feedback quickly, at low cost
Q. How do you / would you like to use social media?
73%
To communicate information instantly to a wide audience
66%
To reach target audiences in a cost-effective way
60%
To gather feedback from target audiences
56%
To influence target audiences’ attitudes and behaviour
55%
To raise the profile of your organisation
54%
To listen to and monitor conversations about a specific topic
53%
To inform and support target audiences for the effective operation of services
52%
To show that your organisation is innovative and progressive
46%
To inform and support target audiences in times of crisis
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Source: Dods research for Claremont Communications
Methodology: online survey of 1,722 central government contacts in October 2013
Digital skills in central government
Within government, people tend to feel their
organisations’ capacity to use social media is weak
Q. How would you rate your
organisation’s level of skill
in using social media?
Don't Know
12%
Very High
3%
Very low
13%
High
10%
Low
29%
Average
33%
Source: Dods research for Claremont Communications
Methodology: online survey of 1,722 central government contacts in October 2013
Digital skills in central government
Half of central government staff feel their own level
of social media skill is low
Don't Know
14%
Q. How would you rate your
current level of skill in using
social media on behalf of your
organisation?
Very High
5%
Very low
27%
High
9%
Average
25%
Low
20%
Source: Dods research for Claremont Communications
Methodology: online survey of 1,722 central government contacts in October 2013
Digital skills in central government
Just one in five feel confident their organisation
can evaluate social media effectiveness
Q. How confident are you that
your organisation understands
how to measure the
effectiveness of social media?
Don't Know
11%
Very confident
3%
Not at all confident
14%
Confident
17%
Not confident
29%
Neither confident nor
not confident
26%
Source: Dods research for Claremont Communications
Methodology: online survey of 1,722 central government contacts in October 2013
Digital skills in central government
Access, policy and culture are barriers to social media use
Q. To what extent are the following barriers to your organisation using social media as effectively as possible?
64%
Being unable to access social media sites because of IT/equipment limitations
54%
A lack of clarity about how social media use fits into your organisation’s wider communications strategy
51%
An organisational culture that does not currently support the use of social media
49%
Being unable to effectively manage risks of social media use
45%
A lack of skills and/or confidence in communicating through social media
43%
A lack of time to use social media
36%
Being unable to measure the effectiveness of using social media compared to other communication channels
25%
The 24/7 nature of social media not being compatible with office hours
24%
A lack of IT skills
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Source: Dods research for Claremont Communications
Methodology: online survey of 1,722 central government contacts in October 2013
Digital skills in central government
Are managers paying lip service to social media support?
Q. To what extent do you agree with the following statements about attitudes to social media in your organisation?
In general, my organisation views social media in a
5%
positive light
18%
26%
30%
11%
11%
Strongly agree
Agree
I discuss how my organisation can use social media with
6%
colleagues
16%
29%
25%
19%
5%
Neither agree nor
disagree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
Managers in my organisation embrace the use of social
3%
media
18%
24%
28%
17%
11%
Don't know
Source: Dods research for Claremont Communications
Methodology: online survey of 1,722 central government contacts in October 2013
Digital skills in central government
The Digital Skills Gym is a flexible programme of
practical learning experiences and connections being
developed to help individuals grow their digital
communications skills in exactly the ways they need.
It is being developed by a group of trainers and practitioners in digital
communication, most of whom have a public or charity sector background, led
by Helpful Technology & Claremont Communications. We are working with a
small group of organisations to pilot the model in the first quarter of 2014.
For more details, contact Steph Gray or Simon Booth-Lucking on 020 3012
1024 or hello@helpfultechnology.com
Source: Dods research for Claremont Communications
Methodology: online survey of 1,722 central government contacts in October 2013