Survey and Benchmarking at the Annual Conference

S&B Finalizes Procedures for Roundtable and Ad Hoc Surveys

ChemITC member CIOs have long cited the value that comes from participation in the Annual IT Survey. From the effort it takes to compile and evaluate one’s own IT practices to the trends revealed from the composite data, the Annual IT Survey helps ChemITC members understand their IT focus areas and budgets relative to the industry as a whole.

ChemITC members now have more opportunities to benefit from the identification of industry trends. In addition to the Annual IT Survey, the Survey and Benchmarking program also offers three other ways for ChemITC members to benchmark their use of technology – roundtables, Ad Hoc surveys and threaded discussions. Roundtables are networking surveys that can help companies understand activity and opinions surrounding particular issues of member interest. Ad Hoc surveys are limited in scope and can be created to solicit feedback on a specific subject. Threaded discussions are interactive surveys designed for questions that are broader in nature and require an explanation around the subject. Each of these additional benchmarking capabilities enable ChemITC members to better understand how various technology solutions are being implemented in the industry and gauge their own company’s progress.

Roundtables
A roundtable is different from an Ad Hoc request in that it is structured and prioritized with the intent that a large number of companies with common interests will participate. Any interested company from the ChemITC membership may request a roundtable. The Survey and Benchmarking program has identified a roundtable leader who will review requests and together with the Steering Team approve a limited number of roundtables for development.

A team of volunteers, including the person originally making the request, will be formed to create each of the approved roundtables. The team is responsible for developing instructions to provide data, defining data elements, creating supporting presentations, collecting pilot data from companies on the team and more. Once the roundtable is approved for routing, the team will work with the ChemITC Panel Manager to distribute the roundtable and solicit member feedback. Following the collection and validation of data, the roundtable will be posted to the Survey and Benchmarking SharePoint site.

Ad Hoc Questions and Threaded Discussions
Both Ad Hoc questions and threaded discussions are defined as questions which are intended to enhance understanding of a particular issue with a particular scope within the bounds of the ChemITC charter. Ad Hoc questions are characterized as being more specific in nature and not requiring elaborative text, whereas threaded discussions tend to be more general or broader in scope.

The ChemITC Panel Manager in coordination with the Survey and Benchmarking Program Director generally facilitates the distribution of Ad Hoc questions, which are typically sent to a targeted number of members to probe deeper into a particular topic of interest. The member requesting the Ad Hoc question is responsible for compiling the results and sharing it with any members that chose to respond to that question.

Threaded discussions use the ChemITC SharePoint work space to help ensure equality of access by all interested members. Because of the nature, population size and communication requirements imposed on these, all eligible members of the strategic program or networking group hosting the discussion are invited to participate.

Next Steps
ChemITC’s Survey and Benchmarking program works to provide companies with a better understanding of industry-wide IT trends and enables members to evaluate aspects of their organization relative to industry peers. It allows members to gather benchmarking information to measure individual company performance, make more informed IT decisions and facilitate progress toward improvements goals. Providing members with opportunities to gain insights from their peers though roundtables, Ad Hoc surveys and threaded discussions is another positive step in helping the Survey and Benchmarking program fulfill its vision to measure improvements in the use of information technology by continually enhancing the organization’s survey and benchmarking capabilities.

To obtain a copy of either the Roundtable Operating Procedures or the Procedure for Ad Hoc Questions and Threaded Discussions, or to submit a topic for consideration to the Survey and Benchmarking program, please contact ChemITC Panel Manager Bridgette Bourge. If you are interested in learning more, please visit the Survey and Benchmarking Program online at www.chemitc.com.