Dimension Data rolls out global intellectual capital program

Dimension Data Global Services has begun the worldwide roll-out of its workforce planning architecture, I-Cap, according to stringently defined business processes.

I-Cap is a move to aggressively attract, grow and retain skills within a diminishing pool of resources and lays strategic resource plans for the future.

"Our mission was to identify, develop and retain intellectual capital within the Group," says Mike Maree, South African head of Dimension Data Global Services. "Once we had been through some innovative strategic thinking about intellectual capital, we designed an architecture to achieve our objectives.

"We have broken new ground in our approach to I-Cap. When investigating the market for models on this issue, we could not find an existing architecture to suit our organisation. The company has experienced such rapid growth that we are in a unique situation - people have not yet had time to retire from Dimension Data in South Africa, for example, and we have had to merge 17 organisations into two, while retaining a sense of identity and culture, and keeping our people motivated.

"And all the while, we need to extract the intellectual capital of the Group, making it part of the common understanding - the group DNA. This different set of challenges meant that we had to specifically tailor our I-Cap architecture."

The architecture also had to fit the current organisational ethos and culture, and take all stakeholders into account. The latter include the Group`s partners, such as Cisco Systems, Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and Nortel Networks who define certification processes for their solutions. The final architecture also had to be workable on a global basis.

I-Cap has now been fully adopted by Dimension Data Global Services, and is being put into place in centres around the world.

A key component is a training architecture. Staff undergo an accreditation programme according to requirements of suppliers, Dimension Data Global Services and the Global Services Online Architecture (GSOA) platform. This training also takes various required life skills into consideration.

"In this way, we start to identify the levels of skill within the organisation," says Maree. "We can then consolidate around a skills system, and design a global exchange programme to enhance skills at appropriate levels."

The I-Cap architecture includes a newly developed appraisal system which takes a 360 degree view of the individual, including customer, management, peer and self views, enabling personal development, goal setting and performance measurement.

"We piloted the appraisal system in Gauteng, KwaZulu Natal and Port Elizabeth and after some modifications have now automated it. The resulting system is online and realtime, allowing for quick, efficient and regular appraisals," says Maree.

"Appraisal results are logged into the call logging system, enabling us to draw in customer satisfaction ratios and other information - this is rapidly becoming one of our most important measurement matrices. They also link to our skills matrix system, enabling us to ascertain skills in each sector. Global rollout of the new appraisal system has begun."

Mentoring is key to I-Cap as it allows knowledge to be shared downwards. Another vital element is training, not least because the environment changes so often and so radically that the rules of engagement change continually.

"The amount of work required to keep our training programmes up-to-date is massive," says Maree. "Very few organisations can boast their own training division that can achieve this with a good understanding of the organisational culture and spread of accreditations needed for us to be a true integrator and to provide global services. The Dimension Data Learning Centre (DDLS) is already the biggest network training organisation in Australia and Asia."

I-Cap also forms part of Dimension Data`s Top Gun programme, which identifies top engineering people and gives them a forum in which to share knowledge and ideas. This programme is now also being adopted in Australia and Asia.