Social Networks at Work Patti Anklam Leveraging Context, Knowledge, and Networks Hutchinson Associates How work really gets done.

©2002 Patti Anklam  Six degrees of separation Concepts in (Social) Networks  Small worlds..who you know has a great deal to do with what you come to know

©2002 Patti Anklam Social Capital Customer StructuralHuman Social  Social capital consists of the sum of active and potential resources that are available through the network of relationships that exist  … and is fundamental to the creation of intellectual capital New knowledge comes through combination and exchange

©2002 Patti Anklam Social Network Analysis (SNA)  Social Network Analysis is focused on uncovering the actual network of relationships  The success or failure of organizations may depend on managing the context of these networks.  Analysis can produce understanding as well as action.

©2002 Patti Anklam Who analyzes networks?  The study of networks is an essential element in the research on complex adaptive systems, as applied to: The Internet Power grids Molecular biology  Application of and research in social network analysis is broad and diverse: Social sciences Economics Epidemiology Homeland defense (terrorist networks) Management science

©2002 Patti Anklam Typical Questions in an SNA Analysis  How frequently you receive information from others that you need to do your job  How well you know the knowledge and skills of others  Your level of confidence that if you ask this person for help they will actively engage in problem solving with you  How much more effective you could be if you could communicate more with other individuals Survey includes the capture of key demographic information, including group or subgroup, level in hierarchy, geographical or physical location, tenure, and so on.

©2002 Patti Anklam Output Provides Insight into Different Aspects

©2002 Patti Anklam SNA Leads to Meaningful Questions Formal Structure Informal Structure

©2002 Patti Anklam Cross-Business Information Flow = President = Operations = Product Line A = Small Accounts = Product Line B = Product Line C = HR/Finance = Large Accounts I frequently or very frequently receive information from this person that I need to do my job. Network Measures Density = 17% Cohesion = 2.3 Centrality = 9 Central People NS (21) DH (19)

©2002 Patti Anklam Quantitative Measures  Density – percentage of ties that exist out of the total possible  Distance – the “degrees of separation”  Cohesion – the average distance  Centrality – extent to which the network relies on only a few key individuals  Central individuals – those who are in the key networking roles

©2002 Patti Anklam Quantitative Analysis Provides Management Insight Density. Data provides the percentage of information-getting relationships that exist out of the possible number that could exist. It is not a goal to have 100%, but to target the junctures where improved collaboration could have a business benefit.

©2002 Patti Anklam Comparative Metrics Provide Benchmarks/Best Practices

©2002 Patti Anklam SNA Moves People to Action  Provides concrete and actionable view of flows and relationships: Makes concrete how work is happening in comparison to the formal structure. Makes visible the aspects of a group that we can work with.  Qualitative and Quantitative aspects: Graphics are very meaningful to people. Data enable metrics, provide meaningful information when there are very large numbers of people The combination “cracks the code” of delivering this type of diagnostic data to managers  Proven uses in: Planning for reorganization (or post-reorganization) Identifying key people prior to mergers or acquisitions Succession planning and retention Knowledge creation and sharing Improving organizational effectiveness

©2002 Patti Anklam SNA Identifies the Unofficial Organizational Roles  Central connector  Boundary spanner  Information broker  Peripheral specialist …always provides insights and at least one surprise! From Harvard Business Review June 2002, “People Who Make Organizations Go – Or Stop

©2002 Patti Anklam Using the Results of SNA  Organizational Leadership work Restructuring and process redesign Staffing and role development Categories of Interventions  Developing Networks Tools and technologies (expertise locators, discussion forums, and so on) Collaborative knowledge exchange and getting acquainted sessions  Individual action Personal and public Personal and private

©2002 Patti Anklam Applications for Social Network Analysis  Inform the planning of workflow software and collaboration systems  Support critical junctures in networks that cross boundaries  Identify people in key knowledge roles Aid in planning for succession and retention Reward invisible work  Understand integration before or after re-organization, merger, or acquisition  Establish team context before a major project  Identify lead users for change management programs

©2002 Patti Anklam Process of SNA Project 1.Obtain management sponsorship 2.Choose the network and participants 3.Prepare the network (set expectations) 4.Design and distribute survey 5.Analyze and prepare data 6.Interview central people to validate the context 7.Present results 8.Generate action plan 9.Follow up

©2002 Patti Anklam Critical Success Factors  Management commitment  Focus on exchanges that create and sustain work  Identification of all key people in network  Obtaining sufficient context to present the results objectively  Sensitivity to individuals’ concerns about how the data will be used

©2002 Patti Anklam Six Myths about Informal Networks*  To build better networks, we have to communicate more  Everybody should be connected to everybody else  We can’t do much to aid informal networks  How people fit in is a matter of personality (which can’t be changed)  Central people who have become bottlenecks should make themselves more accessible  I already know what is going on in my network *Rob Cross, Nitin Nohria, and Andrew Parker, MIT Sloan Management Review, Spring 2002

©2002 Patti Anklam More Information  Patti Anklam Hutchinson Associates (978)  Seth Earley Earley & Associates (781) Acknowledgment. This work in social network analysis was bootstrapped through participation in research with the Institute for Knowledge-Enabled Organizations (IKO). Rob Cross and Andrew Parker, researchers, provided “above and beyond” support for key projects as well as solo projects during my learning process.