Mapping Personal Networks

Another way to approach network analysis within your intangible capital knowledge factory is to zoom down to the level of individual workers.

One of the common ways of using this kind of map is to identify and find patterns in the interaction between groups of employees and/or groups of external people. This kind of analysis can be used to identify critical sources of knowledge, the “go-to” people to find information or solve problems. It can also be used to understand the knowledge exchanges that happen—who helps connect people together, who helps solve problems and those with specialized knowledge.

A simple but very clear example of this kind of analysis was published a number of years ago by some of the leaders in the field of social network analysis in an article entitled Knowing What We Know. It described a company that had made significant investment in knowledge management technologies. Within this company, there was a large division with an organization chart like this:

In the research described, the flow of information within this division was examined. It produced a very different pattern from the org chart:

This map makes it clear that a mid-level manager, Cole, was very important to the flow of information. This represented a risk to the organization. Cole could become overburdened. Further, if he were to leave the organization, there would be a big hole in the communications flows. A key outcome of this analysis was to channel some of the requests that Cole was receiving to other managers. Other findings included the fact that the most senior manager, Jones, was one of the most peripheral people in the network and needed to re-engage with the group. Finally, it was clear that a recent office move by the subgroup at the top had separated them from their peers, a situation remedied through more deliberate communication and instant messaging.

Although very simple, this example illustrates the power of network analysis at the level of individual people in your organization. Much larger analyses are now possible using visualization software. Social network analysis can be done for groups of all sizes and purposes. In the medical device company described above, for example, this approach would mean moving beyond roles and mapping people—each of the 80 or so internal and several hundred external players—as one large network or as a series of geographical networks across the country. Or in a research network, it could mean mapping players in multiple organizations across the globe. The goal of any of these is to identify the quantity of information flows and the role played by individuals in the network.

Adapted from Intangible Capital: Putting Knowledge to Work in the 21st Century Organization by Mary Adams and Michael Oleksak.