How does information really flow throughout an organization? Who’s actually doing the real work?

These crucial effectiveness questions and others can be answered through social network analysis, a means of mapping out how knowledge is shared and where valuable work is accomplished to help organizations improve their performance.

Social network analysis has its origins in sociology and now provides practical business insights that can lead to more efficient operations. A formalized process, it maps and measures the normally “invisible” relationships between people, groups, organizations, and computers – all the information-dispensing entities throughout an operation.

Information seldom flows from the top down, or even from the bottom up. It’s much more likely that it flows horizontally, through a web of informal channels created among employees. And until an analysis is performed, it’s an undocumented and untapped process of sharing.

Charting these informal networks distinguishes the ways organizations gather, manage, and use the knowledge their workers acquire. The links between people and groups are identified to show the true relationships, or flows, between them.

The process uncovers where information is shared, where it’s buried or hoarded, and where obstacles occur, revealing patterns in communication. It illustrates who is and who isn’t in the information loop. And it lets organizations begin to better manage those networks and job performances to their operational advantage.

Leveraging informal networks

Knowing how employees identify and capture knowledge is key to the broader dissemination of that information, and to improving outcomes by determining best practices. Some companies use this information to their advantage in areas of performance, competitiveness, and even innovation.

By mapping out networks and creating a kind of nontraditional organizational chart, organizations can

• Identify vulnerable areas and strong points in operations.
• Study the way people really relate, which may be in sharp contrast to the way management believes based on an official organizational chart.
• Identify employees who are “thought leaders” and in positions of great influence, even though they may not appear to be so on an organizational chart. Companies can then accelerate the flow of information by engaging these unofficial “information brokers.”

Mapping networks: a revealing exercise

An analysis can reveal how a workplace is informally networked. It examines activity (those who have the most direct links to others), connections (those who are the only links between two different groups, and therefore enjoy powerful positions), and closeness (those who have the shortest path to others, providing an excellent view of what’s going on).

As in real estate, network mapping is all about location, location, location. A person with the greatest number of direct connections is not necessarily at an advantage. What matters is where those connections lead. By contrast, another employee may have fewer connections, but be in a key information spot, such as between two important people. This gives him a powerful role in the network, but one that’s high risk to the operation because information can be easily hoarded or ignored.

Ultimately, if a network is very centralized, an operation is at risk of great disconnect. A less centralized network is more resilient, with enough links to keep the information flowing and the work going.

Giving new meaning to “information age”

A network analysis allows an organization to view the problems and opportunities related to workplace knowledge and communication exchange. With map in hand, the management team can design ways to respond to issues and plot progress in improving social connections, knowledge flow, and work performance.

Organizations can also boost performance by closing the gaps in worker knowledge and quickly bring new employees up to speed. The analysis can further provide an understanding of workplace structure and how work is accomplished, so companies can make smarter decisions about the formal organizational structure.

And because the map provides a visual overview of the way knowledge is shared, an organization can identify key components of working relationships to eliminate future barriers and build operations that perform more effectively.