What is KNETMAP™ and what
might it be used for?
KNETMAP™ is a data-gathering tool that generates a visualization or knowledge
network map. Network data is a special form of conventional data because it shows the relationships between the people who provide the data. Examples of usage are: Subject Matter Expert Networks, Task Networks (who works with whom), Innovation
Networks (best practices and improvement processes), Communities of Practice (informal clusters in social networks).
How can I become a Pilot site?
Complete our online form. You will be contacted
by a KNETMAP™ representative within 48 hours. For further information in
confidence, contact us by emailing helptech@knowinc.com
or by telephone (416) 410-0855.
In a typical implementation, who gets involved?
The HR staff person would be involved to the extent that they supply attribute data.
You need a project sponsor such as a lead executive. You need a point person to ensure
that surveys are completed and worded properly. If INFLOW analysis is included, then an IT
person would be involved in exporting the data. (For large organizations such as IBM, we
have trained people in INFLOW analysis. INFLOW is the standalone Windows-based analysis
software. KNETMAP is the Web-based data-gathering and mapping software.)
The project leader would introduce the topic, for example, "We’ve just merged
and we want to optimize our new working relationships. This survey will take an x-ray of
our organization. We’ll be inviting you to participate… etc."
As outside consultants, we will help lead the effort. We have different communication
plans for the launch depending on what you are attempting to map and study in your
organization. For example, participants may be advised not to exaggerate what they do and
who they work with when they respond to the surveys.
How many questions are typically asked?
Four to eight questions will generally address a particular dynamic. If you ask the
question at the beginning of the day, by the end of the day they’ve responded. A
KNETMAP pilot includes 52 questions, but they can be run at any time. The results are
archived.
We have standard questions for a "health checkup" in an organization.
When is an organization most likely to consider social network
analysis?
We are usually invited when a problem has not responded to normal interventions, or
when the complexity of an issue, such as replacement planning, requires additional tools
for decision-making. Our approach is human-oriented, and not structural. It does not
require any major changes to the work environment. By focusing
on the individual and their [work] relationships with other
individuals, KNETMAP data is ideally suited for providing
management with a more informed perspective of workplace dynamics or to address a known
problem in a specific area.
What percentage of the population must participate in a
survey for validity? What are the risks if only 50% of the population responds to the
survey?
We don’t usually survey everyone. We will survey a department, or a project team,
or those involved in a cross-company alliance. We survey anywhere from 20 to 800 employees
in a typical situation. We try to get everyone to participate because getting a good
cross-section in your distribution list is important. If you’re only getting 50% of
the population participating, and particularly if the key players are missing then we keep
pressing for more data. We prefer to have participation of 85% or higher of the group we
have decided to survey. Again, it depends on what you’re surveying. If you are
mapping a subject matter expert network, full participation is not so critical. If you are
doing a survey where you are looking for confirmed ties [A says he/she works with B, and B
says he/she works with A] then participation will have to be high or you will see many
unconfirmed ties.
Is it advisable to poll everyone or just "ask the
experts" when running a survey?
A good cross-section is important for peer-evaluated surveying. Management does not
frequently know who the experts are. You want to discover who goes to which experts, so
you survey all those who may be involved in the survey topic.
What are some of the outcomes of organizational network analysis?
Again, it depends on what you are addressing in your organization. Internal expertise?
Retirement planning? Career planning? The biggest payoff, of course, is not the maps and
metrics, but the conversations that start to happen between managers when they see a map
of their department reflecting a particular dynamic. They will frequently start to say,
"That explains why a particular project did not take off…"
How are attributes assigned to the nodes?
Attributes are part of the data set that would be provided by the HR department. We
typically ask for first name, last name, email address and one to three attributes,
depending on the type of survey you plan to administer. If you are doing retirement
planning, then "years from retirement" is an important attribute. If you are
studying turnover, then gender or length of service might be an appropriate attribute.
Attribute data can be provided by HR in comma separated text files. The attribute groups
you provide us with will determine how we "slice and dice" the results.
What are some of the typical interpretations of a social
network map?
We look at path lengths of task networks, particularly of those employees that will be
retiring soon. For replacement planning, we look at who has similar connections i.e. who
might be ‘structurally equivalent’ (to use network analysis terminology).
Looking at these maps helps to plan the trip if you know where your key staff are going.
Of course, we can easily see who the information ‘gatekeepers’ are in an
organization, and sometimes a key information broker can becomes a ‘bottleneck’.
Just as any other map, it will depend on what you are trying to accomplish. Also, like
other maps, these are good talking documents for managers to diagnose what is happening
and what they will do next.
What are some of the sensitivities that surface when network
maps are created?
Sometimes if a manager is new, they won’t show up at the top of the list of people
when "reach" is being measured. Occasionally people are much less connected than
either they or their colleagues expect. Such situations should be recognized and planned
for before any public feedback of the maps or measures is released.
Do organizations find network analysis of their people
threatening?
Out of the hundreds of organizations, and thousands of employees we have worked with,
only about twenty individuals have refused to take the survey. Such organizations are
usually in a stressed situation or work in a tension-filled environment. We usually
recommend delaying any social network analysis for inappropriate environments, such as
those where imminent downsizing is about to occur.
Once a map is generated, for how long is the data valid?
Data longevity depends on the changes that are occurring in the organization. Six
months would be a reasonable lapse of time before generating the knetmap again. In six
months (a) new employees join the firm, existing employees will transfer, retire, move on
etc. and therefore the population will change. (b) Even if the population remains the
same, the KNETMAP query may trigger or catalyze new behaviours. If for example, you query
the population on a particular skill X. Those who have no knowledge of that skill will (i)
learn who the experts are (ii) be more attentive to new learning in that discipline or
skill that has been identified as a strategic capability (iii) may initiate "water
cooler conversations".
So, just doing the maps and sharing the results will probably change the networks.
Would you say KNETMAPTM can measure knowledge?
No tool can do that. We can map and measure the pathways of information, but not
knowledge itself. If we query the organization to identify subject matter experts, KNETMAP
can generate a visualization of peer-evaluated expertise. Note that authorities/experts
are quite easy to identify with KNETMAP as the data-gathering system via email. Once the
KNETMAP is generated, the "reach" of an individual is a metric that shows
his/her 'network horizon' -- how far this individual's influence reaches into the
organization.
Would you say this tool can measure level of collaboration?
Yes, we can measure the collaboration of both individuals and groups. Note that
'hoarders' of information, and less approachable individuals do not show up well in a
KNETMAP query, which identifies 'go to' people.
Can I use this tool then to 'know a specific thing' such as who
knows something about Mergers and Acquisitions?
KNETMAP is ideal for that. Not only will it reveal 'who knows what' but you can also
learn 'who knows who knows what' and that can help you access the 'what'.
Can this tool be used to build long-term indices?
With enough data over time, we can start doing averages and scores for high performers
and best practices. While KNETMAP is a very versatile, non-intrusive tool that gathers
data to support an investigation into just about any kind of dynamic, networks are very
unique to each situation and therefore not transferable. The most important outcome is
the conversations between managers that arise out of maps of information exchanges.
Describe the security of the IT environment.
KNETMAP™ servers are behind a secure firewall. The login is based on
standard groupware protocol whereby the rights to view maps are assigned by the submitter.
Each administrator controls who sees what and you determine which maps or nodes are
private and which are to be shared with the other members of the department. Our IT
department can provide whatever level of encryption the individual business unit requests.
For example, some organizations can elect to use SecurID authentication for individual
user authentication
SecurID two-factor authentication is based on something the cluster
member knows (a password), and something only that member has (an authenticator such as a
SecurID card) -- providing a highly reliable level of user authentication as compared to
reusable passwords.
