The collaborative orgnazation: How to make employee networks really work

Cross, R., Gray, P., Cunningham, S., Showers, M., & Thomas, R. J. (2010, Fall). The collaborative orgnazation: How to make employee networks really work. MIT Sloan Management Review, 83-90.

Summary

This article focuses on how to use employee networks to drive efficiency and spark innovation. By looking at high-performing employees and teams from the perspective of how they connect with others, there is insight to be gained about how their networks facilitate their performance. This type of analysis can be used to optimize flow of information and ideas across distance, function, and diverse expertise.

Experience

Some of the network signatures presented in the article make sense to me, though I've never approached network analysis in quite the way the article does. I really like the idea of connecting at-risk employees with mentors to energize their networks. I have seen this be effective. I think more organizations should analyze their employees’ networks in this manner. There's a lot of valuable information to be gained that can help individuals and teams become more successful.

KEYWORDS: collaborative efficiency, network analysis, efficiency, team connectivity