New Stars in the Clubhouse

Randle also had a few surprises when individual contributors where analyzed. "This highlighted individuals I knew were central to the organization, but also revealed some that I would not have guessed would be as critical to my organization as they are," says Randle.

Beane discovered a key statistical ratio called "on base plus slugging percentage" (OPS), which is the sum of on-base percentage and slugging percentage. This OPS measure shows a player's ability to have a high batting average, draw walks, and hit for extra bases. If a player has a high OPS, they are likely to see a higher number of pitches per plate appearance, which means they can help to wear out the pitcher-an important offensive strategy.

SNA enabled Randle to better identify his key players and subject matter experts. He found several employees who ranked highly in all areas of centrality. For example, the head of Randle's antivirus team has high centrality, which enables this leader to quickly assemble and disseminate information when a virus threat emerges. By quickly pulling in members from all of the IT Operations teams, threats have been neutralized and resolved rapidly, protecting valuable company data and information.

The data also allows Randle to see the potential impact of employee departures. When Randle found out that a senior manager on his team would be leaving the company, he referenced the SNA and identified an individual who had no connections within the department except to the departing manager. Randle was able to pair this person with other team members through informal meetings and mentoring, facilitating new relationships and ensuring the individual did not continue in isolation when his manager left.

The Playoff Push

Randle accomplished his main goal--to foster discussion with his management team about communication and collaboration using objective data produced by the Social Network Analysis. Now, says Randle, he will be able to use the results from the SNA, to build better communication within his organization, increase collaboration, and thus build a more effective team.

The next steps for Randle are to use the analysis for succession planning and help him determine who should be involved with critical cross-functional initiatives.

In regard to succession planning, by studying the SNA results Randle can see relationships that would be lost if key individuals left the company. He plans to use this information to build connections proactively between teams to mitigate the risks of a departing key team member.

Many of Randle's critical initiatives and projects involve multiple IT Operations departments. The SNA will help him to engage the right people on these project teams. He says that teams with members who show high centrality will be able to more effectively access needed resources across the organization, and will more readily share information with other groups who need to be involved with a project in a timely manner. With better planning, Randle expects better results.

Brad Johnson is a software developer. He worked for Steve Randle as a senior manager of data centre operations at XO Communications from 1998 to 2005. He is currently a developer with HRsmart, a provider of human resources management software.