Case Studies

What You Can Learn from Your Employee Networks

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Employee Resource Group network in a meeting
Employee Resource Groups provide ways for employees to connect with people like them. But do they produce results?

Employee resource groups (ERGs) provide a place for women, veterans, LGBT employees, people of color, people with disabilities, working parents, and others to connect and help ensure the workplace welcomes and supports their productivity. Yet even though the number of ERGs has taken off, companies seldom assess these groups’ success.

We know that the activities associated with ERGs have general value. Networking, for example, is linked (pdf) to an increase in promotions and in compensation, to greater career satisfaction, and to salary growth. Mentoring also yields demonstrated benefits: People with mentors are more likely to receive promotions and salary increases (pdf).

New Leadership Tools: Finding Direction through Network Maps: Mini Case #1

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Network Maps as Leadership Tools - Star Performer Expertise

Companies create organization charts that show hierarchies and reporting relationships. But work rarely gets done as it appears on an org chart. Instead, people operate through networks: informal webs of relationships that people instinctively form in the workplace.

Traditionally, leaders have used organization charts to understand their boundaries and spheres of influence. Network maps provide new and helpful information about how people actually perform work, make decisions, and solve problems. Network thinking and network maps can help leaders gain a holistic perspective and uncover unseized opportunities, identify lurking risks, and address unarticulated needs.

In this series, we look at how several different leaders used network knowledge to advance their company’s strategy.

New Case Studies: How to Use Networks Strategically

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Network maps make the invisible world of organizational transactions, relationships, and knowledge flows visible. But what can they actually accomplish for an organization?

We recently published two case studies based on our work with clients. Each case study shows how one client used network knowledge to advance their strategy.

Case Study #1: Using Network Mapping to Globalize an Organization

In 2013, a new leader was hired to transform the Public & Governmental Affairs (PGA) division into a truly global organization. The leader realized that PGA needed to operate as a network. She used network thinking to guide development in the organization.

Your Turn: Did the Change Work?

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Test Your Change Leadership Knowledge

It’s your turn to make the decision. Test your change leadership knowledge through this quick self-directed learning activity.

In this 1-page case study, the new Executive Director of a nonprofit organization needs to decide how well his change initiatives have been implemented and what his next steps should be. You have information about the change initiatives and data about how people collaborate.

Who’s at Risk?: Evaluating Burnout through Organizational Networks

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Burnout - iStock

It’s your turn to make the decision.

In this 1-page case study on Board Development, a nonprofit organization needs to find the rising stars among its volunteer pool and identify who’s at risk for being over-burdened. You have the volunteer structure, the volunteers’ work patterns, and organizational networks data.

Who do you think is at risk?

Is your strategy stuck in the 20th century?

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