Albert SimardKnowledge ManagerDefence R&D Canada

INFONEX Public Sector Human Resource ManagementJanuary 31-Feb 1, 2012Ottawa, ON

Social Networking & Human Resources:

The Future Has Arrived!

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Social Networks Are Growing Exponentially

13 global networks with 100 million+ users13 global networks with 100 million+ users

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Social Networking Affects Everything…

The “Arab Spring”The “Arab Spring”

Vancouver hockey riotsVancouver hockey riots

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…Including Human Resources

Manage social networks for the business

(long-term revolution)

Manage social networks for the business

(long-term revolution)

Use social networks to manage people (near-term evolution)

Use social networks to manage people (near-term evolution)

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Social Networks are Technological

• Telephony• Video conferencing• E-mail• Chat rooms• Bulletin boards• On-line forums• Web portal• Sharing sites• Collaboration sites• Expertise locator• Blogs, microblogs• Wikis

Technology belongs to ITTechnology belongs to IT

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Social Networks Are Social

A social structure made up of individuals or organizations called "nodes," which are connected by one or more interdependencies such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, beliefs, or knowledge.

A social structure made up of individuals or organizations called "nodes," which are connected by one or more interdependencies such as friendship, kinship, common interest, financial exchange, dislike, beliefs, or knowledge.

Wikipedia (2011)Wikipedia (2011)Social should belong to HR Social should belong to HR

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Outline

• Human Resources

• Engaging Individuals

• Managing Communities

• Emerging HR Roles

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Using Social Networks for Human Resource Activities

Recruiting: Advertise positions on social networks.

Hiring: Find information about potential employees.

Training: Learn through interactive games & scenarios.

Position: Write through a Community of Practice.

Career: Increase visibility and recognition in CoPs.

Assignment: Transfer incumbent’s knowledge with blogs.

Succession: Evaluate candidates through dialogue.

Departure: Invite former employees into CoPs.

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Advertising Positions

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Finding Information

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Enhancing Training

Faster learningFaster learning

Greater retentionGreater retention

Lower costLower cost

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Outline

• Human Resources

• Engaging Individuals

• Managing Communities

• Emerging HR Roles

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Incentives• Compliance (you will)

– Pay, job security, duty, penalties– Military, manufacturing, law, policies– Meet quotas, minimum standards, no change

• Motivation (you’ll be rewarded)– Ambition, challenges, bonuses, rewards– Efficiency, productivity, quality– Improvements, increases, evolutionary changes

• Engagement (would you like to?)– Autonomy, mastery, purpose– Design, innovation, discovery– Commitment, involvement, revolutionary changes

IndividualsIndividuals

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What is Engagement?• Autonomy: What to do, when to do it, where to do it,

how to do it, and who to work with

• Mastery: Want to excel, increase ability, practice, perseverance, obstacles, approach but not attain

• Purpose: quality of life, meaning, social responsibility, stewardship, attitude and behavior, soul-stirring, ethics

Daniel Pink (2009)Daniel Pink (2009)

IndividualsIndividuals

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Why Engage Knowledge Workers?

• Knowledge cannot be conscripted; it must be volunteered.

• Knowledge workers need to commit to and become truly involved in their work.

• Ideally, they work:– Not because they are told to,– Not because they expect

something in return,– Because they want to; they enjoy

doing it.IndividualsIndividuals

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Engagement Techniques

• Hire “engageable” employees

• Match projects, passions, proficiency

• Clarify mutual goals and expectations

• Stress employee ownership

• Earn trust continuously

• Provide frequent feedback

• Talk and listen often

Wendy Fenci (2008)Wendy Fenci (2008)IndividualsIndividuals

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Engagement Signals

Positive

• Mutual expectations

• Listen to ideas

• Ask for help & advice

• Jointly review progress

• Freely share information

• Work collaboratively

• Delegate decisions

Negative

• Monitor closely

• Don’t include in planning

• Ignore suggestions

• Seldom interact

• Withhold information

• Control tightly

• Approve all decisions

Tosti & Nickols (2010)Tosti & Nickols (2010)IndividualsIndividuals

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Tacit Knowledge• Intangible personal knowledge

gained through experience and self-learning; influenced by beliefs, perspectives, and values.

– Awareness

– Skills

– Experience

– Mental models

– Wisdom

– Corporate memory The Thinker - Rodin

IndividualsIndividuals

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Eliciting from IndividualsAttributes:

• In the minds of individuals

• Must be volunteered

Process:

• Identify experts

• Engage them

• Make their knowledge explicit

• Validate knowledgeIndividualsIndividuals

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Eliciting Methods

• Conversations, discussions, dialogue (colleagues, peers)

• Questions & answers, problems & solutions (novice/expert)

• After-action reviews, lessons learned (event/group)

• Capture, document, interview, record (expert/facilitator)

• Extraction, identify, codify, organize (expert/know engineer)

• Advising, briefing, recommending (subordinate/superior)

• Teaching, educating, training (teacher/student)

• Storytelling, narratives, anecdotes (teller/listener)

• Explaining, demonstrating, describing (technician/user)

• Presentations, lectures, speeches (speaker/audience)IndividualsIndividuals

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Sharing Barriers

• Trust and safety• Organizational culture• Incentives and motivation• Difficulty of explaining • Different expertise

• Security and privacy• Control and hoarding• Large distances• Different languages• Inadequate technology

IndividualsIndividuals

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Motivating Sharing

• Communicate sharing goals regularly

• Train employees on using sharing tools

• Demonstrate the benefits of sharing

• Highlight sharing success stories

• Practice good sharing behavior

• Reward good sharing behavior

• Discourage poor sharing behavior

• Encourage community development

Stan Garfield (2010)Stan Garfield (2010)IndividualsIndividuals

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Outline

• Human Resources

• Engaging Individuals

• Managing Communities

• Emerging HR Roles

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Community of Practice

• Government, department

• Sector, branch, division staff

• Scientists, engineers, lawyers

• Policy analysts, regulators

• Finance, purchasing officers

• Information, communication specialists

People who share common expertise, skill, or profession (position, work, colleagues)

People who share common expertise, skill, or profession (position, work, colleagues)

CommunitiesCommunities

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Participants- Help with their work- Solve problems- Find experts- Receive feedback- Place to learn- Latest information- Enhance reputation

Participants- Help with their work- Solve problems- Find experts- Receive feedback- Place to learn- Latest information- Enhance reputation

Management- Connect isolated experts- Coordinate activities- Fast problem solving- Reduce development time- Quickly answer questions- Standardize processes- Develop & retain talent

Management- Connect isolated experts- Coordinate activities- Fast problem solving- Reduce development time- Quickly answer questions- Standardize processes- Develop & retain talent

Community Benefits

Outputs- - Tangible: documents, reports, manuals,

recommendations, reduced innovation time and cost- - Intangible: increased skills, sense of trust, diverse

perspectives, cross-pollinate ideas, capacity to innovate, relationships, spirit of enquiry

Outputs- - Tangible: documents, reports, manuals,

recommendations, reduced innovation time and cost- - Intangible: increased skills, sense of trust, diverse

perspectives, cross-pollinate ideas, capacity to innovate, relationships, spirit of enquiry CommunitiesCommunities

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Community Characteristics

• Self-governed: norms and guidelines govern practices.

• Self-organized: purpose, direction, and management.

• Productive enquiry: answer questions based on practice.

• Collaborate: synchronous and asynchronous channels.

• Generate knowledge: new knowledge is created.

• Support members: provides a forum for mutual support.

Saint-Onge & Wallace (2003)Saint-Onge & Wallace (2003)CommunitiesCommunities

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Community Attributes

• Size: small to large; large communities need structure

• Structure: informal, semi-structured, structured

• Life-Span: few months to permanent

• Location: co-located or dispersed

• Establishment: informal or formal

• Boundaries: often cross boundaries

• Diversity: homogeneous to heterogeneous

Wenger et. al. (2002)Wenger et. al. (2002)CommunitiesCommunities

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Community Roles• Champion – Ensure support, communicate purpose,

promote the community, ensure impact

• Sponsor – Bridge between the CoP and the organization; communicate support, remove barriers

• Leader – Provide leadership, identify emerging trends, prioritize issues, approve membership, resolve conflicts

• Facilitator – communicate, encourage participation, ensure that views are heard, organize meetings

• Service Center – Interface with communities, ensure lack of duplication, inform communities about activities

• Members – Provide knowledge, expertise, and experience; participate in discussions, raise issues, alert members to change, increase community effectiveness

CommunitiesCommunities

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Community Dynamics

Positive• Dialogue• Trust• Safety• Meritocracy• Equality• Outliers

Negative• Discussion• Debating• Arguing• Agenda• Authority• Assuming• Majority• Consensus• Groupthink

CommunitiesCommunities

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Harvesting from Communities

Attributes:

• In-house knowledge

• Already validated

Process:

• Identify Communities

• Collect knowledge

CommunitiesCommunities

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Harvesting Methods

• Service Center: repository for community outputs; interface with communities, minimize duplication, inform communities

• Leader: transfer community outputs; Identify emerging trends, prioritize issues

• Sponsor: endorse community outputs; bridge between the community and the organization, provide support, minimize organizational barriers

• Champion: ensure adoption of community outputs; communicate purpose, promote the community

CommunitiesCommunities

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Outline

• Human Resources

• Engaging Individuals

• Managing Communities

• Emerging HR Roles

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Emerging HR Institutional Role

• HR holds the keys.

• Within the context of Government policies:

• Policies that promote collaborative behavior.

• Work processes that focus on relationships.

• Management guides that facilitate interactions.

HR RolesHR Roles

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Policy Considerations

• Internal or external

• What is social networking?

• Encourage social networking

• Benefits of social networking

• Social networking examples

• Safe social networking

• Security considerations

• Misuse of social networking

• Implementation checklist

• Social networking resources

• Social networking glossaryHR RolesHR Roles

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Counterproductive Practices

• Censoring social network sites.

• Encouraging consensus or groupthink.

• Negative feedback for honest postings.

• Limiting postings to only positive material.

• Imposing authority on social network sites.

• Discouraging diverse views or perspectives.

• Controlling / structuring social network sites.

• Confusing social networking with committees.

• Argumentative members or pejorative postings.

• Monitoring delays between postings and responses.HR RolesHR Roles

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Emerging HR Business Role

• Human resources understands people

• Understand communities & networks

• Build communities & networks

• Manage communities & networks

HR RolesHR Roles

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Types of Networks

• Personal (family, friends, coworkers, neighbors: assistance, advice, fellowship)

• Idea (innovation, advocacy: creative dialogue builds ideas)

• Learning (professional: increase skill, expertise, vocation, or knowledge)

• Mission (social good: arts, culture, education, environment, health, religion, justice)

• Business (suppliers, alliances, consumers: production, revenuer, returns)

• Leadership (dialogue among managers: diverse ideas, joint problem solving

Anklam (2007)Anklam (2007) HR RolesHR Roles

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Network Structure• Governance – emerge & connect, identify & collaborate,

organize & formalize, codify & document, evolve & sustain

• Management – leadership, agreements, growth, membership

• Geometry

• Texture – density, distance, centrality, openness

• Strength – strong & weak ties, hubs & connectors

Patti Anklam (2007)Patti Anklam (2007) HR RolesHR Roles

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Network Behavior

• Positive feedback - The bigger the network, the bigger it gets.

• Biological growth - Crossing a “threshold” yields self-sustaining, exponential growth.

• Synergy & emergence – Networks can yield more than any individual can accomplish.

• Non-Linear response – A small effort can be leveraged by orders of magnitude.

• Impermanence – A network leader can be displaced by disruptive technology overnight.

• Volatility – an issue can unpredictably “go viral” and grow explosively.

HR RolesHR Roles

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Building Communities & Networks

• Include internal and external perspectives.

• Include different levels of participation.

• Develop public and private spaces.

• Focus on value to the organization.

• Combine familiarity and novelty.

• Create a community rhythm.

• Design for evolution.

Wegner, et. al. (2002)Wegner, et. al. (2002)HR RolesHR Roles

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Network Analysis - Business

• Purpose – organizational goals, needs of participants, common purpose

• Structure - relationships support purpose, speed of decision making, transaction costs, adequate diversity

• Style – place, space & pace appropriate for members, support dialogue & inquiry, provide trust and reciprocity, continuous improvement

• Value – adequate resources, producing appropriate value, sustainability, value to participants

HR RolesHR Roles

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Network Analysis Techniques

• Visualization – maps or patterns of nodes and links show complex relationships.

• Structural metrics – density, distance, centrality, openness, diversity, bridging, clustering,

• Interaction metrics – membership, participation, transactions, exchanges, tasks, node prestige, collaboration,

HR RolesHR Roles

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The Future of Human Resources:

Use social networks to manage peopleUse social networks to manage people

Manage social networks for the business Manage social networks for the business