You can map employee networks in all sorts of ways: formal hierarchy, online interactions, geographic location. But, in this episode, we look at how surveying colleagues unlocks insights into who is a key relationship node – and who is isolated.

In this episode of The Mind Tools L&D Podcast, Ross G and Owen are joined by Jeppe Hansgaard, CEO of Innovisor. We discuss:

· techniques for mapping employee networks

· the role that the 3% play in maintaining a strong network of

· the impact of network isolation on long-term retention of employees.

During the discussion, Jeppe made a reference to the impact of loneliness on health. This was based on research from the National Institute on Aging. See: extension.unh.edu/blog/2022/05/prolonged-social-isolation-loneliness-are-equivalent-smoking-15-cigarettes-day

Some of the papers Ross referenced were:

Gašević, D., Zouaq, A., & Janzen, R. (2013). "Choose your classmates, your GPA is at stake!" The association of cross-class social ties and academic performance. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(10), 1460-1479. Online at: journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0002764213479362?journalCode=absb

Lockyer, L., Heathcote, E., & Dawson, S. (2013). Informing pedagogical action: Aligning learning analytics with learning design. American Behavioral Scientist, 57(10), 1439-1459. Online at: www.sfu.ca/~dgasevic/papers/Lockyer_abs2013.pdf

Owen referenced 'Dunbar's number', which describes the number of relationships we can maintain. See: bbc.com/future/article/20191001-dunbars-number-why-we-can-only-maintain-150-relationships

In 'What I Learned This Week', Owen referenced Snapchat's 'My AI' feature: help.snapchat.com/hc/en-gb/articles/13266788358932-What-is-My-AI-on-Snapchat-and-how-do-I-use-it-

He also discussed the 'Artifact' app: https://artifact.news/

And Ross shared some nonsense about 'Garfield' phones: bbc.com/news/world-europe-47732553.amp

This episode was sparked by a case study from Innovisor, which provides a good overview of how isolation affects retention: innovisor.com/2023/01/31/79-of-isolated-employees-left-within-2-years-work-with-people-networks-to-win-on-retention/

To find out more about Innovisor, see: innovisor.com/

For more from us, including access to our back catalogue of podcasts, visit mindtoolsbusiness.com. There, you'll also find details of our award-winning performance support toolkit, our off-the-shelf e-learning, and our custom work.

Connect with our speakers

If you'd like to share your thoughts on this episode, connect with our speakers on Twitter:

· Ross Garner - @RossGarnerMT

· Owen Ferguson - @OwenFerguson

· Jeppe Hansgaard – @JeppeHansgaard