Human resource management and social network analysis

Human resource management research has been traditionally focused on individual and job attributes. Juman resource management research and practice could be furthered by studying attributes of relationships between individuals or jobs. Some fields where social network analysis is useful are (Hollenbeck and Jamieson, 2015):

• Identification and selection of employees. Social network analysis can help to predict future performance, for instance, by identifying what kind of employees plays brokerage roles across structural holes (i.e., links otherwise disconnected subgroups). It can also help to identify talent pools outside the organization, by identifying relationships of employees with external actors. Finally, it can help to identify isolated actors, which may have higher probabilities of turnover.
• Improving training and development programs. The outcome of training efforts depends of a strong network among employees. The identification of friendship and advice networks can help to improve communication, manage organizational culture and foster strategy implementation.
• Guide compensation and pay decisions by identifying key employees. Organizations must reward their employees on the results and behaviors that it expects from them. Most of this traits are socially driven (e.g., effective teamwork and prosocial behaviour, or integrating new employees). Social network analysis helps to recognize who is demonstrating these behaviours. 

References

Hollenbeck, J. R., & Jamieson, B. B. (2015). Human capital, social capital, and social network analysis: Implications for strategic human resource management. Academy of management perspectives, 29(3), 370-385.