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