We need a (smart) virtual watercooler

If our organizations were a brain, something very unusual would have happened to them since the inception of Covid and the onset of mass work-from-home (WFH). The brain is able to create and adapt because large quantities of neurons can connect, directly or indirectly, to distant parts of the neural network. Neurons access networks of neurons that are diverse from those in the vicinity. That gives us, literally, diversity of thinking.

The analogy carries to an enterprise. “Strong ties”, that is connections that are strong, typically with few people we know well, are important to shape our opinion and guide our actions, but they may suffer from so-called “small world effects” in that the ideas and beliefs transmitted through those networks may become too homogenous. “Weak ties” connect people with others who are farther from them and can bring fresh perspectives if they’re listened to attentively. In cases where those perspectives are uncontroversial, they can result in behavior change – that’s what happens with some fashion trends or electronic gadgets, for instance.

In WFH, if left unattended, weak ties into far-away networks dwindle, as shown in this chart from Microsoft Research. And that's extremely dangerous.

The strong (part of work routine) and weak (periodic, based on mutual affinity or chance) ties in our people networks make knowledge-work happen - both business-as-usual and innovation work - and shape culture deeply. (More on their role here.)

The office space is literally a technology to "design the human network" - the physical layout shapes the network structure, with its space between desks, offices, buildings. The issue with remote work is that if left unattended, weak ties dwindle (no more serendipitous encounters), and the effectiveness of strong ties may suffer (less body language, no impromptu whiteboards, sticky notes, etc.). Virtual space is more of a vacuum, making casual connections a daunting free-for-all.

But that's not destiny - we now have much technology and human-centered methods to harness those network flows in a virtual world - with the added benefit that the world's brains are now our neighbor. In an attempt to rekindle “weak-tie” connections during and after Covid-19 lockdowns, professional services firm Genpact (where I lead innovation) introduced a virtual watercooler bot that automatically matches colleagues based on the strength and diversity of their network connection.?

Unlike efforts involving "random" matchmaking, it harnesses very sophisticated algorithms that take into account the network structure between people and favors the rekindling of weak ties - as opposed to brute-forcing meetings between random pairs. Network analytics is a mature branch of data science and has been the object of study for decades, including at MIT's Center for Collective Intelligence (where I lead some research projects). The app is based on Microsoft's stack, which helps surface and process quickly the data in a cloud environment and leverages a bot that schedules meetings in free calendar slots. In other words, and thanks to the help of specialists in employee experience, we designed the experience around the human, not the machines.

Already in the first weeks after the launch, the system was adopted by thousands of our colleagues - starting with senior leaders' groups and scheduled thousands of meetings. It is on its way to becoming a mainstay of informal collaboration. The full case study is here.

This is not a silver bullet, but rather a part of an overall strategy for a hybrid future of work (more on this here), and should be considered an important part of a broader effort to turn enterprises into collective intelligence systems augmented by digital technology.

More on this at www.supermind.design. Get in touch if you want to know more or share your experience in improving weak ties in your enterprise.