How network analysis helps Better Meds understand communication flows and team efficiency

Meet our client

Client: Better Meds

Industry: Healthcare technology 

Size: 35 employees

Better Meds is a part of the high-tech company Better. They are executing their vision of better healthcare by developing digital prescribing solutions.

Main Challenges

Better Meds was scaling rapidly and faced a significant employee increase (from 5 to 35 team members). They were trying to prevent communication silos and monitor their performance over time. Covid-19 also brought them some challenges related to remote work and a decrease in social cohesion.

“We wanted to solve certain challenges which we knew we will face in the future. We were trying to identify possible blind spots and prevent the problems.”
-Roko Malkoč, Business Unit Director, Better Meds 

Goals

  • Identify key communicators and understand the information flow. 
  • Discover possible communication silos. 
  • Compare the formal organizational structure with the actual employee network.

“Understanding how the team works and how the network is built helps you get from a good to a great company.”
-Roko Malkoč, Business Unit Director, Better Meds

Obstacles

1. Tracking information flows is harder in a bigger team

When the team was smaller, it was easy to track communication because everybody knew each other well. With growth, it becomes difficult to monitor the efficiency of communication and information flow between the teams.

2. KPIs do not necessarily represent the actual state of organizational health

In the past, they were tracking organizational health based on key performance indicators and results. However, these are not always relevant indicators of communication or collaboration blind spots.

3. Time-consuming procedures with missing information. 

Many individual interviews and surveys were carried out. However, these solutions were time-consuming and lacked a comprehensive review of network dynamics. 

Solution 

1. Presentation of the analysis

A presentation for all employees was carried out to explain the purpose and process of the analysis. We answered their questions about anonymity and our data protection policy. They received detailed instructions for completing questionnaires. 

“Team Quantifly did an amazing job to make sure that the concepts, the theory, and the science behind the surveys were explained. I think we did a lot of internal discussions as well prior to that to make sure that we get people’s buy-in. And I think we definitely did.”
-Roko Malkoč, Business Unit Director, Better Meds 

2. Data collection

The time period for completing was long enough to give the employees enough time to fill out the questionnaires, and it was still short enough to ensure that all responses refer to the same period.

“I liked the questionnaire. It was really nicely structured and made us think in a different way - about different angles of our team and various situations.” 
-Alja Polner, Implementation Consultancy Lead, Better Meds

3. Data analysis and interpretation

The numerical and descriptive responses were analyzed and interpreted. Our Senior Analysts prepared an in-depth management report with data interpretation and recommendations for improvement. Social network analysis was presented visually.

4. Report presentation for the management

The results were presented to the management. This was the starting point for change. By understanding the current state of the network and other indicators, Better Meds was able to strategically adjust the workflow, hand over the instructions, and position the employees for increased productivity. 

5. Report presentation and a workshop for employees 

We presented the report and key challenges to employees. Every employee was able to contribute their suggestions for improvements through a workshop.

6. Individual sessions

Employees had the opportunity to attend an individual session. They received an explanation of their individual results, as well as support in the preparation of goals and action plans for personal development.

“With the right questions in the survey and with a face-to-face talk with their team psychologists/experts, you can improve not only your team performance but also start working on your individual improvements, too.”
-Uros Bonšek, Communication Lead, Better Meds

Outcome

Better Meds got an in-depth insight into how their organizational 

environment works: 

  • They can now better understand and adapt their communication flows
  • They identified informal leaders and co-workers with leadership potential.
  • They received insight on how to improve cross-team collaboration and which are the teams that are possibly isolated.
  • Each individual received personal feedback and an action plan for improvements, which encourages long-term growth.  

 

All of this provided a basis for more strategic HR decisions based on objective data.

”We had full support from the beginning of early discussions until the end. I really enjoyed that they took over all of the responsibilities instead of giving a lot of new tasks to someone who would need to do that internally.” 
-Roko Malkoč, Business Unit Director, Better Meds

Thinking about choosing Quantifly?

See whom Roko Malkoč recommends Quantifly to and what his advice to you is.