Case Study: Social Network Delivers Value

Velasquez, Guillermo, Halliburton - Landmark, Houston, TX

In the summer of 2001 Halliburton Energy Services decided to implement Knowledge Management (KM) in order to support the vision of the organization. This internal initia­tive became a turning point for the company. Until this time the support for the field organization was based on a helpdesk model where anybody in the world with a technical problem would contact the Technical Services group located within the central technolo­gy center. The communication model was that of a hub and spokes, where the individuals in the various field locations would talk to Technical Services group but the communica­tion between people in different locations was almost nonexistent. With the launch of organized social networks the communication channels were opened. This enabled the flow of information that resulted in a significant performance improvement for the organ­ization. The social network case study reviewed in this paper not only delivered substan­tial value to the organization but to the individuals. The main goals were (a) improve serv­ice quality, and (b) mobilize innovation.