Effective organizations are much more than the sum of their parts.  Organizational success is too often measured by the size of the organization’s bank account, the value of their brick-and-mortar buildings and inventory, and the number and skills of their employees. Sustainable creativity and momentum within an organization, more dependable for long-term success than bank accounts or number of employees, can only be maintained when the ties between the individual employees are strong. If we choose to focus on the cohesion between and among staff members ie. the social capital, rather than individual assets, talents, roles and job descriptions, our organizations will thrive.

What is SOCIAL CAPITAL?

We all believe we understand what “capital” means. The most common meaning of capital is financial capital, or money in the bank. Human capital is used to describe employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. We are bringing your attention to social capital, a type of capital that is often overlooked yet holds the potential of having significant impact on your productivity and the quality of your working environment, especially the psychological working environment. Social capital is an indicator of the conditions that make optimal collaboration possible. Social capital scores can be measured, and the actions and philosophy of management have a huge impact on your organization’s social capital score. 

Organizational researchers have identified three social capital “diamonds”, or organizational cornerstones that profoundly impact high social capital scores. These diamonds are fairness, cooperation and trust. When we initiate programs and actions that enhance trust, fairness and cooperation, we are adding diamonds to our social capital bank, help making our organizations more productive and physically and emotionally healthier.

Fairness refers to the quality of being just, equitable, and impartial. It involves treating people according to their needs, rights, and contributions without favoritism or bias. 

Cooperation in the workplace is the act of working together to achieve a common goal or mutual benefit, and it can involve working with diverse people, making compromises, and sharing responsibility.

Trust is about being able to count on each other to do what you say you will do, and to support each other (not go out of their way to make the other look bad). It is about accepting responsibility and not blaming others. Click image to watch an examples of how to apply the LEGO SERIOUS PLAY method to build Social Capital.

Workplace culture specialists have developed a simple survey that can measure social capital. The answers to each of four simple questions are scored between 0 and 4, with 0 being to a “low degree” and 4 to a “very high degree”. A score of below 8 for all four questions is “very low social capital”, and a score of 12 or over is “very high social capital”. 

Try the test and see how you do. Share the test with your colleagues and see how your work group or department scores.

Best Regards