Recent departures from a specialist unit within a UK financial regulator raised alarms about its ability to effectively oversee financial firms. With deep expertise critical to detecting malpractice, these exits risked dangerous knowledge gaps. To safeguard its regulatory strength, leadership aimed to map knowledge flow and its impact on policy innovation, ensuring expertise remained a strategic asset. Success outcomes included identification of the individuals who held the most strategic expertise, and practical strategies to facilitate stronger knowledge flow and communication efficiency.
A team of teams, this unit thrived on cross-functional collaboration, yet critical knowledge gaps and innovation bottlenecks threatened its effectiveness. Using social network analysis, we mapped key influencers and "hidden groups" - informal teams solving problems outside official structures.
Not all influencers were the same. Some - “insight attractors” - drew critical information but failed to connect teams or share insights widely. Others - “insight disseminators”- bridged gaps but lacked access to the best intelligence. The disconnect meant valuable insights weren’t shared early enough, if at all.
To close the gap, we paired key influencers, introduced tailored communication tools, and enabled them to exchange insights more efficiently. Hidden groups were studied to understand when and why they formed, revealing that those less aligned with their direct team culture and those with longer tenure were the most active in these informal networks.
New quarterly forums encouraged broader engagement in hidden groups, leveraging a strong sense of civic duty to enhance collaboration. These targeted interventions unlocked smarter knowledge sharing, improved problem-solving, and strengthened the unit’s ability to identify financial malpractice faster.
The project took 3 months.
The team size was 84.
The unit had 6 key influencers.
We have a lot of specialists in our unit, and it's that expertise that equips us to make informed decisions. We need to understand the threats to knowledge retention. Your analysis helped us understand where we need to take preemptive action. It also shed light on what it’ll take to drive better innovation within our unit.
Manager, UK financial regulator
