Organizational Network Analysis at Work – Practical Tips to Get the most out of the Results
Network analysis does not measure performance! It examines roles and relationships. Networks are always snapshots that reflect the organization’s current state. Therefore, they are worth examining regularly, as even a single new employee can change the network.
Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) differs from the surveys employees are familiar with, such as employee satisfaction surveys or competency assessments. That is why thorough communication is essential when preparing for network analysis. Employees need to understand the purpose and importance of the assessment.
Information Flow and Work Processes
Mapping the flow of information and collaboration is perhaps the most traditional application of network analysis. In the workplace, understanding where information comes from and where it goes is particularly important. We also need to identify the key communication hubs. In addition, we can examine where workflows break down or where unnecessary collaboration occurs.
The direction of information flow reveals a great deal about communication within an organization. One characteristic of network analysis is that it can describe relationships between two individuals in four different ways. A relationship can be reciprocal, nonexistent, or one-directional in either direction.
Network analysis can also help us examine a manager’s leadership style and role. To do this, we look at the information and workflow networks surrounding that manager.
Does the manager delegate effectively or micromanage? Do they receive enough information from their team, or do they obtain it elsewhere? Do employees receive information from their own manager or from another leader? Does the manager collaborate with the appropriate departments and team leaders?
Information Flow
When examining information flow, we can identify the organization’s so-called untapped information sources.
These employees collect information but do not pass it on themselves. They deserve particular attention because they may create bottlenecks in organizational processes. Withholding information can also hinder knowledge sharing across the organization.
However, the results must be interpreted with caution, as organizational context matters. We should never draw far-reaching conclusions without examining an individual’s position and responsibilities.
For example, suppose information flows toward someone, but they do not pass it on. Our first step should be to examine their role.
Consider an external expert auditing the company’s processes. It is perfectly reasonable for this person to collect information without sharing it with everyone in the organization.
However, if a sales manager only collects information, a different question arises. How effectively can they collaborate with marketing or logistics?
Identifying key information hubs is important because their absence could disrupt communication between individuals or even entire organizational units.
This could happen when an employee takes extended leave or leaves the organization.
However, identifying these hubs allows us to prepare for such situations. We can arrange appropriate replacements or establish alternative information channels in advance.
Work Processes
By examining workflow networks, we can identify patterns in how different teams operate.
At the organizational level, we can also see whether the processes defined by management actually work in practice. The analysis may reveal employees who work in isolation and have not become integrated into their team’s workflows.
This view can be particularly useful when evaluating the effectiveness of onboarding. It allows us to examine how successfully new employees have become integrated into the organization.
Analyzing information flow and workflows can also help identify overloaded employees and those potentially at risk of burnout.
Overloaded individuals may have disproportionately large numbers of connections within the organization. Moreover, employees from every organizational level may approach them, even outside their formal responsibilities.
It is also worth examining the other side of this situation.
Who wants to collaborate with others but receives no response to their efforts?
In these cases, we see one-directional relationships in the network. These employees may remain motivated to maintain connections for some time.
However, consistently unreciprocated efforts can eventually make them less motivated and more reluctant to engage. As a result, they may lose their proactivity and enthusiasm for effective collaboration.
When Should You Examine Information Flow and Work Processes?
- Does the organization’s communication structure work as it should?
- Are managers fulfilling their leadership responsibilities when managing information flow and work processes?
- Who is overloaded within the organization or individual teams?
- Which employees struggle to work effectively because certain relationships are missing?
- Who is on the periphery of the network?
- Which employees have not become integrated into existing workflows?
- How effective is our onboarding process?
Knowledge Management
The changes brought about by the pandemic further highlighted the importance of adaptability in learning organizations.
These organizations are better equipped to respond to change. One of their most important characteristics is a willingness to learn, both individually and collectively. Creativity and a proactive attitude are also defining features.
“Organizational learning is the process through which knowledge is created within an organization, disseminated, integrated into organizational memory, and retained. As a result, this knowledge becomes continuously available to other organizational members and units for decision-making and implementing specific actions.”
(Bakacsi Gyula: Fundamentals of Organizational Behavior, translated from Hungarian)
Key Experts
A few simple questions can help us identify the key experts whose departure would mean losing substantial professional knowledge.
Key experts are employees who have developed effective workplace practices and whom colleagues approach with professional questions.
They form the foundation of the organization’s knowledge base.
Why is it important to identify our key experts?
- We can pay greater attention to retaining them.
- Their involvement can continuously expand the organization’s knowledge base.
- They support onboarding processes and internal training activities.
- We know whom to approach when professional questions or challenges arise.
Mentors
Mentors possess the knowledge that makes them valuable sources of professional advice for colleagues.
They guide and mentor talented employees, supporting learning processes within the organization.
They are proactive participants in knowledge management. Therefore, they can also provide a strong foundation for talent development programs.
Why is it important to identify mentors?
- When key people leave, the closest mentors can help transfer their knowledge.
- They support talented colleagues who are eager to learn.
- They promote the importance of knowledge sharing and its role in organizational strategy.
- They can contribute to retaining new employees and talented colleagues.
Talents
Alongside key experts and mentors, it is worth identifying our talented employees.
These are colleagues who actively seek and value learning opportunities. They know whom to approach and continuously apply their newly acquired knowledge.
Why should we identify talents
- They help maintain dynamic knowledge management.
- Their absence from a team may indicate less effective operations.
- We can dedicate greater effort to retaining them.
- Their proactive attitude can set an example for less motivated colleagues. They can also be involved as buddies.
One of the most important questions in organizational knowledge management is whether we can coordinate these different roles.
After all, their collaboration provides the foundation for continuous knowledge sharing and learning.
By identifying these individuals, we can organize professional knowledge and make it accessible.
We can also facilitate connections between employees more effectively.
Furthermore, we can monitor whether knowledge sharing occurs throughout the organization. This helps reveal departments or teams where it is less effective.
When Should You Examine Knowledge Management Through Network Analysis?
- Who possesses the most extensive professional knowledge?
- Who is willing to share their knowledge with others?
- Who are the talented employees who want to develop and actively seek learning opportunities?
Key Players: Opinion Leaders, Potential Leaders, Experts, and Key Employees
Every manager and HR professional has a mental picture of their organization, its people, and their relationships.
This picture is shaped by personal perceptions, experiences, and observations. However, we can never be entirely certain that our assumptions are correct.
The purpose of network analysis is to confirm or challenge these assumptions using real data.
Does our organization really work the way we imagine?
Is person X or Y really the one most colleagues listen to?
Is X or Y truly the most important source of information for everyone in the company?
Opinion Leaders
Organizational cultures can only be changed from the inside out. This requires involving the people who have the strongest influence on those around them.
These individuals can influence their colleagues’ attitudes and performance simply by expressing their opinions.
They are the people others listen to.
Knowing who they are is valuable because their involvement can make organizational change easier to implement.
However, their resistance can also encourage others to reject the change.
Tip: Before introducing an organizational change, it is worth examining the attitudes of opinion leaders.
Based on the results, we can then involve them in the process.
Focus groups or workshops can help us gain their support.
If they understand why the change is necessary and what positive effects it may bring, they can support its implementation.
Potential Leaders and Experts
Recruiting leaders and experts from outside the organization is one of the most expensive processes.
That is why identifying employees with leadership or expert potential is so valuable. Some colleagues may have both.
This information can also be useful for succession planning, particularly in family-owned businesses.
For example, we can learn how much potential employees see in a proposed successor.
The last few words are especially important: according to the organization’s members.
One of the major advantages of network analysis is that it collects other people’s opinions.
Employees are not simply evaluating themselves through self-assessment.
CX-Ray’s analysis distinguishes between leadership potential and expert roles.
After all, not every good expert becomes a good leader. And you do not necessarily need to be an expert to become a good leader.
Key players
A key palyer is someone the organization does not want to lose.
They possess knowledge, professional experience, organizational understanding, and influential opinions.
Managers and HR professionals usually identify extroverted, outspoken, and highly visible key employees quite easily.
However, the real value of identifying key players also lies in discovering quieter, more modest colleagues with outstanding professional expertise.
These employees may be reserved, yet they regularly help others.
Often, they are not even fully aware of their own value and importance within the organization.
Unfortunately, their significance sometimes becomes clear only when they are no longer there.
Especially if we realize it too late, after a competitor has already recruited them.
Summary: What You Should Know About Using Network Analysis in Practice
- Prepare the organization. Thorough internal communication before the assessment is essential for a successful network analysis project.
- Explain how the assessment works. Network analysis may differ from familiar employee surveys. For example, it is not necessarily anonymous. Reassure employees that the results are intended to support positive, future-oriented improvements.
- Do not use it to measure performance. Network analysis examines relationships, the roles people fulfill, and the absence of these connections or roles.
- Understand how the organization actually works. Network analysis can reveal organizational dynamics, key people, and employees who operate in isolation or on the network’s periphery.
- Use it to support organizational development. It can provide a foundation for mentoring and talent programs, identifying key people, change management, and succession planning. It can also support the assessment of teamwork, collaboration, communication, and onboarding.
- Always interpret the results in their organizational context. Consider the organization’s characteristics, the team’s responsibilities, and the individual’s role.
Would you like to learn more about Organizational Network Analysis? Feel free to contact us at hello@cx-ray.com!
