Organisational Network Mapping for HR Leaders

Organizational leaders would likely agree that there are informal networks and connections between employees that influence information flows, relationships, and productivity.

Mapping these organizational networks can provide powerful insights to guide workforce strategy and support key talent, enhancing collaboration, innovation, and performance across the business.

In this article, we will explore what exactly organizational network mapping is, the types of networks it reveals, the cultural and communication insights it provides, how it can inform organizational development and productivity initiatives, and best practices for implementing an organizational network analysis program.

The value of organizational network analysis for HR professionals

Organizational network analysis (ONA) is a powerful methodology that enables HR leaders to visually map the informal connections and relationships between people within an organization. By revealing these unseen networks, ONA provides strategic insights to strengthen collaboration, identify talent, and inform critical decisions.

Defining organizational network analysis

ONA utilizes social network analysis to create visual maps of the informal networks, connections, and flows of communication that exist within an organization. Specifically, it looks at:

Communication patterns: Who talks to who? Who shares information with who?
Workflows: How is work passed between people and teams?
Relationships: Who considers who a friend or advisor? Who trusts who?

By surveying employees, analyzing the results, and mapping out these connections, ONA exposes the true networks that drive productivity, innovation, and culture.

How ONA works

Carrying out an effective ONA involves three key steps:

Surveying employees with questions about communication, collaborations, friendships, and information flows.
Analyzing survey data using social network analysis tools and metrics.
Data visualization to map out connection patterns, clusters, bridges, bottlenecks, and hubs across the organization.

Advanced analytics can also segment networks by team, location, role, and more while calculating statistics like network density, centrality, and subgroup analysis.

ONA empowers HR leaders with unique and actionable insights into:

Talent identification: Detect high-performers and rising stars based on their connections and sphere of influence.
Diversity and inclusion: Evaluate connectivity across demographic groups to foster integration.
Collaboration: Identify silos and strengthen partnerships between teams and business units.
Innovation: Understand idea flows to accelerate knowledge sharing.
Culture and engagement: Pinpoint disconnected employees to improve retention and morale.

These powerful insights can profoundly shape organizational strategy, communication, learning and development, and workforce planning. ONA is an invaluable asset for data-driven HR leaders seeking to maximize human capital.

What is an organizational network?

An organizational network refers to the informal connections and relationships between people within a company. It maps out how employees interact, communicate, and collaborate with each other.

Understanding the organizational network provides important insights that can inform HR strategy and decisions. Some key benefits include:

Identifying silos or gaps in communication flow: Network mapping visually highlights what connections exist or don't exist. HR can facilitate building bridges across disconnected groups.
Pinpointing influential people: Influential employees often have many connections across the organization. HR can leverage them as change agents to promote initiatives.
Supporting onboarding of new hires: The network map shows who the most connected people are. HR can advise new hires to connect with those individuals to ramp up faster.
Enabling smarter team configuration: Seeing cross-functional connections helps compose teams with complementary skills and relationships.
Diagnosing organizational health: Dense networks often correlate with greater alignment, innovation, and performance. Sparse fragmented networks reveal areas for improvement.

Organizational network analysis requires using software tools to map out all connections through surveys and communication data. The resulting network diagram is an X-ray into the organizational nervous system that HR can diagnose and treat. By leveraging network insights, HR can pursue targeted interventions to strengthen alignment, collaboration, and performance.

What is an organized network?

An organizational network refers to the informal connections and relationships that exist between people within a company. While the formal organizational chart shows the official reporting structure, analyzing the organizational network provides insight into how work actually gets done through informal collaboration and information sharing.

Mapping out an organization's network can uncover critical connections, dependencies, and communication pathways that may not be captured on the org chart alone. Understanding these networks is key for organizational leaders and HR professionals to:

Identify influential employees who are central connectors across the organization. These people may not hold formal leadership roles but have an outsized impact through their relationships and ability to bring people together.
Pinpoint network gaps where groups are disconnected. HR can focus on strengthening connections through initiatives like mentorship programs, job rotations, or events that foster relationship building.
Assess how changes like new hires or departures will impact network connections and workflow. This allows leaders to proactively address potential bottlenecks.
Gain visibility into which teams collaborate often and where there are opportunities to improve information sharing.

In summary, analyzing an organization's internal network provides data-backed insights to inform critical workforce decisions around communication, engagement, productivity, and more. As both a diagnostic and planning tool, it empowers HR leaders to nurture the connective tissue that binds a company together.

Why is organizational network important?

Organizational network mapping provides critical insights that can inform strategic decisions in human resources management. Understanding the connections and relationships between employees at all levels is key for:

Fostering Collaboration

Mapping out networks reveals opportunities to bring together employees across silos. HR can facilitate collaboration by identifying central nodes and brokers within the organization. This allows more effective transfer of knowledge and best practices.

Supporting Innovation

Informal networks often incubate new ideas organically. Identifying where innovative thinking emerges allows HR to nurture talent and creativity. This ensures continuity of the innovation lifecycle from conception to execution.

Promoting Engagement

Network analysis surfaces isolated employees or teams. Proactively addressing engagement issues prevents attrition and improves productivity and job satisfaction.

Enhancing Communication

Mapping communication pathways highlights potential bottlenecks or gatekeepers of information. HR can work to ensure open, multidirectional communication critical for organizational agility.

In summary, visualizing the hidden org chart creates actionable insights. Network analysis is a powerful diagnostic tool for HR to optimize human capital strategy.

What is organizational network mapping?

Organizational network mapping involves analyzing the connections and relationships between people in an organization to understand the informal networks that exist. This can provide valuable insights for HR leaders.

Some key things to know about organizational network mapping:

It looks at communication patterns, information flows, and relationships among employees. This sheds light on how work really gets done day-to-day through informal networks, beyond just the formal org chart.
Network mapping tools and methods allow you to visualize these connections via network graphs and diagrams. Nodes represent people, and lines between them show relationships or flows of communication.
Key metrics can also be calculated, like which people are central connectors or bridges between disparate groups.
This analysis reveals opportunities related to communication, collaboration, innovation, knowledge sharing and more.
For HR, it provides data to inform strategies around things like change management, culture building, identifying leaders/influencers, facilitating connections between teams, and making processes more efficient.

In summary, organizational network analysis is a method for quantitatively and visually analyzing the informal networks, connections, and communication patterns between employees. This provides insights that can strengthen collaboration, productivity, and strategic HR practices.

Organisational Network Mapping: A Tool for Human Capital Services

Organisational network mapping provides valuable insights that can enhance human capital services in several key ways:

Enhancing Human Capital Services with ONA

Organisational network analysis (ONA) tools help HR identify influential employees and groups within the company. This allows HR to:

Better understand company culture and employee dynamics
Identify key communicators to disseminate important messages
Recognize employees well-positioned to lead change initiatives
Leverage connections to enhance collaboration and innovation
Tailor leadership development and coaching

By revealing the underlying social networks, ONA empowers HR to more effectively manage talent and align human capital strategy.

Organizational Network Analysis Tools and Techniques

ONA employs specialized software platforms to visually map communication, advice-seeking, and collaborative relationships. Data is gathered through:

Surveys: Employees self-report their connections
Email analysis: Software extracts network data from email metadata
Sensors: Wearable devices track in-person interactions

This reveals the informal networks underlying formal org charts.

Case Study: Organizational Network Analysis Example

Company X used ONA during a merger to identify integration challenges. The network map showed:

Silos: Minimal connections between the two companies
Centralized flow: Information passed through only a few key people
Isolated employees: Some were disconnected from the network

This enabled targeted interventions:

Bridge employees to increase cross-company collaboration
Distribute responsibilities more evenly
Improve visibility of isolated employees

Adapting to Global Human Capital Trends with ONA

As global trends drive flatter, more agile org structures, ONA delivers insights to optimize human capital:

Flexible networks for adaptable team formation
Diversity metrics ensuring inclusion
Remote worker connections preventing isolation
Cultural integration for global organizations

Staying ahead of shifting workforce dynamics, ONA transforms how HR serves both the organization and its people.

Understanding Types of Organisational Networks through ONA

Organizational network analysis (ONA) is a methodology used to map and measure relationships and information flows between people, groups, and organizations. By visualizing these connections, ONA provides insights into how work gets done within a company.

There are several types of organizational networks that can be analyzed:

Types of Organisational Networks Identified by ONA

Formal networks represent official reporting structures, teams, and business processes. Mapping these connections shows how information flows through formal channels and identifies gaps or bottlenecks.

Informal networks reveal relationships that exist due to collaboration, friendships, and social interactions. These links often facilitate innovation and knowledge sharing.

Communities of practice connect people with common interests and expertise. Identifying these clusters allows organizations to leverage shared knowledge.

Innovation networks link employees involved in generating new ideas and processes. Understanding these ecosystems can aid innovation strategy.

Support networks consist of mentoring, coaching, and advice-sharing connections. They indicate sources of guidance and growth opportunities.

Social network theory provides the theoretical basis for ONA. It analyzes relationships and information flows between people and groups. Key concepts include:

Nodes: The individual actors or groups within a network.
Ties: The relationships between nodes that facilitate exchange.
Centrality: The level of influence nodes have based on their position in the network.

By applying social network theory, ONA helps explain human behaviors and connections through this network perspective.

Dynamic Network Analysis for Evolving Structures

As organizations change over time, so do their internal networks. Dynamic network analysis tracks shifts in relationships and information flows. This reveals how networks evolve and predicts future patterns.

HR can leverage dynamic ONA to track the impact of changes - like new hires, departures, promotions - on collaboration. It also aids succession planning by modeling how networks might adapt to leadership transitions.

Psychological Safety and Network Connectivity

Research by Google found psychological safety to be the top predictor of team performance. Teams with greater comfort taking interpersonal risks and making mistakes collaborate better.

ONA maps the connections that foster psychological safety, like mentorships and peer support systems. By strengthening these networks, HR helps enhance team cohesion and performance.

Cultural Insights and Communication Patterns Unveiled by ONA

Organizational network analysis (ONA) is a powerful tool for uncovering the hidden cultural dynamics and communication patterns within an organization. By mapping out networks of relationships and interactions, ONA reveals the informal connections and social exchanges that shape how work gets done.

Decoding Organizational Culture through Network Maps

ONA provides unique insights into organizational culture - the unwritten rules, mindsets, and values that influence behavior. By analyzing interaction patterns, HR leaders can decode the actual lived culture that employees experience day-to-day.

Mapping collaboration networks exposes the level of siloization or cross-team connectivity. Identifying central hubs and peripherial nodes shows inclusion dynamics. Measuring network density and clustering can indicate openness to sharing work-related knowledge. ONA renders the invisible cultural forces tangible.

Armed with this network intelligence, HR strategists can better nurture the elements of culture that drive engagement and performance. Fostering connections between silos reduces friction. Drawing in peripheral voices enhances inclusion. Incentivizing collaboration and knowledge sharing accelerates innovation.

Analyzing communication network maps through ONA also allows HR to pinpoint bottlenecks and leverage key information hubs.

Detecting individuals or teams acting as bridges between disparate groups enables more efficient routing of messages across the organization. Identifying central connectors makes it possible to tap into influencers for improved change management.

Assessing the overall shape of the communication network - its density, clusters, and bridges - empowers HR to address gaps for smoother workflows. This network-level view is invaluable for enhancing communication agility.

The rising adoption of enterprise social networking platforms is rapidly rewiring organizational networks. ONA delivers vital diagnostics for monitoring the effects on connectivity.

Measuring user activity, network growth, and engagement levels shows the changing communication norms as virtual interactions supplement or replace face-to-face dealings. Tracking the emergence of new bridges and hubs reveals the shifting landscape of influence.

These insights allow HR to gauge adoption patterns across segments and functions. ONA enables data-driven decisions on how best to integrate social collaboration tools for optimal network health and performance.

Fundamental academic concepts like social capital and social exchange theory are embedded within ONA. Social capital represents the value derived from social networks, from trust and reciprocity to access to knowledge and opportunities. Social exchange theory views workplace interactions as a marketplace of traded favors and influence.

By quantifying the strength of collaborative links and locating where social capital concentrates across the organization, ONA helps HR leaders identify strategic areas to nurture. The social exchange perspective informs talent management and retention tactics through network insights.

Together, these concepts underline why network connectivity, cultivated relationships, and inclusive cultures are vital strategic priorities. ONA supplies the proof points for HR to make the compelling case.

Leveraging ONA for Organizational Development and Performance

Organizational network analysis (ONA) can provide valuable insights to inform organizational development initiatives and performance improvement strategies. By mapping the connections and relationships between employees, teams, and departments, ONA reveals the informal networks underlying formal organizational structures.

ONA as a Driver for Targeted Development Programs

ONA can identify key individuals and teams that are central connectors within the organization's network. Development programs can then target these critical nodes to equip them with enhanced leadership, collaboration, and communication skills. Strengthening the capabilities of those central to the network can increase performance across the entire organization.

For example, ONA may reveal that the sales and marketing teams do not collaborate frequently. A tailored development program focused on building connections between these teams could improve business outcomes.

According to social identity theory, an individual's sense of belonging to a group is a key driver of behavior. ONA provides insights into the strength of connections both within and between teams. This understanding of team dynamics and identities can be leveraged to enhance collaboration.

Initiatives aimed at fostering shared vision and purpose amongst team members can utilize ONA findings to bring teams closer together. This can ultimately translate to improved coordination and productivity.

Collaboration and Innovation: Insights from ONA

By highlighting connections between previously unconnected individuals and teams, ONA can reveal opportunities for new collaborative initiatives. Bringing together employees with diverse perspectives generates potential for innovation.

HR leaders can nurture these relationships by establishing cross-functional forums, networking events, and team building activities. This sparks new ways of thinking and problem solving across the organization.

Health and Well-being Insights from Organizational Networks

The connectivity and relationships revealed in an organization's network have implications for employee health, wellbeing and engagement.

Isolated pockets within the network may indicate teams struggling with burnout, disconnect or lack of purpose. Targeted strategies to improve communication flows and provide support to these teams can reinvigorate engagement.

Ultimately, ONA provides data-driven insights to enhance organizational development, performance, and employee experience.

ONA in the Hybrid Workplace: Managing Virtual Teams and Productivity

Adapting ONA for the Hybrid Workplace

The shift to hybrid work environments presents new challenges for applying organizational network analysis (ONA). With employees splitting time between the office and remote locations, their networks and interactions inevitably change.

To adapt ONA, data collection methods may need adjustment. For example, digital communication can be tracked to map virtual connections alongside in-person relationships. Anonymous employee surveys can also uncover insights into evolving networks.

Additional considerations include:

Capturing the breadth of connections - from in-person to digital
Understanding changes in communication flows and collaboration
Identifying isolated employees struggling with hybrid work
Pinpointing overtaxed employees juggling too many networks
Updating analyses regularly to track trends

With some modifications, ONA remains a valuable tool for mapping networks in a hybrid environment.

Virtual Teams and Network Analysis

For geographically dispersed virtual teams, ONA reveals connections vital for coordination and performance. Analyses can uncover:

The central team members driving productivity
Sparsely connected employees at risk of isolation
The presence or lack of subgroup clusters that may hinder cohesion
Overlooked areas of expertise within the team

These insights allow leaders to strengthen virtual team collaboration. For example, they may:

Connect peripheral members with central players
Draw on underutilized skills and experience
Build relationships between subgroups

In essence, ONA transforms abstract virtual teams into living, breathing networks, paving the way for targeted improvements.

The Relationship Between ONA and Productivity Metrics

By relating organizational network patterns to productivity metrics, leaders can pinpoint correlations, including:

Dense networks with many redundant ties tending to enable efficient coordination
Brokerage positions between groups correlating to higher performance
Centralized networks improving productivity up to a point before becoming constrained

Ideally, networks strike the right balance between connectivity, cohesion, and diversity tailored to organizational needs. ONA reveals this sweet spot for maximum productivity, even for virtual teams.

Maintaining Human Behavior Insights in a Digital Environment

Despite reliance on technology, virtual interactions remain fundamentally human in nature. ONA provides vital behavioral insights even in digital environments through patterns like:

Affinity bias driving more frequent communication between demographically similar employees
Power dynamics enabling central actors to wield greater influence
Reciprocity encouraging mutual support and exchange between connections

In essence, organizational networks have always been defined by human behavior. While the medium may have shifted online, the underlying social forces endure, and ONA continues to reveal key behavioral trends.

Choosing the Right ONA Tool or Platform

Critical ONA Tool Capabilities

When evaluating organizational network analysis (ONA) tools, there are several key capabilities to look for:

Advanced analytics: The tool should provide in-depth network metrics like centrality, density, and subgroup analysis to uncover insights.
Dynamic insights: Look for a tool that updates insights in real-time as connections change. This allows you to monitor trends.
Data connectivity: The system should integrate with your existing HR platforms like ATS to sync employee data.
Intuitive network maps: An effective ONA tool makes relationships visually clear through sociograms, highlighting connections.

Leading ONA Vendor Overview

Some leading providers in the ONA vendor landscape include:

Glint: This Gartner Magic Quadrant leader provides an ONA solution alongside their employee engagement platform, allowing easy analysis of how networks impact experience.
Polinode: Polinode offers a dedicated ONA SaaS platform with machine learning features to analyze informal networks and advise organizational changes.

Both options provide the robust analytics, scalability, and actionable insights needed for enterprise-wide network mapping initiatives.

Best Practices for Adoption and Measurement

To drive adoption of ONA insights, it's critical to get buy-in from executives and employees on its value. Consistently measure defined KPIs like retention rate, internal mobility rate, and performance rating fairness to track program impact. Use surveys and interviews to supplement quantified metrics. Provide training resources to ensure proper organizational network interpretation.

Creating a Customized Organizational Network Analysis Template

When creating a tailored ONA survey template, first define your strategic goals and hypotheses for the program. Ask questions that reveal connections between employees, knowledge sharing, access to resources, and perceived cultural elements. Assess both formal and informal networks with matrix-style relationship questions. Keep the survey concise while encompassing functions and levels. Allow open-ended input to capture qualitative insights. Run analysis on time-series data to monitor trends. Work with stakeholders and vendors to ensure your custom template provides actionable insights.

Conclusion: Key Takeaways in Organisational Network Mapping for HR

Organisational network mapping provides critical insights that can inform HR strategies and decision-making. By analyzing informal networks and connections between employees, HR leaders can better understand organizational dynamics and culture.

Recap of Organisational Network Analysis Benefits

Key benefits of conducting an organisational network analysis include:

Identifying influential employees based on their central positions in communication or advice networks
Pinpointing silos or gaps in collaboration between teams or departments
Supporting diversity, equity and inclusion efforts by revealing exclusionary networks
Informing interventions to strengthen connections for improved productivity and innovation

Strategic Implications for HR Leadership

ONA presents several strategic opportunities for HR leaders such as:

Using network data to guide team formation, succession planning, and leadership development
Developing targeted programs to bridge network gaps between groups
Leveraging central players to promote change initiatives and strategic priorities
Monitoring network evolution over time to track culture shifts

Future Directions in ONA and HR

Emerging ONA methodologies using AI and people analytics promise even deeper visibility into informal networks. As these capabilities mature, HR leaders can harness network insights for data-driven talent management, enhanced employee experience, and more human-centric organizational designs. Though already immensely valuable, ONA's potential to transform HR strategy has only just begun.