The effectiveness and efficiency of an organization—innovation, productivity, and employee satisfaction—hinge on the strength of the relationships of its people. When leaders understand the patterns of interaction among the people in their organizations, they can leverage this knowledge to:

• Accelerate the flow of knowledge and information across functional and organizational boundaries
• Identify the thought leaders, key information brokers and bottlenecks
• Target opportunities where increased knowledge flow will have the most impact

Organizational network analysis (ONA) provides a methodology including tools, practices for mapping and leveraging informal social networks. Read a quick summary of ONA, below. Or consider a purchase of my full report, "The Social-Network Toolkit."

 

Download a summary sheet of Hutchinson Associate's Organizational Network Analysis Consulting Service Offering

	Read my Article: "KM and the social network," Knowledge Management Magazine, May 2003
	Find more readings and resources about ONA, including my presentations from conferences.

ONA: A Quick Summary

Organizational network analysis (ONA) comprises tools that provide managers with a visual map of the connections between and among individuals, groups, and organizations. ONA also provides quantitative data that substantiate the maps and their underlying patterns. Interviews conducted before and after the data gathering analysis ensure that the data are positioned in the context of the organization and will not be misinterpreted or misused.

The Methodology

Employees in an organization or group respond to a questionnaire containing questions like:

• How often do you receive information from each of the others in this group that you need to do to your work?
• How well do you understand the knowledge, skills, and experience of each of the other people in this group

Software analysis of the responses results in visual and quantitative views that provide the basis for organizational intervention and individual action.

Network analysis can be an effective diagnostic and planning tool for the development of communities of practice.

The data gathering and analysis processes provide a baseline against which you can plan and prioritize the appropriate changes and interventions to increase the social connections within the organization - effectively building "social capital."

Business Benefits

Benefit	Achieved By
Retention of people with vital corporate knowledge.	Increasing the social capital in the organization. People who are more connected are more likely to be satisfied with their work and more likely to stay.
Increased innovation, productivity, and responsiveness.	Closing gaps in people’s knowledge of one another’s experience and expertise. Decreasing the amount of time it takes for people to locate and access needed knowledge.
Smarter decisions about changing the formal organization structure or introducing new processes into organizations.	Understanding the structure of the existing social networks. SNA gives insights into how work is really accomplished in an organization, how decisions are made, and the effectiveness of the existing organizational structures.
Insight into the challenges of integration following restructuring, mergers, or acquisitions.	Identifying specific individuals or groups who are most likely to have the most influence across group borders and boundaries. It may be important to take special steps to retain people who are key to a network.

About Social Network Analysis
The analysis of networks of social relations has been a part of the academic landscape for many years. More recently, the study of networks and social networks and complex organizations have been applied in the study of many contemporary phenomena, including epidemiology and the fight against terrorism. Social Network Analysis as a knowledge management practice was advanced by IBM's Institute for Knowledge-Enabled Organizations (IKO) beginning in 2000.

I am privileged to have learned from and to work with Rob Cross and Andrew Parker in their research on social network analysis at the IKO and to enjoy the advice and collegial support of Valdis Krebs and Stephen Borgatti. All are are the forefront of this emergent management method.