Network Analysis

 

Some of you may know that I've been interning with Josh Bersin Academy while I've been job searching over the past year or so.  The HR research that is being done by the academy is so incredibly important, as it will shape the decisions of many HR leaders as they plan or test their own company's return to work policies and protocols.  For the most recent iteration of The Big Reset, I was working with a group that focused on Organizational Redesign.  Our group was absolutely incredible and inspired me to touch on a concept that I find personally fascinating.  During one of our sessions, a participant mentioned the idea of utilizing a network analysis to harness the social powers of influential employees to facilitate change within an organization.  This idea of network analysis is what I'd like to take a deeper look at throughout this post.

Rob Cross, one of the main researchers in the field of network analysis, breaks down the concept quite well on his webpage.  His basic definition is as follows: "Organizational network analysis (ONA) measures and graphs patterns of collaboration by examining the strength, frequency and nature of interactions between people in networks. ONA provides detailed information about hidden factors for success, such as flow of information, decision-making, revenue producing collaborations, innovation, inclusion—even trust, purpose and energy."

This idea of identifying influential individuals within a network can be highly useful when attempting to implement a cultural shift in the workplace.  Social cues can be very impactful when they come from an individual that we admire or would like to be more like.  In fact, social cognitive theory supports this, stating that we first take cues from individuals like ourselves and then those individuals that we aspire to be more like. 

Being connected, in general, is incredibly important to humans.  Studies have shown that individuals with fewer social ties tend to have a higher mortality rate, while those who were very connected had lower mortality rates.  Social support is also shown to decrease the negative effect of stress on one's body.  It makes sense then that a popular turn of phrase we all know is, 'No man is an island'.  Humans feed off the energy of others and can see many benefits from having a supportive network, especially in an area that often breeds stress, such as the workplace.

During the JBA sessions, participants identified that there are two different ways to collect the data necessary for network analysis: active and passive.  The active route involves surveying employees for their own responses on who they interact with and how often.  The concern with using this approach stems from the worry that if employees are constantly berated with surveys, they will become less likely to participate voluntarily.  Passive collection calls for the monitoring of employee interactions over systems such as email, slack or other platforms that an organization may have in place for their people.  The issue with this type of collection, of course, would be personal privacy.  Do employees have to opt-in for this passive monitoring?  Do they all know that it is happening?  Will this information be used only for network analysis?  The passive approach clearly leaves many questions to be answered too.

Whether active or passive collection is used, the aftermath leaves an organization with insight into who within their organization might be an influencer of others.  Position within a network matters for this identification.  There are three position types within a network: central, peripheral and bridging.  Central nodes are prominent in the network.  They tend to learn about new ideas first and have access to information before others.  Peripheral nodes, alternatively, are free from many social norms because they are on the outside of the network.  These individuals, however, tend to have more connectivity with other networks.  And lastly, bridging nodes connect otherwise disconnected groups.  Those influencers identified are often central nodes, at least for any initial change communication.  It is likely that ides from these nodes will get the most traction and be the most visible within the organization.

When attempting to utilize this type of analysis within the workplace, there are four strategies for network interventions.  So far, I have mostly written about the only the first. They are as follows:

  1. Individual Identification
  2. Segmentation
  3. Induction
  4. Alteration  

Individual Identification is when you identify individuals within a network that can act as change agents.  These individuals will be able to serve as change agents due to their central position in the network and wide spread throughout it.  Segmentation calls for the locating of subgroups in the network.  From there, different messages can be designed based on which subgroup is being communicated with.  Induction has a goal of using the network structure to induce a change.  Examples of this include word of mouth, the snowball effect and outreach.  This strategy can often lead to individual identification as it can be seen who the influential players are in spreading the change.  And lastly, alteration involves changing the network in question.  This means rewiring, deleting or adding nodes in the network.  However, this method can often result in backlash from an employee population, especially one that is resistant to change.

While ONA may not be for everyone, I think it is definitely interesting to consider its' use in the workplace.  I would hope that individuals could trust their employer to use their private data appropriately if the organization utilized passive monitoring within ONA.  Unfortunately, I think that trust is the missing piece of the puzzle many times.  When this is the case, it might be a better idea to start with active ONA.  Getting the employees involved through surveys and then demonstrating that change will be implemented could be the action needed for employees to start trusting their leadership.

What do you think about ONA?  Has your organization used it, passively or actively?  I'd love to hear what others have experienced!

-Vicky

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