You Need ONA In Your Company
Organizational Network Analysis (ONA) has been resurrected by digital and is here to evaluate organizations’ inner workflow. By unlocking visibility for what once was invisible to Human Resources, it allows companies gain insight into relevant strategic connections that support employee’s efficient work. This is not the first time that People Analytics has proved to us that People Data is vital for high performing organizations, and ensures a payback strategy (Josh Bersin).
In this short post, let’s take an introductory look at what ONA is, for what it can be used for, what business questions can solve, and what are the data sources behind it.
In case you have no prior knowledge on this term, there are two main factors to keep in mind in order to understand ONA. First, that People Data clarify companies’ performance and productivity, and secondly, that connections between employees are the key to form networks.
Let’s start by defining ONA by quoting Professor Rob Cross’ words, an expert on the subject. He explains that “ONA can provide an x-ray into the inner workings of an organization”, which offers transparency in collaborations and communication, helping identify and exploit the drivers of revenue production, innovation and effectiveness. Likewise, David Green’s article on the subject offers a simpler definition to Cross’ words by saying that “ONA enables you to see what is going on in a company” since it can “provide a fresh lens into how these teams and networks really collaborate and behave, and how work really gets done”. My apologies to the reader for “over-quoting”, but there is no easier way to explain this without falling into fallacies of vague language.
Assuming this, let’s now take a look at some of the business questions that ONA can help you solve. From the employee’s side, you can ask “Which employees are at risk of burnout / turnover?”, “Who is influential / efficient in the company?”, or “How are employees responding to the new manager?”. From the organizational perspective, it can help you answer “What is the impact of a department’s work?”, “How can we stimulate productivity within the organization?” or “How can we measure the time-to-productivity of people / teams?”. Evidently, this list falls short to explain the power of ONA.
Breaking down these questions we find the two types of data sources that can be collected: Active and Passive ONA. Active ONA refers to self-reported information, such as surveys. It offers a point-in-time measure, and it can collect data such as leadership development or management changes. However, while some may argue that Active ONA collection is the most effective, they overlook something important. There is a cost to such a traditional resource: we are not able to see real network connections, and therefore it erodes the ability to understand information flow and dynamics. Passive ONA solves this problem since it is based on metadata from corporative tools, such as email, calendar, or even AI softwares. Therefore, as long as it sets respectful employee privacy terms and conditions, it is truly advantageous. It can collect data such as burnout risks, turnover and engagement.
Reaching this point, I believe some of the most important questions regarding ONA have been answered. It is evident that technology has evolved to the point that it is changing business models around the world. ONA is an example of a practical way to understand collaboration and gives visibility to how work is truly done. It is no surprise that companies are investing in it in order to optimize operational efficiency by broadening their network insights.
How do you think ONA is optimizing companies workflow?
