Part 5: Undertaking an Organisational Social Network Analysis

Introduction

The process for undertaking an OSNA should ideally be an integral part of the discovery phase of a change intervention rather than an isolated data collection or research exercise. It can, of itself, be an effective initial OD intervention and network building opportunity. When repeated it also provides an effective way of tracking the progress of network development and change projects. The important concept here is that you should begin by embodying the principles of developing and supporting effective networks in your planning and implementation of the OSNA – starting with a network mindset.

Establishing the Guiding Coalition

We recommend establishing a small network to steer the process – a community of interest in the development, use and application of networks to change projects – a Guiding Coalition.

In his book "Accelerate"[i], John P. Kotter describes the concept of a ‘Guiding Coalition’ as a critical element for successful organisational transformation. The Guiding Coalition refers to a group of influential individuals who come together to lead and drive change within an organisation.

When it comes to undertaking an OSNA, the Guiding Coalition plays an essential role in facilitating and leveraging the analysis effectively. These individuals might include those already associated with some of the existing well-evidenced networks such as formal clinical networks, improvement networks, experts by experience etc. You will be adding to the Guiding Coalition as evidence of further key influencers emerges from the OSNA. There will also be a clear linkage with the Programme Management Office (PMO) to ensure alignment and feedback.

The Guiding Coalition's role in relation to an OSNA might include:

• Championing Change: The Guiding Coalition serves as change champions who advocate for the implementation of an OSNA within the organisation. They understand the importance of analysing the social network and its impact on collaboration, communication, and knowledge sharing.
• Building Support: The Coalition works to build support and gain buy-in from key stakeholders within the organisation. They engage leaders, managers, and employees, explaining the benefits and purpose of the OSNA. This helps create a sense of urgency and willingness to participate in the analysis.

• Defining Objectives: The Guiding Coalition collaboratively defines the objectives and goals of the OSNA. They identify the specific areas to be analysed, such as communication patterns, information flow, bottlenecks, or opportunities for collaboration. This ensures that the analysis is aligned with the organisation's strategic priorities.
• Facilitating Data Collection: The Guiding Coalition plays a crucial role in facilitating the collection of data for the OSNA. They ensure that the necessary tools and methods are in place to gather information about the social network, such as surveys, interviews, or digital tracking tools. They also provide reassurance about how the data will be used.
• Analysing Results: The Guiding Coalition works closely with the OSNA experts or analysts to interpret the results of the analysis. They help make sense of the data and identify patterns, strengths, weaknesses, and potential areas for improvement. This collaborative analysis enables the Coalition to develop informed strategies and action plans.
• Driving Change Initiatives: Based on the OSNA findings, the Guiding Coalition takes the lead in driving network development and support initiatives within the organisation. They develop and implement strategies to strengthen collaboration, improve communication channels, foster knowledge sharing, and address any identified gaps or challenges. The Coalition leverages its influence and networks to promote the adoption of new practices and behaviours.
• Monitoring Progress: The Guiding Coalition continuously monitors the progress of the change initiatives resulting from the OSNA. They track key metrics and assess the impact of the implemented strategies on the social network within the organisation. This ongoing monitoring allows the Coalition to adjust, provide support, and ensure that the desired outcomes are achieved.

Overall, the Guiding Coalition plays a pivotal role in leveraging the insights gained from an OSNA. They drive change, align the analysis with organisational objectives, facilitate data collection, analyse results, and lead the implementation of strategies to enhance collaboration and communication. Their collective efforts ensure that the OSNA serves as a catalyst for positive organisational transformation.

Key steps in undertaking the OSNA

Identify the Actors and Relationships:The first step is to identify the actors (nodes) and the relationships (edges) to be analysed. In an organisational context, actors could be one or more of employees, teams, projects or departments, and relationships could be information flows, collaboration, or decision-making influence.

Identify Node and Edge Attributes. Confirm the data you wish to gather about the actors. If this is a person then e.g., role, organisation, directorate/division, skills. For edges/relationship then e.g., frequency, value, type (reporting, mentoring, coaching).

Data Collection: Information about the actors and their relationships is gathered through surveys, interviews, observation, or existing data sources (such as email, chat channels or collaboration platforms). This process can be time-consuming, particularly in large organisations, but it is crucial for the analysis's accuracy. It is highly dependent on the organisation(s) being able to validate basic contact and role details (email, directorate, role, title) at each stage. Typically, a controlled snowball survey might be used - an initial cohort selects from a pre-populated list but also has the option to add new names to the list. New names are validated and form the second cohort for the survey. This process is repeated for subsequent cohorts up to a pre-determined limit.

Data Analysis: The collected data is then analysed using specialised software. The software helps identify important network characteristics, such as the density (how connected the actors are), centralisation (how much the network revolves around a few central actors), and clustering (how the network breaks down into sub-groups).

Visualisation and Interpretation: The analysed data is typically visualised as a network graph supported by a range of metrics. This graph and the metrics are then interpreted to draw initial conclusions about the nature of the relationships in the network and to identify key actors or groups.

Application: The Guiding Coalition together with the key influencers identified by the OSNA itself are brought together to explore and contextualise the outputs of the analysis and to apply them to the strategic priorities of the organisation. This activity provides a powerful OD intervention in its own right.?

The insights gained from OSNA can be used to tackle various organisational challenges, from improving communication flows and decision-making processes to identifying influencers, fostering innovation and collaboration and targeting skills development opportunities, including mentoring and coaching.

The measures that are commonly used in an OSNA

There are several measures that are commonly used as part of an OSNA to provide valuable insights into the relationships and interactions between individuals within an organisation. These are some of the most useful measures to use as part of OSNA:

• Centrality Measures: These measures assess the extent to which an individual is located at the centre of the network or is a key intermediary between different groups or individuals. Examples of centrality measures include degree centrality, betweenness centrality, and closeness centrality.
• Network Density: This measure assesses the extent to which individuals in a network are connected to each other. A dense network indicates that many individuals are connected to each other, while a sparse network indicates that individuals are more isolated from each other.

• Cohesion Measures:These measures assess the extent to which individuals in a network are connected to each other within subgroups or clusters. Examples of cohesion measures include modularity, clustering coefficient, and transitivity.
• Structural Holes: This measure assesses the extent to which an individual occupies a strategic position in the network by bridging structural holes or gaps between different groups or individuals.
• Tie Strength: This measure assesses the strength or intensity of the relationships between individuals in the network. Strong ties are characterised by frequent interaction, emotional closeness, and a high degree of trust, while weak ties are characterised by infrequent interaction, lower emotional closeness, and a lower degree of trust.

The choice of measures used as part of OSNA will depend on the specific research question or problem being addressed. Different measures may provide different insights into the network structure and dynamics, so it's important to select measures that are most relevant and appropriate for the research question at hand

[i] Kotter, J. (2012) Accelerate! Harvard Business Review Nov 2012 https://www.kotterinc.com/bookshelf/accelerate/