Harnessing The Power Of Informal Employee Networks

Registration is required but the registration provides free access to this particular article. I would offer some cautionary advice - informal networks are - well - informal. Trying to make them formal (formal, informal networks) may not always work as intended. You need to understand the nature of the relationships, the reasons such information connections exist and the receptiveness of that network to being influenced in inappropriate ways (as management might be tempted to "game" the network to produce certain outcomes that it cannot deliver through traditional structures).

Formal networks are sometimes be equated by people as a communities of some type and that perception is not entirely incorrect - communities are comprised of networks but not all networks are communities. Sometimes formal networks truly exist as networks rather than communities and become activated when a particular event or other situational context occurs. So it is important to understand when you can and cannot formalized a network and the nuances between a network and a community.

It is also important to understand that informal networks will form within and throughout formal networks and communities (people tend to be tribal). Which leads to the topic of group formation as another dynamic to be understood. Sometimes you can indeed harness networks in formal ways. Sometimes the best you can do is create the context and environment for informal networks to thrive and influence behaviors indirectly through leadership, communication, information sharing, teaming, community-building, and related knowledge and human capital management practices.

The article is a good read, although at times, I found the explanation between formal networks and communities not always clearly explained.  

Harnessing the power of informal employee networks

• Most large corporations have dozens if not hundreds of informal networks, in which human nature, including self-interest, leads people to share ideas and collaborate.
• Informal networks are a powerful source of horizontal collaboration across thick silo walls, but as ad hoc structures their performance depends on serendipity and they can’t be managed.
• By creating formal networks, companies can harness the advantages of informal ones and give management much more control over networking across the organization.
• The steps needed to formalize a network include giving it a “leader,” focusing interactions in it on specific topics, and building an infrastructure that stimulates the ongoing exchange of ideas.

This article contains the following exhibits:

• Exhibit 1: Formal structures do not reflect how work really gets done.
• Exhibit 2: Informal networks often have members who play such crucial roles that their departure would disrupt the network.
• Exhibit 3: The differences between formal networks and matrix structures are significant.
• Exhibit 4: A formal network reaching across the hierarchical structure can facilitate interactions among marketing professionals within an organization.

The McKinsey Quarterly: The Online Journal of McKinsey & Co.