FORMALIZE AN ORGANIZATION'S NETWORK

In most organizations, relationship networks are highly informal and unstructured. If your company wishes to develop a formal network, it can start with the seven steps shown below.

1.  Develop clear objectives

Setting precise goals and timetables¾and defining financial benefits¾will help your organization dedicate resources needed to build its relationship network. General objectives include developing business, cutting costs and bridging cultural divides, but networking supports any strategy where relationships matter.

2.  Decide on the mechanics

An enterprise-wide consistent networking system is usually not practical, nor is it essential. Some co-workers may already be comfortable using an online system, contact management tool or combination of the two. For those who are not already using an online system, the organization may suggest any of a number of commercial networking sites and/or contact managers. The key, of course, is to consider these systems simply as tools. What really matters are the contacts in your co-workers' networks and the strength of their relationships. 

3.  Publish rules of conduct

To create a sense of community and consistency within the organization, it's a good idea to publish rules of networking conduct. The rules should be designed to allow co-workers to create and maintain relationships while protecting their privacy, preventing abuses and discouraging self-serving behavior. See sample rules of conduct.

4.  Encourage co-workers to create and build their personal networks

An organization's relationship network is a "meta network" of co-worker networks combined with the organization's own contacts (a product-customer relationship, for example, or a "friend of the firm"). The key to building a complete network is to create a culture that includes the networks of individual co-workers. To accomplish this objective, co-workers must become good networkers so that they can apply their networks to pursue the organization's objectives. To help co-workers build their networks, see Seven Steps to a Personal Network. 

5.  Ask co-workers to include the organization's objectives in their personal networks

From the viewpoint of a co-worker, an objective inherited from an organization is simply another objective. The co-worker may pursue the organization's objectives with the same degree of discipline he or she applies in pursuing personal goals. The organization can help its co-workers by making sure its objectives are well understood, and by providing resources that give them time to network.

6.  Respect the privacy of co-workers' personal networks

Relationship networks are based on strong, personal friendships, some of which take years to develop. These networks must be viewed as co-workers' private assets. From the perspective of the organization, the contacts in co-workers' networks are "second degree"¾they cannot be reached unless the co-worker decides to facilitate an introduction.

7.  Position the organization as a "person"

A goal of an organization's network is to establish strong relationships between the enterprise and its customers, friends, vendors and alliance partners, both actual and prospective. This is where the CNO function comes into play: it helps the organization focus its energy to personalize itself, enabling it to be viewed as a "contact" in the eyes of these four constituencies.

To suggest additions or changes to this page, or to make comments, please contact us. Please note: applicable material shown on this page will be conformed to N3P's Relationship Networking industry standards as they become available.  [Top]