For HR professionals, moving into a position of strategic influence requires attention to internal networking.
No matter where you work — corporation, government agency, non-profit or institution – networking at work has never been more important. Why?
To keep getting the big picture. Things change fast. Use your network to keep up with what’s going on.
To bolster the bottom line. Understand that your job depends on the success of the organization. Promote the organization’s products and services — even if you’re not in sales.
To venture into the white spaces. Look at the organization chart. “The organization chart is not the business,” caution authors Geary Rummler and Alan Brache in their book, Performance: How To Manage the White Space on the Organization Chart. “The greatest opportunities for improvement often lie in the white spaces between the boxes on the chart — in the functional and interpersonal interface — those points where the baton is being passed from one department to another or from one individual to another.”
To uncork bureaucratic bottlenecks. If you create temporary project teams to tackle problems and launch initiatives, you’ll make a name for yourself. Increase collaboration with other departments. When the corporate communications department at a major telecommunications firm invited the human resources department to lunch, it was the beginning of a rich collaboration. As people got to know each other, they integrated their strategic planning so that a human resources request for the production of a training calendar was on the corporate communications department’s schedule. If you collaborate, you can negotiate to even out workload, so all the projects don’t hit at the same time.
To expand your knowledge base. Figure out what resources you need and put together a network made up of people representing many different interests and areas of expertise. If you introduce your contacts to each other, you can encourage information and skill sharing among all the members of the group. Networks can be a kind of informal, highly customized personal, business yellow pages. Get out of that rut. If you network, you expose yourself to new ideas and ways of doing things. This “cross pollination” almost always benefits the organization.
To create your safety net. Network to increase your visibility within the organization so that opportunities find you. Take responsibility for your own career self-management. Network effectively and you’ll create career opportunities. Explore options in case your job goes away. In these days of rightsizing and re-structuring, it’s smart to keep your ears open for opportunities within your organization and to make yourself visible. Determine what skills you have that could be used in other areas of the organization. Figure out how to showcase those skills. What can you do so that others become aware of your capabilities?
Assess the corporate culture
Is the organization network-friendly? To determine how supportive your workplace is, ask yourself these questions:
•Is there recognition at the top that networking is valuable?
•Do corporate executives ever mention networking?
•Is training offered? (You can suggest networking workshops.)
•Is networking during office hours considered not working?
•Are you encouraged to belong to professional associations and to attend both monthly meetings and conferences?
•Are you encouraged to volunteer in the community, serve on boards?
•Is it easy — and expected — for you to collaborate with people in other departments to venture out into the white space on the organizational chart?
•How much money does your organization spend on professional association dues and conferences? Collateral expenses, such as travel, lodging? Is anyone tracking whether the organization is getting its money’s worth?
•Are networking activities/goals in your annual performance plan?
•Are you rewarded when your networking contributes to the success of the organization?
Recognize that in some organizations, networking violates the cultural ground roles. If that’s your assessment, talk with your boss and your colleagues about the reasons for encouraging inside networking.
And recognize that in some organizations the word “networking” makes people uncomfortable. Don’t be fooled. A lot of networking is probably going on, but under the alias of “relationship building,” or “teamwork” or “collaboration.”
Some forward-thinking organizations are deliberately working toward creating a more collaborative culture, setting up mentoring programs, sponsoring women’s networks and minority networks, providing ways for people to interview others and discuss lateral moves and opportunities for upward mobility.
Even if you’ve decided that your organization’s culture isn’t very network-friendly, you’ll still find networking ideas that will work for you. Focus, not on self-serving objectives, but on serving customers, streamlining internal processes, getting the job done and impacting the bottom line.
Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon are the authors of Make Your Contacts Count: Networking Know-How for Cash, Clients, and Career Success. For more information contact (301) 589-8633 or visit www.ContactsCount.com.
No matter where you work — corporation, government agency, non-profit or institution – networking at work has never been more important. Why?
To keep getting the big picture. Things change fast. Use your network to keep up with what’s going on.
To bolster the bottom line. Understand that your job depends on the success of the organization. Promote the organization’s products and services — even if you’re not in sales.
To venture into the white spaces. Look at the organization chart. “The organization chart is not the business,” caution authors Geary Rummler and Alan Brache in their book, Performance: How To Manage the White Space on the Organization Chart. “The greatest opportunities for improvement often lie in the white spaces between the boxes on the chart — in the functional and interpersonal interface — those points where the baton is being passed from one department to another or from one individual to another.”
To uncork bureaucratic bottlenecks. If you create temporary project teams to tackle problems and launch initiatives, you’ll make a name for yourself. Increase collaboration with other departments. When the corporate communications department at a major telecommunications firm invited the human resources department to lunch, it was the beginning of a rich collaboration. As people got to know each other, they integrated their strategic planning so that a human resources request for the production of a training calendar was on the corporate communications department’s schedule. If you collaborate, you can negotiate to even out workload, so all the projects don’t hit at the same time.
To expand your knowledge base. Figure out what resources you need and put together a network made up of people representing many different interests and areas of expertise. If you introduce your contacts to each other, you can encourage information and skill sharing among all the members of the group. Networks can be a kind of informal, highly customized personal, business yellow pages. Get out of that rut. If you network, you expose yourself to new ideas and ways of doing things. This “cross pollination” almost always benefits the organization.
To create your safety net. Network to increase your visibility within the organization so that opportunities find you. Take responsibility for your own career self-management. Network effectively and you’ll create career opportunities. Explore options in case your job goes away. In these days of rightsizing and re-structuring, it’s smart to keep your ears open for opportunities within your organization and to make yourself visible. Determine what skills you have that could be used in other areas of the organization. Figure out how to showcase those skills. What can you do so that others become aware of your capabilities?
Assess the corporate culture
Is the organization network-friendly? To determine how supportive your workplace is, ask yourself these questions:
•Is there recognition at the top that networking is valuable?
•Do corporate executives ever mention networking?
•Is training offered? (You can suggest networking workshops.)
•Is networking during office hours considered not working?
•Are you encouraged to belong to professional associations and to attend both monthly meetings and conferences?
•Are you encouraged to volunteer in the community, serve on boards?
•Is it easy — and expected — for you to collaborate with people in other departments to venture out into the white space on the organizational chart?
•How much money does your organization spend on professional association dues and conferences? Collateral expenses, such as travel, lodging? Is anyone tracking whether the organization is getting its money’s worth?
•Are networking activities/goals in your annual performance plan?
•Are you rewarded when your networking contributes to the success of the organization?
Recognize that in some organizations, networking violates the cultural ground roles. If that’s your assessment, talk with your boss and your colleagues about the reasons for encouraging inside networking.
And recognize that in some organizations the word “networking” makes people uncomfortable. Don’t be fooled. A lot of networking is probably going on, but under the alias of “relationship building,” or “teamwork” or “collaboration.”
Some forward-thinking organizations are deliberately working toward creating a more collaborative culture, setting up mentoring programs, sponsoring women’s networks and minority networks, providing ways for people to interview others and discuss lateral moves and opportunities for upward mobility.
Even if you’ve decided that your organization’s culture isn’t very network-friendly, you’ll still find networking ideas that will work for you. Focus, not on self-serving objectives, but on serving customers, streamlining internal processes, getting the job done and impacting the bottom line.
Anne Baber and Lynne Waymon are the authors of Make Your Contacts Count: Networking Know-How for Cash, Clients, and Career Success. For more information contact (301) 589-8633 or visit www.ContactsCount.com.
