While many people recognize the importance of networking within their wider industry, few use these skills within their own company or organization. Yet getting yourself known in the upper ranks of a large company can be just as important for your career progression as landing the keynote speaker position at an industry gathering. Just as charity begins at home, the ticket to career progression often lies within your current business.
Networking in your place of work can be even more of a test than doing the rounds at the latest industry conference. Getting to know people, and what is happening inside your organization, can be particularly tricky when you start a new job. You may know who you want to approach, but the last thing you want to do is step on anyone's toes in the process or put your colleagues' noses out of joint.
And that's not the only challenge. Ali Gill, founding director of Getfeedback.net, which designs organizational development solutions and technology, notes that the old hierarchical rules governing organizations are changing. Many companies no longer see the need for a pyramid-like management structure and have a more free-and-easy approach to reporting lines. It can make navigating the upper ranks of your company much more difficult.
“Sometimes, you'll have to find out who holds the decision-making power before you start,” says Gill. “A lot of it is unspoken in today's environment.” She believes that the skill to networking in the workplace is to make yourself visible. “In some companies, the only way to get on to the right projects is to make sure people know who you are.”
Once you know who to approach, the rest is common sense, says Cary Cooper, professor of psychology at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology. He advises that you never try to get a leg-up at the expense of a colleague; chances are this will come back to haunt you. And don't put others down in your bid for stardom; if they find out, they are sure to return the favor.
Make use of new technology
Andrew Welham, managing director of worldwide activities for Dorling Kindersley, part of the Pearson group, believes that the information age has made networking in the workplace much easier. You can, after all, copy other people on to your e-mails to keep them informed of a particular project while making it clear that you are in charge. “That way you are involving them and keeping them in the loop while at the same time blowing your own trumpet,” says Welham.
A word of warning, though: think carefully about who you copy in. Your line manager might feel undermined if his/her boss is on your distribution list. Similarly, dragging in other departments without good reason could work against you if they put you down as a careerist who wastes their time with unnecessary detail.
Of course, some people are natural networkers while others have to work hard at it. Similarly, some organizations will provide natural networking opportunities while others close doors between departments and ranks.
Closed doors are anathema to super-networker Carole Stone. Stone made her name as a producer for BBC radio but, more recently, has become more widely known for her networking expertise. Her book Networking: the art of making friends (Vermilion) gives any number of handy hints on getting to know the right people. Stone should know – she claims to have 16,000 people on her personal database. Today she makes a living by bringing together executives from different organizations and disciplines for mutually beneficial “chats”.
Stone's advice when faced with closed doors? Work on them with a little social oil. Organize parties, newsletters, quiz nights, gatherings and cross-departmental events and publications.“Try to start some sort of event once a week or twice a month, maybe a drinks reception at lunchtime or evening to get colleagues together. Many people will be grateful, particularly if they rarely get to meet others from outside their own group.”
As the event becomes more popular, you may be able to invite a senior manager to come along and give a talk – and that, in itself, offers the organizer and those who turn up another networking opportunity. “The people above you will recognise that you are involved and that won't go unnoticed. Life is all about referrals based on your own little network of what's going on.”
Don't ignore those below you
Stone also advises that you should make your club as open as possible. “Try to mix and mingle with people above and below you.” Your goal may be to progress upward, but you should never neglect those at the base of the pyramid. Receptionists, PAs, secretaries and administrators, in particular, are the gatekeepers to senior personnel and the possessors of the who's who knowledge that is crucial to progression. They won't take kindly to being snubbed. Treat them with respect, and they will more than likely put in a good word for you. If you organise an internal event, ensure that you invite those lower in the hierarchy too.
It's something that the senior executives would do well to take to heart. Many senior managers devote much of their energy to external networks, leaving their internal links wholly reliant on those that report to them. In many cases that gives a limited – and often distorted – view of what is really going on in the company. The senior executive who keeps in contact with his or her staff by taking the time to have a chat in a corridor or taking part in company social activities will often turn out to be a much better manager. The secret? An understanding of what does or does not make the company and its staff tick.
Find yourself a mentor
Making connections higher up the chain of command can be much easier if your company has a structured mentoring programme. These are less popular in the UK than in the US, although many organizations are beginning to recognize their benefits. Of course, if your company does not have a mentoring programme, your ideal networking opportunity may lie in attempting to get one established.
Vivienne Hines, a human capital consultant at Deloitte & Touche in London, notes that some companies only set up mentoring schemes for high flyers. They believe that it is only worth investing time and effort in nurturing talent if the company is rewarded with a “super-executive” further down the line. Hines, however, points out that it is not just high-flyers who can benefit from a fruitful mentoring relationship. “It's quite easy for companies to set them up, although they can be hard to maintain unless there's a natural relationship. That's true of most networking, so try to ensure that it is real and helpful from both sides.”
Hines' advice is to pursue relationships that contain some kind of chemistry or spark in them. “And try not to waste people's time.”
You are your best PR
Some jobs – in public relations and communications, for example – have built-in opportunities to network across the organization. If you don't work in such a cross-company area, you can still use your contacts in PR and communications to realise your own networking needs. Michael Bland, a well-known consultant on crisis management and PR, says: “You need to have a sense of curiosity to develop a knowledge about all aspects of the business. The only thing that remains permanent in today's organizations is human chemistry.”
That brings us back to some sterling advice from our psychologist. Cary Cooper warns that for all the handy hints on networking, all the skills you need to work out what makes your peers tick and how you can influence them, one certainty remains that you should never forget. “Strange as it may seem, you've still got to do your job and do it well.”
Cooper's message is clear: no amount of networking can substitute for gaining the respect of your colleagues through strong personal performance. Get the work right and you will often find that it becomes much easier to extend your network across your organization.