- Network is:

PACB6: MODULE 1 • Focused on current demands or project

• Based on strong work relationships
ACTIVITY 1: Business Contacts and • Deep (crosses many areas of organisation).
- How to build:
Types of Networks • Get to know colleagues in other departments
- A business contact may be someone in your generally.
organization, someone you meet within your • Identify key colleagues in departments that are
industry, or someone outside your regular circles important for you.
who you are introduced to. • Identify people who depend on you.
• Work at building these relationships
There are many reasons for making these business 2. Personal:
connections: - Purpose:
• To support your personal development
1. You have something in common and you like • To refer you to other useful contacts
the person as an individual. - Characteristics:
2. The person may be able to help you in work Members are:
related tasks or give you access to something • mostly from outside your organisation
because of their job role, knowledge or skills. • Chosen by you, based on how you connect as
3. You are able to help them or provide something people, not by job role
they need. - Network is:
• broad or clustered (connections via many
referrals).
You might interact with business contacts - How to build
individually, or within a network. There are several • Be involved in professional associations,
types of networks including: community groups and activities that broaden
your network.
1. INTERNAL • Don’t just show up – take part and be visible.
2. EXTERNAL 3. Strategic:
3. OPERATIONAL - Purpose:
4. PERSONAL • To develop future business priorities
5. STRATEGIC - Characteristics:
6. FORMAL Members are:
7. INFORMAL • internal and external
• Oriented to the future
• During your business life, you may develop and be a • Found via their connection to strategy and
part of several types of networks. current priorities.
- Network is:
“Networking is about interacting with people and • leveraging (exists to help make specific things
engaging themfor mutual benefit.”- Business happen).
Queensland - How to build:
• Your organisation at high levels, or externally.
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL NETWORKS • Give help, information and support before you
ask for anything in return.
• Members of an internal network come from within your • Internally, find ways to make other member’s
organisation. External network members come from projects easier, through your or your team’s
outside, and can be from a variety of sources. efforts.

OPERATIONAL, PERSONAL, AND STRATEGIC FORMAL AND INFORMAL NETWORKS:

NETWORKS The following table summarises key characteristics of
these networks:
• The following table summarises the purpose and key
characteristics of operational, personal and strategic 1. Formal:
networks, and provides tips on how to build each type of • Members come from an organisation,
network. More information about building a network is business, membership club, professional
provided later in this module. association or work related group
• Based on the organisation’s reporting and
authority levels
NETWORK TYPE: • The workings of the network reflect the
1. Operational organisation’s culture and follow the rules set by
- Purpose: the organisation
To complete work effective • Purpose is for the organisation to
- Characteristics: communicate with members, and for members
Members are: to communicate with each other
• Internal (within your organisation) • Relationships between members are based
• Defined by task and organisational structure. around their work or the shared club experience.
 2. Informal: 2. Developing clients
• Examples include: Community groups, people 3. Understanding and communicating different
interested in a specific subject or those who points of view.
attend the same church
• Less visible than formal networks Information brokers are not always experts in their
• No formal structure or rules fields, but they have trustworthy and knowledgeable
• Inclusive culture – new members routinely contacts. When needed, a broker can link their
included in exchanges contacts with relevant people in the business. This
• Purpose is for members to exchange linking provides power through input and expertise
information and help each other out. for strategic planning, business improvement and
• Members are: innovation, and contributes to business success.
 Can include work colleagues, people
known to each other through other • Many information brokers are external consultants who
areas, or those who join without develop deep relationships across many organisations
knowing anyone else or within an industry. It is also possible for a staff
 Are often skilled, knowledgeable and member within a large organisation to act as an
capable. Their efforts and energy information broker across different divisions or
contribute to a network being successful departments.
 Are generally friendly, courteous and
respect cultural differences ACTIVITY 3: Benefits of Business
• Informal networks can also be based around
people with various kinds of power and Networking
influence who help each other to achieve Business networking involves purposefully developing
personal goals, further their careers and be relationships with people who may then be able to assist
successful in business.. you at some point in the future, or who you may be able
to assist. For example, contacts in a business network
may be helpful if you are:
ACTIVITY 2: Network Structures,
Clusters and Brokers 1. Starting a Business
2. Expanding or changing a business
Networks can have different structures depending 3. Looking for investors
on which contacts within that network are 4. Finding new customers
connected to each other. 5. Recruiting staff
6. Looking for new suppliers
For example, you might have a network where you 7. Looking for business partners
interact with your contacts on a one-on-one basis, and
the contacts may not know or interact with each other. Relationships with network contacts can provide
knowledge, advice and lessons learned from others’
• Clusters within a network: experience, as well as referrals to others for specific
A cluster within a network exists when some contacts types of help. A network is most effective for its creator
have connections with one another as well as with the when contacts are included because they are relevant
person who built the network. In a personal network, for achieving specific business objectives. Effective
your contacts are likely to be friends with one another, relationships with these contacts need to be reciprocal,
forming connected clusters. Here is a diagram of a based on trust and valued over time.
personal network cluster:
Three Key Business Advantages
• Clusters within a business network: An effective business network can also provide three
Usually, business networks also have several clusters. key business advantages:
These may be based on different areas of specialisation,
and they generally work independently. There may or 1. Access to private information
may not be links between the clusters. 2. Access to a wide range of skills
3. Access to power and success.
• Network brokers in a business network:
Modern businesses often have flat organisational The following is a summary of a Harvard Business
structures compared with traditional businesses, which Review article explaining how these three advantages
employ hierarchical organisational structures. These are delivered:
flatter structures depend on the sharing of information,
knowledge and expertise. Flatter organisational Advantages:
structures also require increasingly specialised • Private Information
knowledge and experience, which is often outside the - Businesses use information from:
skill sets of managers and business owners.  Public – from internet, government,
industry bodies, corporate publications
Recently, the new role of information broker has and scientific/technical organisations
developed. These people have experience in key areas,  Private – from network contacts
including: - Private information is:
 Critical for negotiations and gives
1. Adapting to change competitive advantage
  More subjective than public information on-going process. We can actively look for contacts
– not verified independently when attending business and industry events, during
 based on how trusted the contact is everyday life and by asking existing contacts for
• Diverse Skills: referrals. Module 2 of this course looks at specific
- Modern organisations need specialist skills and networking activities in more detail.
knowledge:
 It may not be practical to hire new staff Considerations for identifying and contacting new
or consultants business contacts include the following:
 Contacts can provide one-off knowledge
and skills 1. Who can help me by providing industry and
• Power: specialist support?
- Means having the right expertise for strategic 2. Who can understand the current situation?
planning, business improvement and innovation: 3. Who has relevant information or industry
 Information brokers can link currency?
organisations to trustworthy connections 4. Who already has strong networks?
 Business success can come about via 5. Who are the critical links in a process, supply
relationships with brokers chain or system?
CASE STUDY 6. Who are the high-profile people in this area or
Business Growth via Information Broker industry?
Introductions 7. Who do I, or other existing contacts, know at
1. Mia and Rob are directors of Thought Design specific organisations?
Pty Ltd, a small online publishing and training
consultancy. Mia started the company after a Legislative Requirements for Managing Contact
decade as a manager with a Tier 1 multinational Records
business. Thought Design’s clients mainly come
from referrals and industry networking, with • Businesses and individual professionals collect a large
other revenue from web design and amount of information about their business contacts and
development. the relationships developed with them. These records
2. At an industry networking event, Mia talks with contain data that is subject to legal and organisational
Frank, who is a consultant from Adelaide. They requirements, such as privacy and confidentiality.
have met at previous events and Frank has
contributed technical knowledge to the group • For these purposes the principal commonwealth
through presentations and panel discussions legislation is The Privacy Act 1988 (Privacy Act), which
3. Frank suggests Mia meets another of his describes Australia’s Privacy Principles (APP). In 2019
contacts, Jan, who has an industry liaison role the Attorney-General announced a review of this Act to
with a large university. Mia has lunch with Jan, give more protection to consumers and strengthen data
and they get to know one another. The protection, especially related to digital collection and use
university is looking for someone with Mia’s of data.
experience to design an industry program for
secondary schools to encourage girls to become • Under the Privacy Act, business owners may be
engineers. A high-profile manufacturing required to protect customers and contact information
company is involved. from:
4. This opportunity is successful for Mia and leads
to ongoing business collaborations with Jan and 1. Theft
other shared clients. Their families become 2. Misuse
friends. 3. Interference
5. Frank continues to support Mia and Rob through 4. Loss
introductions to other clients, where their skills 5. Unauthorized access
are applicable. Over the next fifteen years, Mia 6. Modification
and Rob grow their business considerably. Their 7. Disclosure
client records show that 75% of their revenue
has come through projects involving Frank and If you have responsibility for carrying out or overseeing
Jan. networking activities in your organisation, you should
understand what this legislation means for your
ACTIVITY 4: Building a Business organisation.

Network Recording and Managing Business Contact Records

We said earlier that business networks are most Managing business contacts includes collecting and
effective when contacts are included because they are storing data about each contact, and tracking the
relevant for achieving business objectives. We need to progress of each relationship by recording
develop contact relationships built on trust and mutual communications and interactions.
benefit.
A small business might only need to collect and store
Because business objectives change over time, finding contact data. This can be done using a spreadsheet, a
new contacts to develop these relationships with is an
contact management (CM) system or a basic customer
relationship management (CRM) system. FULL CRM SYSTEM

If a spreadsheet is used, the minimum set of details to Full CRM systems are designed for large organisations
record for each contact should include: and include additional functionality for reporting,
marketing and other tasks. The software and data
1. Name and contact details records are stored either on the organisation’s network,
2. Organisation name or in the cloud through a service provider. Authorised
3. Summary of relevant personal details staff can access the CRM and data from any location.
4. Reason for adding this contact – possible
mutual benefits  Individual professionals working with
5. Name of person in your organisation who made an organisation may manage their own
this connection business contact records. Information
6. Details of any immediate action required brokers and senior consultants may
7. Summary of ongoing communication – date, regard their business contact records as
method, purpose and outcome privileged information until they are
To comply with legislative requirements, the business contracted to develop a relationship
owner or manager should decide where and how the linking an organisation with another
spreadsheet will be stored and who should access it. party.
 Whatever method is chosen to store
Developing a Business Network Map and manage business contact records,
your organisation should ideally be able
1. Prepare a draft spreadsheet or table to record a to sort and find contact details using
business network related to your organisation. criteria such as referrer name, projects,
 If there are no existing written contact organisation goals, knowledge or skill
records, gather relevant business cards sets.
and other sources of information  If you have responsibility for managing
 If your organisation uses CM or CRM business contact data, it is important
software, identify contacts related to a that records are available to those who
project that is known to you. need to use them, and that privacy and
2. Set up columns featuring the headings listed data handling requirements are met.
above. Organisational requirements should be
3. Fill out the columns using data you have available in IT policies and procedures.
gathered or found using the CM/CRM software.

CM SYSTEM

Contact management (CM) systems are designed

primarily for storing and managing contact record data,
but may also have other limited functionality.

An example CM system is Microsoft Business Contact

Manager, which is included in later versions of Microsoft
Office Outlook. Microsoft also offers Microsoft Dynamics
CRM for smaller businesses.

BASIC CRM SYSTEM

A basic customer relationship management (CRM)

system is an off-the-shelf software package installed on
an organisation’s computer. The software can be
accessed by authorised users via a network or intranet,
and the data records are also stored on the network.
Functionality includes storing records of emails and
other documents, and there are basic tools for tasks
such as reporting and marketing

Examples of CRM software for small businesses

include:

1. Really Simple System

2. Zoho
3. Suite CRM
4. Agile CRM
5. Sales force.
 Too much similarity in a network can cut you off from
ACTIVITY 5: How to Diagnose a different ways of thinking and new information. Like-
minded contacts may not question your thinking or push
Network Map you forward.

Analysing or diagnosing a network can tell you more Finding varied contacts
about your contacts and how and why you found them. Valuable network contacts may be people with whom
you share an activity, for example, getting to know other
The following example shows three columns from a map volunteers when assisting a non-profit entity or charity,
of a personal network: or helping to run a sports group. Shared activities where
participants need to be committed and work
cooperatively to achieve a worthwhile goal are good
opportunities for finding more varied contacts.

When you find a contact with different backgrounds,

experiences and skills to your own, they may also be
able to act as a broker. Their introductions to contacts in
other networks may connect you to others outside your
current circles

Analysing an Existing Network

1. Analyse the business network map that you

prepared in the previous learning activity.
2. Identify how and why contacts have been
included.
3. Identify contacts who have been given other
new contacts.
In this network, Raff Bridges has given the most 4. Identify any high-connecting contacts that have
contacts and has been trusted in return with more new provided several connections.
contacts than the other contacts listed. He can be
thought of as a high performing connector. ACTIVITY 6: PRINCIPLES FOR
Because every network is tailored for specific
BUSINESS NETWORKING
circumstances or objectives, it is not possible to rate the
value of each contact in a map without knowing the Andy LaCivita of Working Life Academy suggests
details of the interaction between the people involved. several principles for business networking, and a
However, mapping a network can be valuable when strategy for carrying out networking activities.
planning networking activities or adding new network
contacts over time. The principles include the following:

The Self-Similarity Principle 1. Network as often as you can – be consistent.

2. Give value first, before you ask for something.
Researchers and authors Brian Uzzi and Shannon 3. Give more than you take.
Dunlap have diagnosed that if the word ‘me’ is listed 4. Spend time face-to-face to build a lasting
more than 65% of the time in a network map, then the relationship.
network may be too ‘inbred’. 5. Follow up – deliver what you promise.
6. Expand your contact’s network.
This is called the self-similarity principle. It means that 7. Have a strategy.
when you are networking you tend to look for people
who are like you in terms of experience, views and The following is a strategic plan for carrying out
training. Executives and senior management often follow networking activities:
this principle.
1. Set goals for making contacts
This may be happening because of the following: 2. Research – Who do you need to know?
Who might they know?
1. Networking activities are targeted towards like- 3. Identify people you might connect with over a
minded people. year
2. It is more comfortable to spend time with people 4. Decide communication methods to use for each
like yourself, and easier to trust them. person.
3. Working with people with a similar background 5. Spend an hour a month researching Potential
to your own can be more efficient. contacts
4. You can better predict how a like-minded person 6. Draft communications to use to reach out to
may respond to specific situations. them.
5. Like-minded people often support your point of 7. Each month, contact five or six people from your
view, which makes you feel good list.
8. Build a relationship map
 9. Follow up with people you have met or
contacted.

ACTIVITY 7: SKILLS FOR BUSINESS

NETWORKING
A variety of skills are needed to build a business
network, plan networking activities and evaluate the
results. These skills are important because effective
networking can be critical for business success.

Required skills include:

1. Professionalism
2. Problem solving
3. Researching skills
4. Interpersonal Communication skills
5. Presentation skills
6. Negotiation
7. Strategic planning
8. Records management

• Depending on the size of your organisation you may be

responsible for carrying out all networking tasks, or
supervising or managing others as they carry out their
work. In either situation, you need to have a high level of
these skills. Take a moment to think about your
experience and training so far and identify skill areas
that you would like to work on further.

• If you have responsibility for other workers and can

observe them carrying out networking tasks, try to
provide input for performance reviews or assignment
planning. Create discussion opportunities with staff
around what skills they might need to develop. Make
sure to follow up and follow your organisation’s process
for providing skills development.

• These skills are high-level, and require confidence and

a willingness to learn and practice. If you are leading
others in performing networking tasks, encourage open
discussion about skills development and arrange
mentoring opportunities where possible.

ACTIVITY 8: SUMMARY