Organizational Network Analysis
Your org chart shows who reports to whom. ONA shows who actually gets things done.
Organizational Network Analysis maps the informal networks that drive performance — and reveals who's being overlooked in your review process.
The problem with performance data you already collect
Performance reviews measure what managers observe. Managers observe who's in the room, who sends the updates, who volunteers for visible projects.
They miss the people doing the actual work.
At most companies, 20-30% of employees carry the majority of collaborative load — answering questions, unblocking colleagues, connecting teams, reviewing work. These people rarely appear in the top tier of performance ratings. Employees who self-promote effectively often do.
This isn't a flaw in your managers. It's a flaw in the information they have. Organizational Network Analysis fixes that.
What is organizational network analysis?
ONA is the practice of mapping how work actually flows through an organization — not through org charts, but through real interactions and relationships.
It answers questions like: Who do people go to when they're stuck? Who connects teams that wouldn't otherwise communicate? Who is the first person colleagues call when they need to move fast?
That information doesn't appear in your HRIS. It lives in the informal fabric of the organization — and ONA surfaces it.
Connectors
Employees who bridge silos. They move information across teams and prevent duplicated effort. Lose a connector and two teams stop talking.
Central nodes
High-volume collaborators everyone goes to. Often thought leaders or go-to experts. Can also be bottlenecks — ONA helps you tell the difference.
Peripheral contributors
Specialists at the edge of the network. They contribute deeply in focused areas. Traditional reviews make them look less impressive than they are.
How hidden influence networks affect who gets promoted
Every organization has two structures: the formal one on the org chart and the informal one that determines how things actually get done. When promotion decisions rely only on formal performance data, they systematically favor people who are visible in the formal structure.
ONA closes the influence gap. It shows who's actually doing the collaboration — not who received recognition for it.
Research from Rob Cross and colleagues shows that in most organizations, the employees doing the most valuable collaborative work are rarely in the top performance tier. ONA surfaces them — and gives managers and calibration committees the evidence to advocate for them.
Using ONA to detect bias in performance reviews
ONA has two specific applications for bias detection that traditional performance systems can't replicate.
Attribution bias
When multiple people contribute to an outcome, the most visible person gets credit. ONA shows who actually did the collaboration — not who presented the work.
Network proximity bias
Managers assess people in their networks more favorably. ONA maps manager network patterns alongside performance ratings to flag where proximity bias is at work.
How Confirm integrates ONA into performance management
Rather than a separate analytics product, Confirm embeds network signals directly into the performance review process. When managers write reviews, they see relevant collaboration context for each person they're rating. When calibration sessions happen, the committee sees network data alongside traditional performance evidence.
The approach: ONA informs decisions, it doesn't replace them. Managers stay in control. The data gives them more to work with.
Network-informed reviews
Confirm surfaces who each employee collaborates with, which teams they connect, and how their collaboration patterns changed over time.
Calibration context
In calibration sessions, Confirm flags high-volume collaborators relative to their ratings — surfacing potential underrecognition before decisions lock.
Equity analysis
Confirm compares network contribution against performance ratings across demographic groups, making attribution bias visible and addressable.
The ONA Playbook
A practical guide to Organizational Network Analysis for HR leaders — what it is, how it works, and how to use it to make performance decisions more accurate and more fair.
What's inside
- What ONA is and how it emerged from social network research
- The three network roles that matter most in performance management
- How hidden influence networks affect who gets promoted
- Using ONA to surface attribution bias and network proximity bias
- How to run your first ONA — step by step
- ONA and calibration: using network data in talent decisions
- Privacy and trust: the foundation of ethical ONA use
Common questions about ONA
What data does ONA use?
ONA can use survey data (employees self-report who they collaborate with) or passive data from collaboration tools like email metadata, calendar activity, or Slack. Most production ONA implementations combine both. Passive data gives continuous coverage; surveys give validation and context.
Is ONA surveillance?
Only if you do it wrong. ONA done with consent, transparency, and employee access to their own data is not surveillance — it's insight. Organizations that use ONA well tell employees what's being measured, why, and how it's used. Employees who understand the purpose are often supportive.
Can ONA replace traditional performance ratings?
No, and it shouldn't try to. ONA surfaces evidence that traditional ratings miss. It doesn't replace human judgment — it improves it. The right use of ONA is as input to manager conversations and calibration decisions, not as an automated scoring system.
How long does it take to run an ONA?
A basic survey-based ONA can be designed, fielded, and analyzed in two to three weeks. Passive data approaches can generate continuous network maps with minimal ongoing effort once set up. Confirm's ONA integration is continuous — network signals update in real time as collaboration data flows in.
Does Confirm work with our existing collaboration tools?
Yes. Confirm integrates with Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Slack, and major project management tools to generate ONA signals without additional data collection overhead. Ask about your specific stack in a demo.
See ONA in your performance process
See why forward-thinking enterprises use Confirm to make fairer, faster talent decisions and build high-performing teams.
