4 Ways to Improve Cross-Departmental Communication

4 Ways to Improve Cross-Departmental Communication 4 Ways to Improve Cross-Departmental Communication kollektiv. Departments. Divisions. Silos.Wait, what?If youre not familiar with thejargon, silois a term used in business to refer to a group of individuals within a company. Having silos within your company isnt an issue, butproblems do arise when the silos become disconnected from one another, creating a silo mentality. To quote BusinessDictionary, this is a mindset present in some companies when certain departments or sectors do not wish to share information with others in the same company. This mentality can lead to lack of alignment, frustration among employees, duplicate work, and poor customer experiences, to name just a few of the consequences.Whenteams are separated from one another, a weird competitive atmosphere develops, promoting power struggles, job protection, and politics. Communication becomes slow and disjointed throughout the organization. Everyone may be marching in the same general direction, but the plans are different for each team and no one is discussing what the outcomes should be. The company functions awkwardlyinstead of nimbly, which ultimately prevents growth.Keep your internal silos healthy and thriving with these four best practices for better cross-departmental communication1.Clarity Starts at the TopCompany executives and leadersmust get on the same page and meet regularly about strategic goals and company priorities. They must communicate these plans often throughout the entire organization.Working alone or within departments creates differing plans for the same goals due to differing opinions among teams, but when the leadership team communicates clearly, everyoneknows exactlywhat the 3-5 year plan, annual plan, and quarterly priorities are. This allows the entire team to march the same path in the same direction. When teams are working together to accomplish whole-company initiatives - rather thanoperating compartmentally to achievedepartmental goals - the needle really begins to move.2. Create a Shared Culture, Purpose, and ValuesMuch has been written about the millennial desire to do work that makes an impact, but all generations in the workforce really ?want that same thing?. Identifying and strengthening your company purpose gives employees a clear, shared vision, which creates an environment of trust and fosters increased sharing of information and knowledge.Dont let visions of trust falls and awkward team-building exercises hinder you from taking the leap. Team huddles, notes ofkudos, and quarterly outings are stress-free ways to build a culture of shared purpose and collaboration.3. Streamline Project WorkflowMany operating procedures are set up to move from department to department, dumping the work into the nextsilo on the checklist. This method of operation may seem to work on paper, but in reality, it is clunky and creates internal inefficiencies the lead to poor customer experiences.Inst ead, create teams that are agile and collaborative. What if a designer sat in on your development projects and your developers collaborated with designers? What if your accounts payable person was involved inyour sales team onboarding, so that salespeople would be working with a familiar face when collecting invoices? Your business will benefit from the diversity of thought, and your employees will thank you for distributing the workload mora thoroughly.4. Measure What MattersTheres a myth that adding bean bags and ping-pong tables to the office will make employees happier and more productive. However, productive employees are happy - not the other way around.Its important to note that productive isnt the same as busy. Employees are fulfilled when they know what outcomes they are working toward and when team progress is transparent. Your teams should feel like theyve had a successful day when they are reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs) and contributing to moving company priorities toward completion.- Many CEOs and executive teams are afraid to break down silos becausethey worry they willlose control. However, when you connect your departments through a shared vision and culture, communication, efficient workflows, and KPIs, you actually ?gain? control through transparency, alignment, and accountability.Jennifer Faught is an entrepreneur coach at Petra Coach.