How to Boost Morale and Break Down Office Silos
How to Boost Morale and Break Down Office Silos
Do you ever feel like your office has turned into a battlefield, with different departments fighting against each other and jockeying for position? Are you wondering whatever happened to collaborating towards a common goal?
If this sounds like the climate in your workplace, it's time to bring out the battering rams and break down some office silos. Silos form when different departments stop working with others and start functioning as their own private island that's completely separate from the rest of the company. Silos are bad for productivity, bad for office morale, and worst of all, bad for your bottom line.
These tips will help you break down the silos that already exist, stop new ones before they start, and boost morale for your entire office.
Paint the Bigger Picture
If you're an accounting clerk who is scrambling to make run financial reports, while meanwhile the rest of your company is rolling over onto a new client management system that doesn't affect you, you may be wondering why the other departments aren't returning your phone calls. That's because it's easy to get myopic when you're not reminded of the big picture.
Every department needs to be reminded of the main goals of the company on a regular basis, whatever they may beespecially if that particular department (like human resources, accounting or purchasing) doesn't focus on those goals on during its daily duties. Host a company-wide meeting, lunch or event where you update everyone as a group, so that everyone hears the same message. Receiving an update on the direction, challenges, and progress of your company can help employees see how other departments fit into the big picture, and even help them understand their own jobs better.
In addition, if you've got a major initiative (like a sales push, software change, or major client event) on the horizon that doesn't affect everyone, make sure to keep others in the loop. Cluing them in to the big picture may even allow them to pitch in and make your initiative that much more successful.
Cross Train
Some companies require all managers to spend several weeks in each department as a part of their training. It can be an intense schedule, but at the end, each manager has a full grasp of how the company's many pieces came together to function as a whole. It also helped them see how different departments could work together more efficiently, and also how to jump in and help out if an employee was out sick or on vacation.
Have your marketing managers spend a day with your customer service reps, your IT department visit your accounts receivable division, or ask human resources to help out in accounting. Spending a day in someone else's shoes can eliminate finger pointing and lead to increased cooperation.
Foster Communication & Documentation
How many times has an action item in your company slipped through the cracks because no one was sure who was supposed to do what? When tasks aren't clearly assigned, departments often close ranks, sticking to a limited number of tasks they're "supposed" to do. By setting up work flows, task requests, and departmental goals, employees will have a better sense of what they're dedicating their time to, as well as who to go to when they have a new project or initiative.
Celebrate Together
In every company, there's an intangible glue that can make or break the success of the organization. It comes from a spirit of camaraderie between employees on every level, a feeling of dedication to the company mission and to each other. The more you can grow this relationship, the better your office will function.
A great place to start is with celebrations: either established holidays (like Fourth of July or Halloween), birthdays, or company milestones. Celebrating these events together gives everyone a chance to catch up with colleagues in different departments, focus on the progress that's been made, and prepare themselves for whatever's coming next.
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