In our office, the right hand doesn’t knowing what the left hand is doing. So we get calls from customers whose accounts are wrong. They said they paid on time. We don’t have the record and we’ve charged them extra fees. Of course, they are hopping mad.”
A FRUSTRATED ACCOUNTING MANAGER, Dan, asked me how to solve this problem. As we talked, I found 
out the problem was not his staff. They were competent and knew their jobs.
The Problem Was Silo-itis
Whether you call it silo-itis or an “us” vs “them” mentality or communication bottlenecks, it needs to be dealt with now! Here are the three suggestions I gave to Dan to get teams and departments working together.
- Just start talking, playing, eating together.
Have a once a week or month free “all you can eat” pizza lunch. Set it up so people from different departments sit together. Have contests that get them working with each other. Use fun to break down barriers.
- Conduct team building with department heads.
Properly conducted team building can dramatically improve how well people communicate with each other. The focus should not be on finger pointing but on how to work better together to serve our customers. Once the heads are in sync, then do team building between the different departments. This keeps the flame of cooperation and innovation burning brightly
- Improve communication flow.
Sometimes we don’t have the right information or too much or too little to do our job well. Here’s a solution. Each work group develops an information chart to share with others. The chart has three columns labeled: need-to-have, nice-to-have, don’t need to have. It can also state the frequency and quantity of the information. For example, in a recent team building effort, I’ve heard these comments:
“You mean you don’t use that report…wow, not doing it every week saves us at least 5 hours.” Or, “you really need that…hmm, let’s see what we can do.”
Smart Moves Tip
Pay attention to these danger signs: Missed deadlines, increased customer complaints, vital information not being passed on, duplication of work or bickering and blaming when things go wrong. Act quickly. Have regular scheduled “let’s see how we’re doing” meetings to address issues, conflicts and uncertainties. Also provide ongoing training in communication, group problem-solving and conflict resolution.
Before it’s too late, what can you do right now to improve communication between teams, work groups, departments? Want to know more? Let’s talk!
Marcia Zidle, a Board Certified Coach, Business Management Consultant and Keynote Speaker, guides entrepreneurial ventures, small to medium size enterprises and NGO’s to grow their organizations AND make a difference in their world. Sign up for Marcia’s monthly newsletter “Authentic Leadership” with added insights, inspiration and intelligence to build Profound Performance.
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Marcia, excellent article. I’ve worked with fortune 500’s on both ends of the spectrum. Teams that work together and then silo-itis. Hands down, I’ll take the company where the teams work together! The bottom line results are also drastically different!
Thanks Nan for your comment about your experience.