In my professional journey, working with corporations has brought out the critical need to streamline and improve communication processes between teams. While this has been well managed by the company I work for directly, often I have observed inefficiencies in communication in other companies.
Why Separate Teams Are Necessary?
Large organizations understandably need separate teams with particular responsibilities. This type of structure allows for a clear chain of command regarding distinct operations and that each team works on its specialized tasks. Delineation is important to maintain order and accountability in the complex environment of a large corporation.
Dependency and Coordination Issues
The real challenge, however, comes in when dependencies between teams kick in. To realize a greater task or the fulfillment of a variety of tasks, one team commonly needs to complete its work before the other starts theirs. It is in this kind of dependency that there exists a critical need for effective coordination.
Most of the time, this has to be coordinated by the requestor. He or she has to deal with a lot of teams to ensure that the tasks are done in a sequence and are completed on time. This is a very common approach but full of inefficiencies and probable miscommunications.
Need for clearly defined workflows
In light of these issues, defined workflows that enable teams to communicate directly are very important. Instead of relying on a middleman—the person who originally requested the service—to coordinate cross-team collaboration, a more streamlined workflow would enable one team to communicate directly with another. This sort of direct interaction at this level can considerably cut down miscommunication, expedite matters, and raise overall efficiency.
Improving these lines of communication would result in a whole host of improvements.
Less Frustration: Teams need to only focus on their tasks; this reduces additional stress due to cross-team coordination.
Greater Efficiency: Direct communication will ensure correct and quick relay of information, reducing delays.
Risk Mitigation: The risk due to missing a deadline or project overrun is reduced as the workflow is clear and direct.
Conclusion
While separation of forces is warranted in developing a clean operational structure, the coordination among those forces should not be slow. This is because large corporations with clearly defined workflow that facilitates direct communication can avoid frustration, enhance efficiency, and protect timelines. This approach will allow an increase in productivity and a decrease in frustration, but will also stir the working environment into one that’s more integrated and cooperative.