In the early days of a company and throughout the life of small businesses, a single person or handful of employees might find themselves doing virtually everything, from production to marketing to accounting and compliance.
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But as companies grow and become more complex, it’s necessary for staff to specialize, and larger businesses necessarily have an accounting department, a marketing team, a compliance group, etc.
The downside of this specialization is that employees sometimes begin to see the world in terms of their team or department first and the overall organization second.
Teams might fail to share information or collaborate with other departments. They may not even have a solid grasp on what other departments do or are working on. This is known as a silo mentality, and among this mentality’s many downsides is the fact that great ideas and insights into improvements and best practices often don’t migrate between silos.
For many employees and managers, managing their own job role or their own team can be more than enough work. But there are many simple methods for helping employees, especially management, think outside of their silos and add value to other teams for the benefit of the organization as a whole.
Set Expectations
Many managers resent being told how to run their teams, and others are uncomfortable stepping on the toes of their colleagues. It’s incumbent upon company leadership to make clear that managers are expected to help each other and that doing so does not mean their toes are being stepped on or that their work is being questioned.
Plan Regular Cross-Silo Meetings
Setting expectations is often not enough to change company culture. Leaders should also arrange regular cross-silo engagements. These could be matrix teams (i.e., members from different departments) for specific projects or regular leadership meetings wherein managers of different units learn what’s going on in other areas and are encouraged to discuss and collaborate.
Focus on Trust
Cross-silo collaboration cannot happen without effective trust, and it’s up to company leadership to find ways to increase and promote trust among all levels of an organization. This starts with encouraging internal networking and regular collaboration, and it also requires working to prevent tendencies toward backstabbing and politicking.
Specializing is necessary as businesses grow in size and complexity. But that doesn’t mean business units and teams should be completely siloed off from one another. A few simple habits can help ensure great ideas and practices are shared throughout the organization.