Every day companies notice more and more that when departments don’t establish a good communication, the damages just start to pop up. Poor conversation, rework, blaming another department without taking responsibility for its own part, and lack of cooperation are some effects of a highly segmented policy in companies.
Promoting the integration between departments is a challenging investment. The return comes in engagement, good relationship at work, innovation, team growing, and an overall organization.
Would you like to know more about this management procedure, and how to implement it in your business? Check our post and learn it!
What is the importance of developing an integrated business management?
Business management is a set of processes used to administer the corporation. It includes the roles of several areas which compose this business in order to handle business activities, aiming to reach its goals.
Previously, it was common to see each department isolated from the others. According to a Cartesian model applied to the companies, each of them worried exclusively about its own responsibilities following a “vertical” view, and a business hierarchy, leaving aside a process-systemic thinking, and taking a 100%-functional posture in the company. However, if the departments do not talk to each other, they may perform counterproductive actions, lose synergy, not aggregate value to the process which serves the final client, and lose chances to learn mutually.
Professionals may become resistant to a dialogue culture in between areas, as dealing with people is not a simple task. Well, these adversities are the ones to allow the work richness to grow, the constitution of more constructive strategies, and more integrated proposals.
What is the importance of having a common objective while integrating departments in a company?
Having a common objective is the first step in order to stablish the integration of the departments. If every area is different from the other, it is mandatory to find an element that can join the actions from the professionals there.
The common goal plays this role, permitting everyone to walk in the same direction, strengthening the synergy between teams.
TAM, an airline company – which after its fusion with Chilean airline LAN gave birth to LATAM – is highlighted because of its investment in intersectoral approach. In 2015, EXAME (a Brazilian magazine) presented TAM’s new headquarters built and designed based on a strategy to strengthen up the communication between departments.
The building owns 11 floors where almost no employee has a fixed workstation. Besides that, the directors have their desks located in open areas without walls surrounding them. There are many types of rooms, such as those ones closed by transparent glass walls for confidential content meetings, and tables for open meetings.
Their professionals walk around the workplace according to the demand. The building puts HR, financial management, IT, and purchases all together. This logical change of the space allows the corporation to transform the integration between workers, making it possible the dialogue between several different business areas.
Which strategies should I use to promote a co-working and integrated management?
After meeting the benefits of the integration between departments, it is important to know how to put it into practice. Check some tips below and get to know how to implement this management strategy!
Be cautious while integrating new personnel
When you have a new collaborator, its integration to the team and to its functions is highly important. This process involves not only learning about the company’s pace and activities, but also his introduction to their new co-workers.
Nevertheless, it is not just about introducing him to his direct team with whom he will share a room and work. It is essential presenting him to all the corporation and, if possible, set supervisors from different departments to support him.
In this way, since their first day at work, you will be encouraging the communication between departments. This will specially motivate the new collaborator to fit to the company’s integration culture.
Promote get-togethers
These events are great to integrate the team. They are relaxation moments, in which their members can get to know each other better, and also talk about topics out of work. The human being needs these moments, since it promotes socialization and fruitful interactions.
With these gatherings, it is possible to discover affinities and with them feel encourage to collaborate. It contributes to improve the relationships and make it easier to work together. While developing projects, discussing problems and searching for solutions become easier if their parts know each other well, and have positive history out of the workplace, too.
Rely on communication tools
When your company has effective communication resources, it can transmit the information better, which helps processes to be optimized and closer. Well, when well informed, the collaborator is also more engaged and capable of developing good acting strategies.
Investing in technological tools is fundamental in order to strengthen the bond between departments. It can be a business social network, software, or any strategy in which workers from different areas can interact with each other.
The automation of processes through IT tools is also introduced as a great way to potentialize the integration between sectors. Monitora Soluções Tecnológicas has developed a very interesting project in one of the main aviation Chilean companies (once Brazilian), whose business unit in aircraft maintenance is located in São Carlos – SP, through which the company was able to optimize its mechanic working time in 15% (in other words, now he does the same job spending 15% time less), by simply inserting an app that integrates a process passing by two departments of the company.
Use composed indicators
Composed performance indicators (also known as KPI’s, or Key Performance Indicators) involve several types of measurements in order to point out how the outcomes of the company are. If it is important to integrate work, why not assessing the multisector performance?
By relying on KPI’s that involve numerous variables from multiple departments, you can build a broader analysis. With that, it is possible to have a wider view of the business, and work on a perspective in which everyone is engaged, responsible, and search for solutions.
The departments integration in business management is an excellent strategy to optimize work and promote more positive actions. This measure also contributes to improve the corporative mood, getting teams engaged and elevating everyone’s commitment.
To strengthen the contact and integration between departments at the company, you can take many strategies, such as designing projects joining several areas, investing in communication resources, relying on composed KPI’s, and promoting get-togethers.
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