September 2006

How to Make Collaboration Work for your Organization
By Deb McClanahan, BroadBandHR Consulting

Many companies are looking at collaboration as a way to gain more productivity from their initiatives and their people. Whether it is a new sales program or a new product initiative, an effective and efficient collaboration effort can improve the results on important metrics like "Time to Market," ROI and customer satisfaction.

Because collaboration efforts often force many organizations to change their internal operations, it's helpful to step back and review the best practices related to collaboration. These changes may be painful, especially if the organization expects an endpoint to the process. Instead, the business might see further changes as more efficiencies are identified. However, a nimble company is always ready for change.

Successful collaboration efforts need an infrastructure that makes sense for the size and scope of the collaboration. An IBM unit with 54 locations may need a much more robust collaboration infrastructure than a 200-employee company with three locations. Because these methods also typically involve cross-functional teams, you need to establish some grounds rules and metrics at the beginning. These teams also need to know their processes cold, execute their roles in a timely manner, and learn from past attempts, building the lessons into future efforts.

In addition to these high-level philosophies, focus on the following five areas when championing collaboration in your organization:

• Methods
• Tools
• Common process
• Access
• Approvals

Methods

While you might think that everyone in your organization clearly understands what's happening, that's often not the case. Frequently, a new organizational vocabulary is necessary to ensure that everyone understands the collaboration process and the outcomes. A glossary of commonly used terms is helpful, especially when new "TLAs" (three-letter acronyms) are involved. The clearer your definitions, the easier it is to develop metrics for measuring success. Of course, some definitions will change over time. However, the earlier your organization understands and can articulate the change in method, the better your chances are for moving forward.

Tools

To ensure the collaboration process is crisp, it is helpful to have easy-to-use tools to support the initiative. While Microsoft would have the industry believe that Microsoft Project is the only tool, I have found other tools more focused on collaboration. These leaner, lither tools include Base Camp, Pandesa, Sharepoint, Datapool, and PlanView. Lotus Notes was the original product in this space, although few companies rely on its collaboration capabilities. Online webinar or blog tools that may contribute to your collaboration efforts include Webex, Wikipedia, TWiki, Icasit, and Gotomeeting.

The critical factor is to match the scope of the project with the tool. If the tool is complicated, people will reject it and may reject the process. While all tools claim to make the process easier, make sure that some employee evaluators are involved in the tool selection process. Also consider an adaptable infrastructure that can grow with you and that may provide a robust, yet easy-to-use solution.

Common Process

The use of a common collaboration process helps keep everyone on the same page. Specify the common elements of your process up front, keeping the number small to allow for local variations. The best collaboration initiatives are consistent without being restrictive—and the steps are transparent throughout the organization. This is often where global organizations experience the most pain, thinking a common approach equals a lockstep process. However, that's often not the case. The same process may result in increased revenues for one region and customer-satisfaction improvements in another area. Global organizations need to implement lean, lithe collaboration processes that apply equally well throughout the company.

Along with a common process the other major consideration is the iterative nature of collaboration. Teams may often revisit a situation or problem that had supposedly been "solved." This is a sign of a healthy learning organization. But it can be frustrating for people who want to "put a bow around it" and wrap up a problem. Recognize that some employees may need to be more open and less wedded to their own ideas for collaboration to become an established practice.

Access

Include everyone who needs to be involved in the process and tool usage. While this may seem obvious, many companies ignore this simple truth. This means 24/7 access to the online tools (or something approaching this level of access). Nothing is more frustrating than getting that "next great idea" at 3 a.m. and finding you can't record it and send it to your cronies.

Also consider including your consultants in the collaboration efforts. While you may find some resistance because of cost, consultants can often provide great input on best practices from other companies. That independent set of eyes and ears can also identify issues that "insiders" might miss. Often these otherwise missed issues are priceless to the outcome of successful collaborative projects.

Many companies embrace communication as a basic value, but frequent two-way communication is essential when a major initiative is underway. Such communication ensures that more people are involved and that they understand what's happening.

Approvals

It may seem antithetical to look at approvals when you're talking about collaboration – doesn't the consensus of the group dictate the outcome? No, not always, Your team might recommend "sunsetting" a business, but that kind of decision needs higher level approval. Spending money to improve some equipment or buy new software also typically involves a higher level of approval.

Set up your process so that the team knows upfront where their latitude ends and a larger corporate process kicks in. This will save gnashing of teeth later, and position the collaboration effort for success. This understanding can also further the appreciation of collaboration across a broader swath of the organization.

Summary

Even if you've been involved in a major collaboration effort in the past, a regular, thoughtful review of your organization's collaboration processes will both accelerate and improve the results. Following these best practices also ensures that key personnel are actively involved in key efforts. This, in turn, creates crucial marketing "stickiness" that may prevent critical employees from jumping ship to your competition as the market picks up.

©2006. BroadBand HR Consulting. All rights reserved.

Deb McClanahan has more than 20 years of industry experience. She founded BroadBand HR Consulting in 1996, specializing in helping companies find topnotch people and fine-tune their hiring and onboarding processes. BroadBand provides HR and organizational development services to start-up and other technology and life science businesses, either as an adjunct to internal resources or before the establishment of onsite HR staff. Deb McClanahan has also been tapped for expert opinion and expert witness services in employment, immigration, and other legal matters involving major corporations and law firms. For more information, visit www.broadbandhr.com.