Multi-disciplinary teams provide multifaceted solutions.
Technological advances have created many more strategic focus areas for businesses. Though many core fundamentals remain the same, the execution mode has changed. For example, in advertising, media, marketing and sales – the evolution of media, content, data, and technology are continuously bringing in new areas of focus and deployment. New consumer touchpoints, new modes of communication, new distribution channels, new ways of driving customer relationship management, shifting consumer behaviour, and many other changes necessitate cross-functional teams to guide through them. Cross-functional teams have people from different disciplines, and skill sets working together, enabling the ability to navigate the changing environment.
Power of matrixed organizations in maximizing the effectiveness of cross-functional teams.
Embedding business and practice experts together within the same team brings game-changing results. In media agencies, we see the power of bringing together media planning & buying, data and strategy, content, experiential marketing and multi-disciplinary digital experts. E.g. We could successfully implement an initiative to connect with rural women because of the involvement of cross-functional teams. Data and strategy experts helped identify micro-issues that mattered to rural women for communication cues. Content experts worked on content strategy and creation. Mobile experts executed the delivery of the content & measurement metrics through a tailored mobile radio platform. Initially, the efforts stalled due to the absence of the content experts in the early stages. Once they joined, it moved forward, bringing in great results.
The ability to push the envelope, and drive scale and effectiveness in projects where cross-functional teams are involved, is far higher compared to those where teams work in a silo. Team members from different practice domains bring different viewpoints and paths to addressing the goal at hand. They can better inspire, challenge and support each other and break new ground. This interaction also enables all team members to extend their range of knowledge beyond their domain and bring in an outsider’s perspective, which further helps the domain experts themselves.
Do’s and Don’ts for successful implementation.
In-built within organization strategic planning, management framework and company ethos: All functions need to align to the strategic objectives and ethos of the organization. Strategic initiatives need to be drawn out, individually for each domain and in conjunction as to how they will come together to deliver on profit, product, people and profile for the organization.
Extend across the organization: Cross-functional experts must be present across all levels of the organization and business units. Organizations need to factor in the unique requirements of business units and individual teams to determine the be-spoke composition of cross-functional experts within their org structures.
Learning and development: The width and depth of new processes across functions require a robust learning and development plan. Also, it is not enough for people in one domain to restrict their knowledge and skill sets to that domain alone. The synergies and interplay within fields need everyone to develop a range of skill sets. Moving between specialization areas is highly effective in generating new skill sets while bringing in knowledge and know-how from other domains. External partners are also crucial in building multi-disciplinary capabilities.
Maintaining the right balance: With technological domains within each function exploding, it is essential to arrive at a proper demarcation of specializations with a particular role. Too few divisions run the risk of missing areas that need specific focus. Too many sub-divisions run the risk of bringing in confusion and insulated efforts.
Communication between functions and an integrated view: Clear understanding of shared goals and working together towards them is crucial. Clear KPIs for each function and knowledge of how they influence each other and deliver the final business outcomes are paramount. Integrators play a crucial role in bringing in a unified view of all functions toward business outcomes.