Now that we have a multitude of tools at our fingertips, all designed to improve the productivity of remote teams, it’s time to ask whether they are improving communication, or simply adding bricks to the walls we unknowingly build when we aren’t physically in the same room as our colleagues. The likes of Zoom, Teams, Slack and Miro have been a game-changer over the last year, but is there a danger that along with remote working, they could be contributing to the formation of silos?Silos occur when groups or individuals within a company fail to share information with others, either deliberately, as a result of inadequate systems or through falling into the trap of creating patterns of behaviour that favour some in a team over others. Whichever way, the results are the same; disjointed purpose and misaligned priorities, leading to reduced productivity and low morale.We’ve all been there. Duplicated work, days spent working on a project that turns out to be completely redundant, plans stalled because you are missing a vital piece of information; the problem is all too common. Ensuring the timely and effective sharing of information frequently gets overlooked in favour of more immediate priorities, but all too often the silo effect creeps in quietly, only becoming obvious after the damage has been done. Overlooking this important issue is likely to erode morale and employee engagement, and ultimately affect productivity on a grand scale.
- Fortune 500 companies lose an estimated 31.5 billion dollars per year by failing to share knowledge across teams*
- 86% of corporate executives, employees and educators cite a lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures**
*International Data Corporation survey **ClearCompany survey
The silo effect isn’t a new problem, it has always been a risk in any business, office-based, remote or blended. It is natural and very human for us to actively seek our ‘tribe’ and gravitate towards people, groups and cultures with whom we share turf. That turf is often a way of working, or membership of a team or department, but it can also be a similarity in personality, or even having a particular hobby, value or belief in common.
“Silos – and the turf wars they enable – devastate organisations. They waste resources, kill productivity, and jeopardize the achievement of goals.”
Patrick Lencioni, Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars
Before remote working became the norm, the easy flow of information around an office was something that most of us took for granted. Those casual conversations, whether by chance or subtly engineered, allowed us to keep an ear to the ground. Now that we can’t just bump into colleagues, each interaction must be planned and carefully managed, and when they are over we find ourselves back in isolation.Then there is the added challenge of virtual communication. Voices have become digitalized, faces pixelated, and true eye contact is a thing of the past. We find ourselves focusing on one person at a time to the exclusion of others. Without being able to fully ‘sense’ the presence of others, we are starved of the full experience and the negatives can overwhelm us. It can start with something small, an eye roll, the impatient tapping of a pen, a deep exhale of frustration, but before you know it the barriers are up and effective communication is a whole lot harder.The good news is that it doesn’t need to be that way. With some focused effort, rational thought and self-management we can create an environment that squeezes out the silos.Whether you lead a team or not, we all have a responsibility in breaking down these silos. Follow our step-by-step guide to check you are doing all you can to create a collaborative environment, especially during these uncertain times:
It Starts With Leadership
Just because you might not have the title, it doesn’t mean you don’t have a responsibility. It takes a little effort from us all to demonstrate the behaviours we want to see in our leaders. Are you showing equality across on-site, remote and distributed team members? Are you implementing and following procedures that accommodate a balance of work-related and relationship-based communication? If so, you are already well on the way to success.
Create Clarity and Build Cohesion
Silo working goes hand in hand with tunnel vision, so expand everyone’s view by agreeing each team's purpose, sharing roles, publishing projects, making goals visible and go all out with the celebration when a team gets a win.
Appreciate Your Remote Workers
There must be someone out there that’s using their working day to drink gin and watch ‘Loose Women’, but we haven’t met them yet. Productivity among remote workers is high, but in blended workplaces, they are at added risk of isolation. If remote workers are in the minority, nominate a buddy to keep them connected with daily office activity.
Use Technology to Your Advantage
It’s never been easier to share information in a meaningful way. At the click of a button, you can publish your team’s goals or invite colleagues from other departments or locations to your meetings. If there’s someone that’s not sharing with you, make the first move and show them how it’s done.
Relationships Rule the Day
No matter where we sit on the corporate ladder, we are all human. Actively promote compassion, gratitude and listening. It’s harder to build and maintain working relationships over virtual platforms, but it’s completely possible. Acknowledge the limitations, but make space for everyone to talk, connect and engage.
Connections Happen on Fridays
A Monday morning meeting might be essential to set the week’s priorities, but don’t forget the Friday afternoon chat. It’s vital to celebrate what went well during the week, share what went wrong, and forge bonds over weekend plans.
Take Responsibility
Do you believe that priorities are aligned across your whole organization? If not, speak up. Are you sharing information with colleagues freely, regardless of whether they are ‘one of your tribe’?If you follow these steps you will be well on your way to a silo-free work environment. Just think how great it would be if everyone was working together toward a common goal? For more information, check out our Breaking Down the Silos solution.
