It’s no secret that the workplace is changing. Data scientists at Ladders predict that 25% of all professional jobs in North America will be remote by the end of 2022, with remote opportunities increasing throughout 2023.
With more and more people working remotely, the traditional office setup is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. And while this new way of working has many advantages, it also comes with challenges.
Picture this: you’re working on a project with a team of people located in different parts of the world. You’re communicating via email, video, or another messaging platform, and everyone is working on their tasks. Even though you’re all working towards the same goal, it feels like you’re in your own little world, disconnected from the rest of the team.
This feeling of isolation is what we call “working in a silo,” and it’s a big problem for remote teams.
When team members work in silos, they cannot collaborate effectively, leading to missed deadlines, subpar work, poor communication, and general frustration.
Information silos are one of the biggest productivity killers and sources of frustration in modern organizations Valuable data gets trapped within certain teams or departments, preventing efficient information sharing across the company
This results in duplicate efforts, wasted time tracking down info, and employees feeling out of the loop. So how can you dismantle those silos and get information flowing freely again?
Here are 7 proven tactics:
1. Map Out the Ideal Customer Journey
To understand where and why silos exist, map out what an ideal scenario would look like from the customer perspective.
For example, what touchpoints and interactions would they have as they learn about, purchase, and utilize your product or service?
Now identify where your actual customer experience deviates from this ideal journey. Those deviations likely indicate areas where data isn’t being shared properly between teams.
2. Identify Data Gaps Between Teams
Next, pinpoint exactly where the biggest information gaps exist between departments. Common problem areas include:
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Sales and Marketing: Key customer data like contacts and leads falls through the cracks.
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Marketing and Product: Customer feedback doesn’t reach the product team.
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Support and Engineering: Support lacks context on product issues to resolve tickets quickly.
Anytime data transfer is manual or inconsistently shared, silos can develop.
3. Invest in Unified Software Solutions
One of the best ways to fix silos is implementing company-wide systems that different teams can access. This allows data to live in one centralized place rather than scattered across departments.
For example, CRM software centralizes all customer information. Collaboration tools like Slack or Asana make conversations and documents open.
The key is choosing solutions that integrate well together to enable transparency.
4. Create a System for Data Organization
It’s not enough just to have the right software. You also need to establish norms around how data should be organized and maintained.
Create standardized tagging protocols, naming conventions, and folders/categories so information is easy to find. Document these systems in training materials and wiki pages so employees can reference them.
Appoint “data stewards” responsible for overseeing proper data hygiene within each team. Have them meet regularly to address any cross-departmental issues.
5. Provide Critical Context to Employees
Even when information is technically accessible, employees may lack the background needed to interpret it properly. That’s why it’s crucial to provide context.
Marketing could share a monthly recap of campaign highlights and goals with the sales team. Product could provide cliff notes from user research learnings.
Context gives teams the ability to actually utilize data from other departments rather than just stored in a silo.
6. Foster a Collaborative Company Culture
Ultimately, breaking down silos requires a culture of collaboration and communication. Employees should feel motivated to share information rather than hoarding it for political reasons.
Institute incentives and KPIs that reward cross-departmental cooperation. Highlight examples of employees who proactively share data and insights across the organization.
And lead by example – avoid siloed thinking in your own work. Embrace opportunities for transparency company-wide.
7. Change Policies That Perpetuate Silos
Finally, identify any outdated company policies or procedures that contribute to siloed behavior and change them.
For example, requiring all external partner communications to go through the legal team may’ve made sense once upon a time. But today it limits valuable information sharing.
Or perhaps certain reports are still only delivered to senior executives when they should be shared company-wide. Updating small policies like this can have a big impact.
Breaking down entrenched information silos takes time. But maintaining the status quo has consequences – like unhappy customers, wasted resources, and frustrated employees.
By taking deliberate steps to increase transparency, you can dismantle those silos. Data will flow more freely across your organization, leading to faster innovation, better decisions, and more alignment.
The key is taking a strategic approach. Map out the ideal scenario, pinpoint problem areas, invest in integrated systems, normalize collaboration through top-down policies and incentives, and provide critical context to employees.
With a coordinated effort, you can shift even historically siloed companies into open information ecosystems where data is harnessed to create business value instead of getting trapped in black holes. What are you waiting for? The time to fix information silos is now!
How to prevent information silos: 11 tips
Thankfully, you can prevent silos from forming in your organization (or overcome them).
The first step is to encourage communication between team members. Establish which communication channels your team should use and when. Create dedicated chat topics to keep people focused. Create a set of best practices to ensure your team’s communication doesn’t become a distraction. And keep your communication style positive.
Use regular check-ins to see how people feel and learn to navigate different communication styles.
We can all agree that collaboration is crucial, yet, 39% of employees believe people in their organization don’t collaborate enough.
To encourage teamwork, assign tasks that require input from multiple people, and set up regular opportunities for team members to work together.
One way to do this is to schedule focused work sessions where team members can get together (virtually or in person) to complete specific milestones in a project. A facilitated session allows everyone to brainstorm ideas, collaborate on solutions, and get feedback from colleagues.
Create resources to promote knowledge-sharing within the organization. Set up a knowledge base or wiki where team members can easily refer to important diagrams, documents, and best practices.
It’s also important to encourage team members to share their expertise with their colleagues. Create opportunities for team members to give presentations or lead training sessions.
Don’t assume coworkers will network on their own. Try organizing social events (both virtual and in person) to encourage team members to connect and share their interests. Work friendships help team members feel more engaged and energized.
If you have a remote workforce, creating opportunities for team members to meet in person is still beneficial. If possible, organize company-wide or department-wide retreats regularly.
Encourage feedback between team members by setting up regular performance reviews. You can also allow team members to give feedback via peer-to-peer sessions, anonymous forms and surveys, and appreciation chat topics.
Establishing a culture of continuous feedback takes time, but it will help you gain the insights you need to make impactful and evidence-based decisions.
Work on creating a vibrant company culture
Having a good work culture helps with the overall health of your company. It attracts great employees, keeps them around longer, and generally makes everyone happier.
When it comes to preventing information silos, company culture is key. This is because a strong company culture helps to encourage communication, collaboration, and networking between team members, helping everyone feel like they’re part of one big team.
What are Data Silos and Why Are They Bad for Business?
FAQ
How can information silos be overcome?
What is a solution for the problems of information silos?
What is the solution to silos?
How do you manage data silos in a company?
The first step is to identify what processes and systems are contributing to your company’s data silos. Run an audit of each team’s data collection methods and management systems. Collect information on what systems are in use, the people using them, and evaluate if these systems generate relevant data..
How to prevent information silos?
When it comes to preventing information silos, company culture is key. This is because a strong company culture helps to encourage communication, collaboration, and networking between team members, helping everyone feel like they’re part of one big team. 8. Make transparency a priority Transparency is essential when it comes to preventing silos.
How to remedy data silos?
In order to remedy data silos, you first have to be able to find them. However, since teams can function as autonomous units within the company, data silos can be difficult to detect. Some signs that can point you in the right direction are: Complaints about lack of data for specified business initiatives.
What is a silo & why should you care?
Silos are an important part of organizational structure and the goal is not to eliminate them completely. The aim is to improve the flow of information between silos so individual employees have the information they need to do their jobs. Communicate often throughout your business to encourage information sharing.
