And Carrie On

As MarComm leaders, so much is asked of us. From signage, to marketing, to billboards, to commercials, our plates are full with a plethora of worthwhile projects.

That said, making sure everyone knows what is happening, what is the background context, and what priorities should be a focus (as opposed to a tactical approach) is incredibly heard when so much is happening.

One of the strategies I have used to address this is cross-functional teams. I find the consistency, collaborative approach, and opportunity for new learning make this an important option when considering how to manage the workload.

What is a Cross-Functional team?

This Forbes article defines these teams as groups of people from various areas in an organization who work together to achieve a common goal. 

While the article focuses on this from a different department perspective, I think the benefit exists within our own MarComm shops. The skill sets are so vastly different across the work of our own department that I find this approach is relevant.

What This Looks in Practice

Having deployed cross-functional teams at two different institutions, I believe this is a pretty accurate description of how they work. Each member of the MarComm team is likely on a sub team (design, web, communications/content, etc). For cross-functional teams, one member from each sub team comes together to make up another team that supports a specific campus partner (the common goal is supporting the partner). For example, I have cross-functional teams for Admissions, Graduate Enrollment, Advancement, and Athletics.

These are all key partnerships for the MarComm team, and our cross-functional team has a regular in-person meeting with several team members from the other area. We use the time to strategically talk about the work and discuss key projects

Additionally, in our weekly staff meeting, the cross-functional team has working time to workshop or discuss anything that is needed to support the strategic partner (helping prevent a need for other meeting ).

4 Benefits of Cross-Functional Teams

Here are a few reasons I think cross-functional teams can make our overall areas better.

Builds Collaboration

Using cross-functional teams helps build collaboration, both within the department and within the university. Working with our own team more intentionally helps us understand the skills of team members and how they can support our broad work. By using this format when engaging with strategic partners, the partners feel supported and part of the process since everyone is workshopping ideas together to find the best solution. It creates a synergy that is hard to replicate.

Supports Consistency

Another benefit is consistency. Having a cross-functional teams working with a strategic partner means that several MarComm team members meet weekly with the partner. This helps the partners become comfortable with the entire team. This is important because it makes it easier for progress to continue when someone isn’t present. The entire team has rapport with one another, so work can continue even when people must miss the meeting. Additionally, because the same team works together, the work is aligned, so all work with that partner has a consistent look, feel, and style, which helps elevate brand consistency.

Yields Better Ideas

Cross-functional teams tend to result in better ideas or solutions. Once the initial period of building the team has passed, the web person may have a great print idea, or vice versa. Because the team members have permission in a cross-functional team to work toward a solution rather than do explicit work in their own lane, better ideas tend to come out of these teams. Everyone is expected to ideate on solutions, which can help develop really strong ideas, without regard for lanes and hierarchy.

Supports New Learning

Finally, cross-functional teams help the entire team grow. First, the teams learn about the strategic partner they work with. For example, the Admissions cross-functional team is going to become well versed in the enrollment funnel, marketing attribution, etc. This means those team members can bring that knowledge back to their respective sub teams (web, design, etc), helping elevate the knowledge of the entire MarComm unite. However, knowledge of the unit itself also happens. The web person begins to understand design challenges, and the design person starts to see the value in having an easy-to-follow- naming structure for website pages. Simply put, the team understands each other better, helping to improve the work and the working relationship.

Getting Started

If this sounds like something you would like to try, I encourage you to start working toward it now by first listening to what your strategic partners need. This will help you in building effective cross-functional teams that can collaborate with a strategic partner. That pairing is critical, so listen carefully and make sure it’s right.

Let’s Connect

If you want to talk more about cross functional teams, please reach out. I would love to share more about these teams and how I use them.