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AGREEMENTS BETWEEN DEPARTMENTS
One of the most significant ingredients for effective and efficient organizational productivity is the ability of departments to collaborate effectively. Although it should be obvious to all concerned, people often "forget" that everyone is engaged in the same mission. Unfortunately, the norm is for turf battles and departmentcentric behavior to develop. More times than I care to recall I have facilitated dialogue among sales, manufacturing, and implementation. The problem is almost always a lack of communication coupled with a perception of "us/them" in the other department. Here is a representative example of one of the "fixes" I facilitated for a major telecommunications organization. It is critical to keep reminding everyone that they are all inside the same circle.
Collaboration Agreement
1. Intent and Vision: It is our intention to have effective coordination among sales, manufacturing, and installation. Our vision for the future is one of close coordination among our departments, with no one making promises or representations until they have confirmed the accuracy and ability to deliver with all three departments. We want to accomplish this with the pre-sales visit and the pre-contract and pre- and post-installation meetings. Our goal is to eliminate the conflicts that always develop.
2. Roles: Everyone plays an essential part in the process. Manufacturing is responsible for building what the customer orders after it has been designed by the installation and sales team, who coordinate with any technical departments. The sales role is that of customer advocate. The salesperson's primary role is communication and coordination. The entire organization depends on sales to find, service, and please customers by making them satisfied with what we have to offer. The installation team is responsible to make sure what was ordered is delivered and installed and that the customer is satisfied that their needs are being taken care of.
3. Promises:
Sales promises to:
- Sell only what we can manufacture
- Become very familiar with our products as described in our brochures and technical specs
- Check with production and installation schedules before making any promises to the customer
- Stop holding manufacturing and installation as adversaries and start thinking of them as resources who will be helpful in our jobs
- Honor our organizational pricing guidelines when submitting quotes
- Stop saying negative things about manufacturing and installation
- Let go of the perception that manufacturing and installation are a bunch of "engineering bureaucrats"
Manufacturing promises to:
- Cooperate at all times with sales on both delivery times and customization, especially when needed to close the sale
- Move away from the immediate reaction of "no" when a request comes from sales about a prospective new order
- Use our creativity to look for ways of accommodating the customer
- Recognize that sales and installation stand on the same footing and are just as important to the success of the organization as manufacturing
Installation promises to:
- Restrain ourselves from making negative comments about sales and manufacturing when we are installing a system
- Embrace sales and manufacturing as real teammates
- Recognize that without sales and manufacturing, we would not have a job
4. Time and value: We all understand and acknowledge that we are interdependent and that without each other we would not have a viable organization. We recognize that the role each of us plays is an essential part of satisfying the customer. There is no question of the value that will come back to us if we honor the terms of this agreement. For that reason, we will continue to honor the terms of this agreement for as long as we are in business.
5. Measurements of Satisfaction: We will measure our success in keeping our promises under this agreement by the following standards: how often we raise our voices; how many times customers call our senior executives with complaints; how many testimonials we get from customers; how many missed on-time deliveries we have each quarter; our respective levels of stress and anxiety; who our emotions are directed at; our ability to acknowledge and enjoy our colleagues from other departments.
6. Concerns and Fears: We are all concerned that the stereotyping and resentments have built up over such a long time that we will not be able to get beyond them. We are also concerned that no one will change their behavior, that sales will make whatever promises necessary to close a deal, that manufacturing will resist anything that is inconvenient, and that installation will not take ownership of projects and service the customer properly.
7. Renegotiation & Dissolution: We all acknowledge that opening this dialogue has already resulted in easing the tension. We are getting beyond classifying one another as "the enemy." It looks as if, much to our surprise, we are developing a collaborative relationship. We trust that as we discover more about how the other departments operate, we will be able to refine our working relationship. We understand that how we work together and serve the customer is much more important than the words of this agreement.
8. Consequences: We realize that failing to honor this agreement is a potential disaster for the customer and for each of us. We agree that when either one of us breaks a promise under this agreement, we will deposit $5 in our charity fund.
9. Conflict Resolution: If conflict develops between us that we cannot resolve within two days, we agree to ask our VP of operations to help us mediate the situation. If we can't agree, he can make a decision for us. We will honor that decision without resentment.
10. Agreement: We are satisfied and looking forward to working
with one another. When I reflect on the need for this kind of agreement
it informs me that as a culture we are doing something wrong, both with
the educational models and cultural norms we are instilling in neophyte
minds and with people who might have learned differently and "should"
know better. I do think we know that collaboration is a higher form of
human interaction, and when a safe context is provided, we can jump
right in. We also understand that in certain contexts, competition
brings out the best in us.
What seems to be missing is the wisdom to
make discerning choices about the best "driver" for particular
situations. Making those kind of judgments is the kind of education we
need as a collective. That seems more important than instilling an
omnipresent sense of "winning" at any cost. What we need are new
contextual definitions of victory!
Summary: One of the most significant impediments to effective and efficient organizational productivity is the ability of departments to collaborate effectively. Unfortunately, the norm is often turf battles and department-centric behavior. The cause is almost always a lack of communication coupled with a perception of "us/them" in the other department.
Exercise: Do you engage in "us/them" thinking when reflecting on your relationship with other departments of your organization? Are they really the enemy? Do you think a dialogue with "them" would be useful?
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