3 Best Practices to Achieving Cross-Functional Alignment (Part 2)
This is the second in a series of three blog posts that offer best practices for realizing better alignment across your organization’s different teams. Get caught up on Part 1: Pre-Planning.
Planning: Create Joint Planning Sessions for the Upcoming Year
Inherently, different teams have different responsibilities that contribute to the overall annual company goals. That said, don’t mistake this division of responsibilities as a reason to plan in a silo. It will be crucial to take what was learned during pre-planning and bring all teams together for cross-functional planning and keep making forward progress.
In a truly customer-centric organization, there are few goals that can be achieved without the support of cross-functional teams. Incorporate cross-functional feedback and reviews at strategic points throughout the cross-functional planning process to ensure alignment.
It can be a balancing act to bring in the right teams at the right time to share feedback and drive alignment, after all, you don’t want to fall into “decision making by consensus”. To avoid this planning pitfall and still drive alignment, identify the key teams who will contribute, partner, or benefit from your proposed goals.
From there, identify the appropriate individual to provide input and determine when and how they will provide that input. For example, you may seek initial input during a retrospective session (see above), create your team’s proposed plan, review the plan with your key stakeholder, and adjust if necessary based on their feedback.
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It Might Not Be Easy, but It’ll Be Worth It
Chances are, the cross-functional planning process won’t go perfectly, and there will be bumps along the way. However, having these conversations now will pave the way for a smoother path toward achieving these goals in the long run. These planning conversations tend to uncover misalignment, gaps, and even misunderstandings. If one or more of these issues arise, use the opportunity to understand and rectify the discord.
For example, reviewing Customer Success plans with Sales may uncover a lack of understanding of the Customer Success team’s role in the Sales process. Use this as an opportunity to align on the role Customer Success plays and identify any processes or methods that need to be created to clarify expectations with internal teams or customers.
Similarly, if a planning session for the year’s upcoming launches uncovers tension between product marketing and product, use this as a chance to understand what’s driving that tension and identify changes in process that can better set both teams up for success.
While joint planning exercises can take more time and effort, the payoff is typically well worth it. Driving cross-functional alignment around your team’s goals increases the likelihood of achieving those goals, breaks down potential obstacles that make it more difficult for your team to hit those goals, and strengthens the cross-functional relationships you and your team rely on.
Let’s Bring Your Team Together to Win the Year Ahead
Whether you’ve already started the cross-functional planning process to get your team on the same page for the new year’s goals, or you’re still researching how to effectively do that, our team is ready to ensure your success. Get in touch with us today to learn how we can support the cross-functional planning process.
What happens once planning is complete and you’re up and running? This is a cyclical process, so you’ll want to take stock and learn. Keep reading in part three to find out how.
