I created a Technical Communication Framework and Training plan for BoldFlash, a company in need of effective cross-functional communications strategies that serve employees, stakeholders, and department directors.
BOLDFlash: Background and Area of Focus
There are many communications issues plaguing the data storage device company, BOLDFlash. I believe the main area of concern is in the company’s internal processes. In this report I will discuss the issues BOLDFlash is having with internal communications and a plan to remedy these issues.
The previous Vice President of the BOLDFlash Mobile Division, Jim Harrison, favored Research and Development (R&D), placing priority on novel ideas and ingenuity above aspects of BOLDFlash that needed attention. “Analysts sometimes criticized the firm for doing research for its own sake rather than to improve products or meet new customer needs and faulted a corporate culture that was not always focused on results.” (BOLDFlash: Cross-functional challenges in the mobile division, 2012) Aspects like improving on current products, maintaining customer satisfaction and increasing profit margins were afterthoughts. Karl Melzer is quoted as saying of Harrison, “He didn’t want us (R&D) worrying about day-to-day business concerns, and always kept them away from us so we could focus on our research.” (BOLDFlash: Cross-functional challenges in the mobile division, 2012)
The Director of Product Development, Karl Melzer, has been employed at BOLDFlash for over 30 years and is used to being left alone to experiment and come up with new technology. This has fostered a mindset in the R&D Department that they are free to make decisions that benefit their department, no matter how it affects other departments and the company as a whole. R&D has become a silo within the company and this mindset is spreading. Karl Melzer’s inability to work well with other departments has affected communication and teamwork across the entire company, affecting Marketing, Sales, Manufacturing and Technical Support. He tends to bypass necessary departments if they are not giving him what he wants, often passing over everyone to go straight to the head of manufacturing with his ideas. (BOLDFlash: Cross-functional challenges in the mobile division, 2012) When asked where the problem is, the departments are all pointing fingers at each other. This internal conflict is causing the company as a whole to suffer. BOLDFlash is missing critical opportunities to gain profit and falling well behind competing companies. Department heads do not share the same vision for where the company’s focus should be.
Dr. Roger Cahill is the new Vice President (VP) of the Mobile Division. Though he has been with BOLDFlash for 24 years, he is a career scientist, new to leadership, and has struggled with decision-making. He has been the VP for less than a year and he knows the company is struggling, but he is making changes just to seem like he is doing something without sufficient prior analysis of internal systems. He is focusing on splicing departments and moving the senior employees in the company in an attempt to get control when his emphasis should be squarely on communication and team building. He “separated Marketing and Sales” and moved all international corporate staff and directors to his own location because he is quoted as saying, “I needed all of my leaders in the same time zone.” He made changes where there were no major problems and he made them based on “instinct”, and of these changes he said, “I’m still not sure if what I did was right, but I had to do something.” (BOLDFlash: Cross-functional challenges in the mobile division, 2012)
Internal processes throughout BOLDFlash Mobile Division are breaking down. The multiple departments within are not communicating with each other. They are not acting in a professional manner when it comes to collaboration for the sake of making the company function better. Department heads are squarely focused on their own success, even at the detriment of other departments.
Framework for Planning and Communicating with Stakeholders
Key Stakeholders
Cahill’s focus should be on troubleshooting internal processes in the departments that are struggling the most: Research and Development, Marketing, Sales, Manufacturing, and Technical Support. The key stakeholders for this focus will be Cahill himself and the directors of each department:
Roger Cahill – Vice President of BOLDFlash Mobile Division
Chip Bryant – Director of Sales
Kevin Cheng – Director of Manufacturing
Karl Melzer – Director of Product Development
Kavita Patel – Director of Marketing
Jack Thompson – Director of Technical Support
A new system of communication must be established amongst these struggling departments and the entire Mobile Division. A cross-functional team should be created, comprised of the key stakeholders. The team will be led by Roger Cahill, VP of the Mobile Division, to emphasize corporate buy-in, instantly creating a system of accountability within the team. Currently, cross-functional meetings that are inclusive to all department heads are held quarterly. These meetings are ineffective to say the least. Even with division leaders and department heads in attendance the meetings did little to resolve issues within the company and the “underlying reasons were never confronted”. (BOLDFlash: Cross-functional challenges in the mobile division, 2012)
The first task for the newly established cross functional team should be to participate in a strategy summit with key stakeholders. “A well run strategy summit can be a powerful tool to create consensus for major change or to unearth the true communication drivers of a company’s success.” (Goodman & Hirsch, 2012) A Systems Analyst can be hired as Director of Communications to act as a facilitator and mediator at the summit to help the team focus on the priorities given them.
Established Practices
At the strategic summit, the cross-functional team should first establish the main points of contention between departments, the areas where production is bottlenecking, tasks are redundant, and lines are being crossed between departments creating strife amongst the employees. They can then take a prioritized approach to solving these problems. Bringing on a Director of Communications to analyze and consult with department directors on overhauling the communications systems of the entire company prior to the meeting would be a great place to start. “It is necessary to explore the strategic goals of the corporate communication function in the contemporary corporation, as well as the skills individuals and their companies need to thrive in this environment of constant and rapid change. Such an exploration can provide concrete and specific models for how to organize and execute effective communication for the contemporary practitioner working in the communication field.” (Goodman & Hirsch, 2012)
As a scientist, Roger Cahill, should be playing to his strengths by utilizing a research-based approach in fixing his department instead of acting on “instinct”. As the cross-functional team leader, he needs to foster an environment of open communication within the team, where every member can speak freely, while still respecting each other. Diversity in communication should be a priority, so all members can participate without any obstacles. Cahill should also make it clear that he is backing the new Director of Communication to take charge of facilitating the meetings, working closely with this person to weed out problem areas.
Framework for Communication
After the initial summit and moving forward, BOLDFlash department heads would benefit from a team-building software platform like Microsoft (MS) Teams. A digital workplace is ideal for a company that contends with obstacles like varied times zones, locations, cultures, and languages. “Technical communication in the 21st century is increasingly digital, globally networked, mobile, multi-platform, and adaptable to emerging technologies. Workplace professionals now can communicate quickly and efficiently from the palms of their hands.” (Gerson & Gerson, 2018) In this day and age there is no excuse for poor communication.
With MS Teams the BOLDFlash cross-functional team can utilize tools like a Wiki blog to share and alter documents and information that could affect multiple departments. For example; Jack Thompson, Manager of Technical Support, has had to repeatedly address customer issues with the flash drive product installation instructions. The jargon in the instructions is too technical for the customers. Jack wrote a memo to the director of Sales, Chip Bryant, to speak with the Director of R&D, Karl Melzer, on his behalf to remedy this problem. (BOLDFlash: Cross-functional challenges in the mobile division, 2012) With Microsoft Teams, the document could be uploaded by R&D to the shared platform and every director could weigh in before the document is sent out to customers. This system also allows everyone to collaborate from their remote locations, in their own time zones, and in whatever language they are most comfortable with. The Vice President will be alerted to any new content and can check in remotely, providing needed accountability for participation in cross-departmental communications without having to get everyone in the same room or even the same country. The collaboration will be readily accessible and constant, instead of something that is only addressed quarterly. "Today's digital economy requires workers to collaborate and communicate confidently, intelligently and efficiently in a safe environment to improve both individual and team performance, project execution and business operations," said Diane Myers, senior research director, IHS Markit. "With smarter and highly secure real-time collaboration tools in place, enterprises can expect to see not only richer engagement, but also enhanced productivity and innovation." (Oracle fortifies microsoft teams for secure enterprise use, 2019)
This system will also remove the finger pointing and “he said, she said” dialogue that creates controversy. Every interaction will be documented and the weak links in the internal communications system will be apparent. The individuals at fault will be provided with council on how to communicate more effectively. “We must shift from changing perceptions to changing realities. In a world of radical transparency, the 21st century communication functions must lead in shaping behavior - inside and out - to make the company’s values a reality.” (Goodman & Hirsch, 2012)
Training Plan and Area of Focus
For improving communications in the BOLDFlash Mobile Division, the area of focus is on the company’s key stakeholders. If communication among the Vice President Roger Cahill and the Department Heads improves, I believe that the company’s overall collaboration, efficiency, productivity and profitability will greatly improve also. “Renewed internal focus is driven by an understanding of the employees’ essential role in the networked enterprise, and the need to boost employee morale, and reflect a reluctance to commit resources to hiring additional staff. This presents an opportunity to position for either an economic recovery or continued global economic weakness.” Focusing internally is a big step in getting BOLDFlash back on track for success. In this report I will outline these specific strategies involved in overhauling communication processes:
Hiring a Systems Analyst to act as the Communications Director. This Director will work alongside Roger Cahill in order to enact a science and data-based analysis of the current communications system.
Creating a Cross-Functional Team to fix communications in the departments that are struggling the most. The team will be comprised of the new Communication Director and the following corporate employees:
Roger Cahill – Vice President of BOLDFlash Mobile Division
Chip Bryant – Director of Sales
Kevin Cheng – Director of Manufacturing
Karl Melzer – Director of Product Development
Kavita Patel – Director of Marketing
Jack Thompson – Director of Technical Support
Holding a Strategy Summit for the Cross-Functional Team that will enable them to openly express their ideas and opinions on how the company can function more effectively with a better communications system in place.
Create a specific plan for training and utilizing a new communications system centered around Microsoft 365 Enterprise Applications for communication and team collaboration; first for the Cross-Functional Team members, then for the Department Managers under them.
Communication
Many large corporations have common communications issues. There are three main areas that BOLDFlash should focus on:
“The set of communication tools is not complete
Not all the tools work with each other
The tools do not provide a rich communication and collaboration experience” (What is a corporate communications framework, 2013)
These prioritized issues can be remedied easily by adopting Microsoft Applications. Microsoft 365 Enterprise 5 (MS 365 E5) is formulated specifically for big corporations who need the ability to collaborate remotely. “Office 365 E5 is a cloud-based suite of productivity apps combined with advanced voice, analytics, security, and compliance services.” (Microsoft Teams, 2020) It includes all of the basic MS 365 Applications like Excel, Word, and Power Point, but offers many Applications that go beyond basic computing to meet the needs of international communication. With Applications like Outlook, MS Teams, MS Streams, MS Yammer and MS Sharepoint, file sharing, video conferencing, shared calendars and many other features are all brought into the same space for streamlining and efficiency. Everything works together and offers a wide variety of uses, and top-of-the-line security features for any device or operating system.
Collaboration
The training process will begin with the Cross-Functional Team. The Vice President, Roger Cahill has been working with the new Communications Director to analyze existing BOLDFlash communications processes and outlining critical areas where changes need to be made. The first collaborative effort will take place at the Strategy Summit. The Strategy Summit will last five days. This will be the first meeting with the Department Directors, the Communications Director, and the Vice President. On the first day of the Summit the Systems Analyst will conduct a presentation outlining their findings from the systems analysis. The Department Directors will be encouraged to provide feedback and opinions. This process will be mediated by the Communications Director and Roger Cahill. The Directors have not been utilizing Real Time communication across departments. Communication has often been passive and exclusionary. There is often uncertainty in corporate management as to who is in charge of corporate communication. Often it is designated to a specific department or person. “This mode of practice tends to lead to greater structural volatility for the communications function…” (Goodman & Hirsch, 2012) It is important for the Directors to understand that communication is the responsibility of all Directors. Their buy-in to the new process is imperative for the success of the project.
The second and third day of the Strategy Summit will be reserved for introducing the new MS 365 E5 systems and training the Cross-Functional Team on the MS Applications that they will utilize the most: MS Teams, MS Stream, MS Outlook and MS SharePoint.
The fourth and fifth day of the Strategy Summit the team will work together, utilizing the new MS Applications to brainstorm a process for training the Department Managers. “Successful corporate communication, as we have discussed, is based on a strong combination of key strategic elements:
A clear strategic vision for the organization’s future,
Consensus among key decision makers,
A communication program aligned to business priorities,
An agreed upon company vocabulary for expressing all of these ideas.” (Goodman & Hirsch, 2012)
These elements will be the focus of the Cross-Functional Team for the remaining days of the Strategy Summit. The Communications Director will use MS Project to create a Gantt chart outlining the processes and timeline for training the rest of the company on the new communications system.
Training Methods
At the Strategy Summit, a third-party contractor will be hired to engage the Department Directors in MS Applications Trainings. They will need separate and more in-depth training than the employees under them, because they will be taking on the roles of Global Administrators across the MS Applications. “Your Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription comes with a set of admin roles that you can assign to users in your organization using the Microsoft 365 admin center. Each admin role maps to common business functions and gives people in your organization permissions to do specific tasks in the admin centers.” (About admin roles, 2020) The Department Directors have shown little interest in collaborating openly with other departments, and have shown an aversion to being part of a team in previous interactions. The benefit of doing in-person training verses virtual training, in my opinion, is accountability. They will not only see the Vice President buying into the training and the new process, but it is also harder to have a bad attitude towards the trainings, and each other, when the person is standing in front of you verses interacting with a computer screen.
A different method will be used in training the Department Managers. The Department Directors will use MS Teams to create specific training groups for their departments. The accountability will be coming from each Director. As administrators they can create a group in teams, upload shared training videos and files, and utilize a shared calendar synced with MS Outlook where they can set deadlines for the trainings to be completed. They can then hold Teams video conferences with the Department Managers to check their understanding of the trainings and answer any questions they may have. With MS Teams, all video and audio meetings can be recorded and saved. This applies a level of accountability. The Vice President or the Communications Director can request to be added to meetings, or they can view the meeting later and check in on their Directors.
All training videos and presentations will be uploaded to MS SharePoint. This will make them available and accessible to all employees, companywide. After the Directors and Managers are trained on the new communications systems, the rest of the employees can be trained. Every employee will need training on some systems, but not every employee will need training on all systems. The Managers of each division can specify which training videos or presentations they want their employees to watch. Every employee at BOLDFlash will need a company email address, so the MS Outlook training videos will be for everyone.
Specific Guidelines
As part of the Microsoft company subscription, every employee will be able to utilize MS Applications like MS Yammer, a social media site specific to their company, and MS Streams, which is a YouTube-like streaming service that has videos created by the company for training and information purposes. MS 365 E5 Applications are accessible from all devices and operating systems, so employees that do not work from an office and do not have access to a computer (warehouse workers, manufacturing employees etc.) can still have access to tools that directly address the area of focus:
· MS Outlook for email correspondence and shared calendars
· MS Teams for trainings and meetings
· MS SharePoint for collaboration, wiki writing and file sharing
· MS Yammer and MS Streams for company updates
These tools will be universally accessible and they will work with each other to create a seamless communication environment. With varying levels of access within the company intranet, information will also remain secure. The Departments will have their own Department sites to bring their own teams together, and access to other department sites or file sharing capabilities can be granted where needed.
“To put the communication strategy into action, the framework should include information about how to reach the important groups and the messages that will appeal to them.” (Linton, 2020) The goal here is to create a unified and positive collaboration environment for the entire company. No matter where they are working, every employee can feel like they are part of a team. If the employees are excited about a new direction for the company, that excitement will trickle down to the consumers. Each Department Manager will be encouraged to upload MS Streams videos to MS SharePoint on engaging topics that everyone will be interested in; new innovations, product launches, company successes, employee promotions, and other upbeat content. There will be something for everyone on the BoldFlash Intranet, but everyone will not have access to everything on the intranet.
The BoldFlash VP and the Department Directors will have full access to add sites, modify data and create account with varying permissions. Managers within the departments will have limited access, with the ability to share documents, create meetings, and store data. Employees below them will have very limited permissions. They will be able to view public content and shared calendars and utilize MS Applications for email and basic work-related computing. They will not be able to change aspects of the intranet, alter department calendars, or have access to shared document folders unless special permissions are given.
Training
The time has come to begin training the BoldFlash Mobile Division employees on the new system for communication. BoldFlash has been struggling with internal communications, mainly due to certain departments becoming silos within the company and also due to a lack of accountability from leadership. No one has been keeping the Department Directors accountable for utilizing professional communication guidelines, and mostly they do not communicate directly at all.
In an attempt to remedy these pitfalls within BoldFlash, a Cross-Functional Team has been created and has participated in an in-person, five-day Strategy Summit. The purpose of the Strategy Summit was three-part:
Information from the information systems analysis was presented and the Systems Analyst solicited feedback from the rest of the Cross-Functional Team.
A contracted Microsoft Applications Training Expert trained the team in the new applications for communication.
The Cross-Functional Team outlined new goals and guidelines for internal communications at BoldFlash.
The following report goes into the specifics of the training program that targets the necessary audiences. I will use a communication artifact from BoldFlash, the “BOLDFlash – Technical Service Communication” artifact, to zero in on areas where the most communication improvement is needed.
(Beer & Shelton, 2012)
Target Audience
I chose the artifact “BOLDFlash – Technical Service Communication” for my example because the target audience is mostly composed of members of the BOLDFlash Cross-Functional Team that has been created. The Cross-Functional Team is composed of:
Roger Cahill – Vice President of BOLDFlash Mobile Division
Chip Bryant – Director of Sales
Kevin Cheng – Director of Manufacturing
Karl Melzer – Director of Product Development
Kavita Patel – Director of Marketing
Jack Thompson – Director of Technical Support
Newly hired Systems Analyst
As I have said before, the training phase will focus on internal communications. The artifact example I have chosen illustrates why such an in-depth re-training in communications is needed. Karl Melzer’s Department, Product Development, was favored by the previous BoldFlash Vice President and that allowed them to become a silo within BoldFlash. Karl does not feel the need to communicate about his projects to other departments, he does not consider their needs when creating documentation for new products, and he sometimes even completely bypasses other departments and goes straight to manufacturing for BoldFlash product fabrication. (Beer & Shelton, 2012) This will become more apparent when I critique his correspondence in the next section. Karl’s attitude towards internal communications and collaboration has caused the company to miss out on opportunities to provide customers with products that are needed and products that could have made the company more money. This has also caused an environment of cross-departmental tension. Communications documents sent between departments are passive aggressive or filled with negative words about other departments.
Each member of the cross-functional team has specific needs when it comes to training. Those needs can be divided into Professional needs, and Technical needs. Here are some examples for each type of needs for the most crucial employees:
Roger Cahill, Vice President
Professional Need: Roger needs to find a way to take an active role in leading his Directors and keeping them accountable.
Technical Need: Roger needs an application that will assist him in monitoring his Department Directors communications and progress with projects.
Karl Melzer, Director of Product Development
Professional Need: Karl needs to learn to be a team player and communicate effectively with fellow Department Directors.
Technical Need: Karl needs a software application that keeps him accountable for his professional interactions and group participation, preferably an application that can report specific data to Roger Cahill, creating accountability.
If we solve the issues with these two employees, we will essentially solve issues for the rest of the Cross-Functional Team. Sales, Marketing, Manufacturing, and Technical Support all need the same things. Professionally, they need more effective communication from Karl Melzer about products, and Technology wise, they need a better method of collaborating across departments when they have a shared goal.
Message
In the “BOLDFlash – Technical Service Communication” artifact, Karl Melzer is trying to communicate about the release of a new product. He has attached the Product Description and specifies that the product will be released to manufacturing “later this week”. Once the product is released to manufacturing, a timeline for release to market can be created. Karl’s announcement creates a lot of needs for other departments before being sold:
Manufacturing needs product specifications to create the product and create a timeline until completion.
Sales needs to do research and reporting on projected sales totals, where to sell the product and how much inventory will be needed on hand.
Marketing will need to understand the target customer and create a marketing and advertisement plan.
Technical support needs to understand the product in order to offer valuable help to customers, store fronts, and salespeople.
Roger Cahill needs reports on the new product from all departments in order to give them a budget to complete their tasks.
The artifact in question from Karl Melzer, does not meet any of these needs, and Karl Melzer is not willing to provide further information on the subject.
After the Cross-Functional Team has been trained, these types of inadequate and disparaging correspondences will be eradicated at BOLDFlash. The challenge is enacting a training that meets the needs of all employees equally, in a way that brings everyone on-board with complete buy-in from all parties. I recommend approaching this topic with a focus on positivity and teamwork.
Positive communication is the key. If we start by singling out the flaws in individual departments and targeting change within those silos, all that will do is create more division. We will lose Karl Melzer’s attention from the very beginning. So, instead of the message being “Let’s fix your Department’s flaws”, the message will be “Look at all the great benefits of the new communications system”. “Building rapport (empathy, understanding, connection, and confidence) is a very important component of your communication challenge…To maintain a successful work environment, you want to achieve the correct, positive tone in your writing.” (Gerson & Gerson, 2016) By emphasizing the data reporting and participation tracking features in the new communications system we are sending a message to all Directors that anyone not in compliance with the new standards of communication can be monitored with the help of Microsoft’s Applications. This documentation will allow Roger Cahill, VP, to focus his attention on the employees who need more accountability. He won’t have to waste valuable time on searching for the problems within his division. “Regardless of your specific challenges and opportunities, I believe you can achieve a positive, results-oriented and fun culture by adhering to one of our strategic objectives in an open learning environment where educated risks are encouraged, where the occasional failure is viewed as a positive learning experience, and where individual growth is expected” (Goldsberry, 2005)
Critique
The “BOLDFlash – Technical Service Communication” artifact is a great example of the internal communication problems within BOLDFlash. At first glance the memo may seem innocuous, but after reading the case and knowing the backgroud of all departments, I am able to dissect what exactly is wrong with this correspondence. I will quickly address the issues in Karl Melzer’s Memo. Please refer to the excerpt below when reading the following bullet points:
(Beer & Shelton, 2012)
Highlighted in purple you will see the abbreviation “SSD”. This is a technical abbreviation for a “Solid State Drive”. It is not appropriate in general correspondence to non-technical audiences to use overly technical abbreviations, acronyms, or jargon. Heads of non-technical departments may become confused from the very first sentence. The confusion will continue into the attached Product Description document that is riddled with technical jargon and technical processes that non-technical departments will never be able to understand.
Karl Melzer has an aversion to being a team player. He makes terminating statements instead of asking for collaboration, input, or feedback. The statements underlined in red, “this will be good enough for you to get started”, and “the new format is being implemented” highlight his views on this subject. These details should have been discussed in detail with multiple departments well before the week of release.
The Memo makes assumptions in order to avoid taking responsibility. Underlined in green, the statement “I trust that everyone saw the sample that we had available” inadvertently places blame on department heads if they did not actively seek out the sample and review it. This makes the statement passive aggressive. The statement is also intentionally vague, leaving out details that would have been essential. Where were these samples made available? Were they a made available last quarter or yesterday afternoon?
Last, Karl ends several sentences with phrases that leave no room for questions or conversation about the topic. I have underlined two instances in blue. Phrases like “So this should be no surprise” and “so you should be all set” tell audience members that Karl is unwilling to do anything further for them and does not want to discuss the matter in any follow up correspondence.
I previously described this correspondence as disparaging. He is making his audience feel as though they have little to no worth in the scope of the project. He doesn’t realize that without the other Departments, the products he creates would never make it to market, and there would be no money for him to continue his research. However, singling out one employee to reprimand is not a successful means of remedying communications issues. Through a process of encouraging a team building environment, focused on positive reinforcement and centered around Microsoft’s collaborative applications, BOLDFlash can make positive strides towards successful internal communication.
Adaptation Example
I created the following example to adapt to the new communication guidelines established for BOLDFlash employees. This is not just a re-written memo. This memo is a practical example of all of the guidelines for the new communications system at BOLDFlash. Here is an overview of all of the guidelines communicated in my Area of Focus, Framework, and Training Plan that are exemplified in this memo:
Regular cross-functional meetings between Department Heads in the Mobile Division.
Eradicate the silo mentality in the Product Development Division.
Create a collaborative work environment thought he use of Microsoft 365 Enterprise Applications like Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Sites for sharing and altering documents and other information.
Corporate Buy in on the information systems and accountability through monitoring and reporting.
Most of all, creating a positive work environment by removing the stress involved in trying to get everyone to communicate effectively.
New Communication Artifact
Explanation
It is instantly apparent that the tone of the memo has been revised to have a more positive message. This was done by changing the tone of the memo to reflect respect and professionalism. There is also an overall sense of openness, where the initial artifact was very closed. Karl Melzer did not want any further communication or feedback from other departments in the initial memo. This new memo encourages collaboration and solicits input from all department heads.
The revised memo Carbon Copies (CC) Roger Cahill, the BOLDFlash Mobile Division’s Vice President for the sake of accountability, but it doesn’t stop there. As I have said repeatedly, these Department Heads need a lot of accountability in the initial stages of using the new system of communication. The memo also contains a call to action and a heavier dose of accountability by reminding Department Heads that Roger Cahill will be following up on their participation in this project. “It's essential to see accountability not as a means of control or faultfinding, but rather as a process supporting the belief that people want to be accountable for the work they do and develop themselves along the way.” (Cox, 2018)
The revised memo also mentions multiple, accessible ways that each department can receive information about the project and also have a voice in the project. They don’t even have to be in the same room or meet in real time. This removes the stress involved in trying to work around everyone’s busy schedules. There are four separate collaboration technologies mentioned in the memo; Microsoft (MS) Team Sites, MS SharePoint Document Sites, MS Project Sites, and MS Teams Meetings.
An MS Team Site can be created and accessible by specific groups. A site can be created just for the Cross-Functional Team. “A team site can be used as a single environment to create, organize, and share content.” (Using templates to create different kinds of SharePoint sites, 2020) Through the MS Team Site each Cross-Functional Team member can check a shared calendar, join a MS Teams Meeting virtually, or connect to the MS SharePoint Document Site to post content for review.
The MS Team Site can house links to different MS Project Sites also. The Cross-Functional Team can have a MS Project Site specifically for the Solid-State Drive Project with:
“Visual timeline of the project’s tasks.
Project task schedule.
Library for storing relevant project documents.
Notebook for quickly capturing and organizing information about the project.
Shared calendar for team events.” (Using templates to create different kinds of SharePoint sites, 2020)
This keeps everything separate and well-organized, reducing the stress involved in multiple project planning.
The revised memo is also a learning opportunity. When an employee who has the most difficult time communicating, becomes an example of successful communication for others, successful communication can proliferate, spreading through other departments, managers and lower level employees. Leading by example is perhaps the best training there is.
Alternate Adaptation
This memo artifact from the BoldFlash case study could be easily changed to an inter-departmental memo with the audience being employees working under Karl Metzger. As a Microsoft Site Administrator, Karl could create these same collaboration sites for his own department; sharing calendars, hosting Teams meetings, and managing projects all in one place.
This alternate memo artifact from Karl Melzer is written to his own team in Product Development. It exemplifies all of the aspects of corporate internal routine communications that are important coming from a Department Director. It includes the basics, like an introduction, discussion of the topic, and a conclusion (Gerson & Gerson, 2016), but really it is a brief way of communicating a lot of information:
It manages expectations, letting employees know what to expect from upcoming meetings, tasks, and assignments.
It establishes accountability. Simply knowing that their Director and Vice President are communicating about their progress can encourage employees to be on their best game.
It reassures employees on their progress and encourages them to finish strong.
It also inadvertently breaks down the silo mentality that previously existed, encouraging teamwork, collaboration and cross-departmental communication instead.
The memo refers to “last-minute design details”. This alludes to the fact that they are using agile methods of production. Details can be worked on according to the company’s or customer’s needs right up until launch, building and revising on previous iterations of the design. “Agile, or adaptive, methods are very flexible and efficient in dealing with change. They are popular because they stress team interaction and reflect a sense of community-based values.” (Rosenblatt & Tilley, 2017) It requires the mindset of open collaboration between departments and customers/users. This along with his mention of using the new Microsoft Applications for teamwork and collaboration shows that Karl Melzer has bought into the new information system that has been implemented and his silo mentality has been altered.
Focusing on internal communications processes will help BOLDFlash become a more successful company overall. With the help of Microsoft 365 Enterprise 5 and with buy-in from the Department Directors, the new communications system will be easily adopted by the company as a whole.
References
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Cox, S. (2018, September). Getting accountability right. Nursing Management, pp. 24-30.
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