If your business is suffering at the hands of a silo mentality, you’ve probably noticed difficulties when it comes to problem solving, making decisions and accomplishing seemingly achievable goals as a company.

This, understandably, is a very disheartening problem for CEOs and team leaders, but luckily it can be solved easily if you get the right plans in place. This 4-week guide will help banish those frustrating silos and encourage collaboration across all departments:

Week 1: Evaluate your office culture

Obviously, it’s important to get everyone in your company working together, but a strong office culture is essential if you want seamless collaboration between departments.

The first step in breaking down departmental silos is to re-establish a positive office culture. Think of ways to create a shared sense of purpose; that way, your teams will be less likely to butt heads and work against each other, and more inclined to work together outside of their own departments. Useful methods include:

  • Reviewing your mission statement and company values – make sure they still provide an exciting and realistic vision for the future of your business. But, also make sure all teams know how their roles fit into helping the company achieve those ultimate goals.
  • Reminding your employees that their work is valued – inspiring your staff to believe in themselves and letting them know how their work makes a difference to the bigger picture is a real silo buster.
  • Actually getting to know your employees – Take time to get to know your employees, find out what motivates them and offer support if they’re struggling. If a team feels a closer connection with those in a higher position, they’re more likely to open the communication lines and work alongside other employees and departments.

Week 2: Set goals that align with each department’s individual priorities  

Silos occur when employees don’t share information outside of their own role or department. One reason for this, could be because they don’t think other departments share their team’s priorities. This way of thinking transforms into miscommunications, delays and incorrect decisions. In other words, it spells bad news for your business.

Whether you’re the managing director, a team leader or a project manager, it’s up to you to hammer home the importance of teamwork and set goals that will ultimately get employees communicating. These could be anything from setting up meetings together to proposing multi-channel projects that require regular inter-team contact. Once your staff start working towards these goals, they’ll recognise how breaking down silos actually brings the company together, and even makes their job a bit easier.

Week 3: Introduce tools that break down silos and make communication happen

So you’ve got your teams working together on shared goals, nice work! Now it’s time to make sure nothing gets lost in translation. Let’s face it, we’ve all experienced the negative sides of email; fragmented conversation, forgotten attachments, having to catch up on forwarded chains that you should have been involved in from the get-go, but the sender forgot to CC you.

There are tons of web tools out there to help your company keep everything in one place and simplify team-based work management. Consider applications like Basecamp, Asana, Slack and Podio to encourage inter-team comms and help with multi-channel project management.

And don’t forget, not all silos happen by choice. Sometimes, geography plays a part; it’s much harder to work with other colleagues and teams if you’re in a separate location. These tools are great way to integrate team members working remotely.

Week 4: Get your teams socialising and interacting

By now, your departments should be working together and the future of your company looking much rosier. But of course, working with people is a lot easier (and more enjoyable!) if everyone gets along, so why not organise an off-site team building experience to get everyone sharing their skills outside of the office?

Forget conventional team building socials that nobody really wants to join in with. Go for something adventurous, exciting and thought-provoking instead.

For example, Escape Hunt is a unique way to get employees working together in a non-work setting, not to mention having a little fun. The escape rooms inspire your employees to use critical thinking in a social setting and rely on everyone’s talents to get out, so they’re a great way to improve communication skills. As well as being a totally immersive activity, this will get your teams thinking outside the box and developing collaborative skills that can be used in the office.