One of the most common CFTs assembled by manufacturers combines sales and marketing to ensure promotions are attracting the right leads. CFTs consisting of research and development, production, and procurement employees can help manufacturers develop more innovative products, while avoiding complexities that could slow down production or increase costs.
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Cross-functional teams need more than regular meetings to stay in sync — they need to unify operations as much as possible, without disrupting the important work of their primary teams. Here are four ways to improve functionality:
Collaboration is more than an ideal — it’s something that requires focus and dedication. Each department has goals they try to meet, but often, cross-functional teams lack clear structure and direction, especially when they’re formed reactively. Setting CFT goals ensures organizational alignment and maintains accountability. CFTs are positioned to effect change in their organizations. If they produce strong results, these changes will be positive and inspire greater collaboration. But if CFTs lack focus, they can dilute the efforts of everyone involved — and the success of the manufacturer.
The foundation to any successful collaboration is transparency — about bandwidth, workload, progress, and everything else that goes into a project. Every department involved in a CFT needs to provide visibility into their processes, so every member knows exactly when something is going to get done. Transparency provides another form of accountability for team members and increases trust, improving working relationships.
Cross-functional teams should meet regularly to share information and strategize, but issues are bound to crop up between meetings. CFTs need efficient ways to communicate with each other, such as chat platforms or workflow management software. Solutions should be integrated with the platforms or workflows of the larger organization as much as possible to maximize collaboration.
