People, power, roles & communication

Problems to do with connections between people and teams can creep in over time, for example a organisational structure which once worked well, can be unbalanced by a key member of staff leaving or new responsibilities being taken on.  The impact of this can be wide ranging and significant.  Big change projects - like the implementation of a new ticketing system or a website transformation - can stretch staff to their limits and highlight or cause cracks to appear between team members or different departments.

We find many instances where people do not communicate:

• Why something is necessary or important
• Who is responsible (the balance between power and responsibility is crucial)
• Where the boundaries of authority are, and at what point you should escalate upwards
• The impact, throughout the whole organisation, of poorly performing staff
• How they are impacted by technology changes
• How they are impacted by lack of technology changes, when overdue
• How everyone within an organisation contributes to the whole
• When they need help and support

In a stressful challanging environment it is all to easy to overlook the importance of keeping everyone informed, involved and feeling as comfortable as possible.

People

• Not adapting to changes in technology
• Designing systems around people
• Not experienced enough staff

Power

• Departmental power struggles
• Not understanding impacts
• Staff management issues
• Feeling of powerlessness

Roles

• Not addressing skill set issues
• Inadequate support for managerial staff
• Changing roles with new technology