Question

Topic: Strategy

Building Alignment Within An Organization

Posted by Anonymous on 11/4/2014 at 10:47 AM ET 125 Points
I work at an electric and natural gas utility that has never had a formal marketing department until one was established just over two years ago. As a member of the marketing team, we've been tasked with building brand, improving the customer experience, developing products and services to improve the company's bottom line, and serving on a larger group focusing on creating a great workplace.

The rub we've run into across the organization is developing alignment with business units and leaders that are fine with their bottom line now, even though many see forecasts that the utility model is changing and revenue will have to come from different streams in the future and cost savings now.

Every other year our organization completes a company-wide survey to identify trends within its workforce, strengths and areas of improve. For us, the marketing team, alignment jumped out from all others as an area in need of improvement.

That brings me here. I'm looking for feedback to help us better align ourselves to work effectively with the various team that we interact with — senior management to public relations to state vice-presidents to field operations.

Really, I'm opening the floor for any and all suggestions from identifying the components of alignment for a marketing team within an organization to relationship-building to affecting status quo to working with key leaders to build budgets and business cases.

Thanks, in advance, for your time, consideration and suggestions.
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 11/4/2014 at 11:33 AM Accepted
    The first step is to work with the various departmental leaders to identify how your alignment process can help them - both short-term and long-term. This sort of rethinking requires buy-in, and the best way to get that is to ask, listen, and integrate their needs into your planning. Once they see the benefit to your plan, you'll be able to enlist their support to convert other "naysayers". You need advocates within your organization to change business-as-usual.
  • Posted on 11/4/2014 at 1:23 PM Author
    Additionally, what input do you have on how to define alignment in context to what I offered earlier?
  • Posted on 11/4/2014 at 1:23 PM Author
    Thanks for your feedback, Jay!
  • Posted by mgoodman on 11/4/2014 at 2:16 PM Accepted
    What areas are seen as needing improvement by OTHER departments/groups within the company? Maybe if you help them address their deficiencies (or sources of dissatisfaction) they will be more open to addressing yours.

    When there's a dissonant perception like the one you describe, there are two ways to view it: (1) Everyone is out of step but us; or (2) We better learn to play their tune ... at least for now. Being a change agent isn't usually easy.
  • Posted by telemoxie on 11/6/2014 at 1:57 PM Accepted
    I'm curious, what kind of alignment are you seeking?

    Are you seeking to align your department with the goals and wishes and plans and perspectives of the stakeholders and business managers? Or are you attempting to align their perspectives with the perspectives of the new marketing department?

    If this were my project, I would try to collect information from other power companies. Are other large successful competitive organizations increasing their marketing focus? If so, how and why?

    Most importantly, I would try to very clearly understand the expectations of my supervisor and of those people who are pushing this project. Large organizations change slowly. It may take five to 10 years of small incremental changes before this company seriously embraces marketing.
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