Breaking Silos is the only way towards a Sustainable Harmonious organization
For me `Breaking Silos` has Transparent and Collaborative decision-making at its core. In this post, I am sharing a few such inspiring organizational digital transformations.
What does `Breaking Silos` mean for you as a decision-maker?
Organizations are live ecosystems of people producing value and impacting the economy and the ecology. Sustainable and harmonious organizations aim to balance the interests of all stakeholders, optimize business processes, and have a positive impact in the economy and ecology.
People, business processes, and capital are interconnected. Digital tools and processes are being used to deal with complexity. As organizations grow, the challenges of growing in harmony across all functions are unavoidable. Traditionally, Human resources focus on employees, Finance on budgeting, Sales & Marketing on Customers, Manufacturing or services on product delivery and suppliers, Investor relations on Shareholders, etc.
The larger the scope of the organization, the more Silos emerge between the different areas of focus.
Typically, organizations use a combination of digital and manual processes to coordinate within their ecosystem. All the stumbling blocks they encounter from existing yet invisible silos, are dealt with in inefficient ways. All the costs of dealing with silos between different areas within the organization are being absorbed because change consumes energy and requires alignment.
The recent forced and sudden confinement, remote work at scale, and increased business uncertainty, is bringing Digital Transformation to the forefront. For any organization, be it a university, a municipality, a brick and mortar enterprise, a services company, or a technology provider; Internal Digital Transformation suddenly takes top priority.
Each organizational ecosystem is being forced to take quick and often large-scale decisions in order to deal with what Gartner calls `a Turn`. Turns are circumstances that require organizations to take strong coordinated actions around people, business processes, and costs. Turns can be economic, competitive, environmental, geopolitical etc.
Decision making in one area may have unintended consequences in another area, if coordination is not possible. The domino effect of decision making these days, is high. Decision-makers need to identify silos and disable them in order to coordinate. This will empower the decision-makers on both sides of the silo, to make more efficient decisions.
Dynamic decision making requires Breaking Silos
Identify a Silo and disable it by enabling data flow, analytics, visualization at that intersection.
In this new environment, optimizing for the short-term and for the long-term (when COVID-19 related restrictions are lifted) is paramount. Gartner identifies four main areas that are demanding focus and coordination in the current Turn.
· Employee wellness and productivity
· Business operations and continuity
· Budget and spend optimization
· Stakeholder communications
The order does not have any significance. The emphasis is on the need for coordinated dynamic decision making.
A cross-functional approach in each ecosystem is the only way for dynamic decision making and this requires Breaking Silos.
Never before has human capital been so interconnected with financial capital resources within organizations, profit or non-profit, in cities or municipalities.
Identify and Disable Silos, Now!
Decision-makers need to Break Silos to deal with the uncertainty in this `Turn`.
Breaking Silos helps achieve more harmonious outcomes in businesses and organizations. This kind of Internal Digital transformation has Collaboration and Transparency at its core.
If decision-makers choose to get rid of Silos once and for all, [JC2] this crisis not only will be handled well but we will have achieved a sustainable reorganization that was long due:
A harmonious organization operates easily and efficiently and is well prepared for any future challenging conditions.
Breaking Silos leads to organizational harmony because it has Collaboration and Transparency at its core.
So the question becomes `Who will lead in Breaking Silos?` In some organizations, CFOs are leading, and their ways of creating the next level of connectedness and harmony are invaluable lessons to others. This will be the focus of the Oracle Breaking Silos Campaign which I am delighted to be part of as an Oracle Ambassador to showcase and highlight inspiring organizational transformations. Stay tuned as I will be sharing insights, experiences, and challenges directly from the field.
Great cases of `Breaking Silos` in Europe are complex commercial organizations whose mission is to serve ecosystems like schools, academies, fire services, and district councils.
Within the unique Swiss confederation, HES-so University of Applied Sciences and Arts Western Switzerland has implemented a cloud-based cross-functional approach to deal effectively with seven cantons and numerous higher education programs.
The European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) has already taken the leap into getting rid of silos and strengthening its virtual global network.
And several other successful implementations in businesses that operate between the physical and digital world, like the Swiss Post Solutions.
The time has never been more suitable than now, to adopt a `Breaking Silos` roadmap.
Examples of organizations that are on this journey with Oracle
Puma runs the Fastest annual report in less than 10seconds
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) aims for an Autonomous Forecasting system
CERN maintains and improves connectivity amongst engineering, control, and administration
If you are on a `Breaking Silos` journey at any stage, share your story, challenges, and experience in the comments below or DM me.
Efi Pylarinou is a global Fintech & Blockchain influencer — №1 Woman influencer in the finance sector by Refinitiv Global Social Media 2019.
