This short story, Coworkers Collaborate to Complete Successful Initiative, is part of AlphaMeasure's compilation, Tales From the Corporate Frontlines. It illustrates how important cooperation, collaboration, and communication are to achieving the common goals of a successful organization.

Anonymous Submission

The company where I work specializes in resolving customer service issues. The results of recent customer surveys convinced management that it was time to launch a company-wide performance improvement initiative. The version that was finally approved consisted of brief but intense training sessions in three areas: general customer service procedures, procedures and methods specific to each client serviced, and specific product issues and information. Three separate departments within the company were called upon to collaborate and make this initiative a success. Our HR department was responsible for coordinating and scheduling the training sessions. HR personnel also took on the task of procuring and delivering the general customer service training materials. The Customer Service Department's mission was to gather, organize and present information on specific client procedures, as well as to implement a procedure for updating the material to keep it current. The Technical Services Department called upon specially trained personnel to add to the general knowledge of all employees by identifying and explaining common troubleshooting issues.

The general goal of this initiative was to improve communication and encourage ongoing collaborative efforts. Management had determined that the quality of customer services depended heavily upon these three C's---cooperation, collaboration, and communication between key departments in the company---and the initiative was created as a stepping stone toward making our service the best in the field.

Here is what we learned through periodic progress checks and focus group interviews:

On the whole, our employees cooperated very well, even across departmental lines. Work progressed at a steady pace and those in charge of organization did an excellent job keeping everything on track.

There were some problems due to the fact that HR personnel at times felt overburdened. In addition to coordinating and actually delivering training sessions, personnel were still handling routine HR duties. As the department with the smallest number of employees, they were somewhat resentful at being assigned the largest share of the workload. Management worked with the HR department to resolve these issues and create a plan for future initiatives.

The departments generally worked together in a spirit of partnership and collaborated to make the initiative a success. Ratings reports showed that service improved markedly and remained improved for three quarters after the end of the project. Management was correct---cooperation, collaboration, and communication are essential elements to the process of building, growing, and maintaining a successful business for the long term.

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Josh Greenberg is President of AlphaMeasure, Inc.

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