Why Efforts to Break Down Silos Fail and What Business Relationship Managers Can Do About It

Many companies today are burdened by silos—separate departments optimized for a specific function or set of functions, but pretty much impervious to anything going on around them that does not relate specifically to their functions.  We see this across business units, where manufacturing, sales, marketing, distribution and R&D, for example, each operate in their own cocoons.  We see it inside support functions such as Information Technology (IT) and Human Resources.  In IT, for example, it is not uncommon to have silos around strategy, architecture, operations and solutions delivery.  Complicating things are additional layers of silos around specific platforms or technologies, and which form a kind of informal matrix with the functional silos. Cross silo units such as Program Management Offices and Centers of Competence around disciplines such as 6 Sigma or Agile have a hard time getting traction with the organizational silos they were established to help.

The Promise of Process Management

The early days of Business Process Re-engineering were often trumpeted for their ability to bust silos—and they sometimes did, as groups were forced to work together in the design of end-to-end business processes such as order-to-cash, procure-to-pay, hire-to-retire, and so on.  However, over time, as companies adapted from purely hierarchical organizations to more horizontal process-based organizations, it was common to see process silos—as deeply entrenched and hardened as functional silos!

The Promise of Business Relationship Management

Business Relationship Managers (BRMs), by definition, are masters of working across and breaking down boundaries. They often have to deal with at least two types of organizational silos—the business silos they represent, and the silos in the provider organization with whom they interface. By teaming with other BRMs and looking across business silos, BRMs are often able to recognize cross business unit opportunities or redundant efforts.  This ability can be of significant value to the enterprise, and can actually help soften silos and increase cooperation and collaboration among business units.

Dealing with provider organizational silos can be a greater challenge—akin to herding cats—consuming time and energy that should be put to better use.

The Promise of Organizational Transformation

Many provider organizations recognize they have a silos problem and determine that they need to ‘transform’ their organization. A common mistake they make here is trying to transform from within the silos—each unit defining their own ‘future state’ model, then figuring out how to move to that nirvana.  It is not unusual for the BRM role to be established as part of this transformation.  The temptation is for the BRMs to define their role, capabilities and processes, and then to hope that by socializing this with the other silos, all the parts will somehow integrate and the silos will start to dissolve.  Needless to say, that does not work!

I guess there’s a rule here somewhere—You can’t break down silos from within silos or from a new silo. This, of course, is a specific case of Albert Einstein’s famous observation:

We cannot solve our problems with that same thinking that we used when we created them

The BRM As A Silo Buster

So, what can a BRM do as a facilitator of silo busting?  I think the BRM has a key role to play in silo-busting—in fact, unless the silos are softened, the BRM will have a hard time being truly effective. As such, I see six actions the silo-busting BRM can take:

1. Surface and socialize the cost of the status quo.  Find evidence of how silos lead to inefficiency, loss of productivity, inhibit business value and create a less than satisfactory experience with your business partner. Try to make an estimate of the productivity cost of silos. I’ve done this with clients, and though the calculation can only be a very rough approximation, the magnitude is so significant, you cannot ignore the data. If you can get senior and respected business partners to describe how silos are limiting business performance, even better!
2. Introduce and socialize a “new paradigm” for thinking about the provider organization—one that deals in terms of Operating Model, Capabilities (with their implied end-to-end processes) and Rules of Engagement.
3. Sell the idea of a holistic approach to Operating Model transition—with an overall Transition Program leader, and transition teams based on Capabilities and spanning organizational silos. (I prefer the term transition to transformation—it tends to be better received.)
4. Help establish a set of shared goals for the organization articulated in terms of business impact—how your business partners will view, experience and interact with the provider in the future state.
5. Quickly assess all initiatives currently underway or planned that impact could impact the future state design—leverage everything you can, but ensure strong Program Management connects and aligns all dependent initiatives.
6. Don’t take you eye of the ball—stay focused on your business partners.  Operating Model transformation is a means to an end, not an end in itself.

Cartoon courtesy of Virtual Group

Related articles

• Measuring BRM Performance
• Who’s On First? Playing Together With the Provider Organization – Part 2
• New BRMP training courses are open for registration!
• Six Reasons to Break Out of Your Organization’s Silos