We talk about the need to get closer to our customers, walk in their shoes and understand their needs and preferences. As insight and research professionals we have tools and methodologies to do this, but whilst we are getting closer to our customers, are we always taking the time to understand our own team and colleagues? If we can understand each other better, that’s a great starting point for the skills we need to get to know our stakeholders and agencies better.
Last year, at BT, we kicked off a cross-team workshop to dig into what the insight team culture could (and should) be. One of the findings was that we didn’t really know each other and this impacts they way we collaborate with each other as teams within the team.
Siloes, from both role and location, add to the challenge of creating single narratives that are consistent across a team. We have the structural processes in place which help with this, e.g., cross-functional groups, working together to input to priority business challenges. But we also recognized a need to have a culture that helps support collaboration so that it’s happening organically and continually.
Therefore, a key challenge was how to optimize collaboration across our multiple teams – starting with getting to know and understand each other better as individuals and our roles. Within and as an extension of the culture work stream, we’re starting to drive a transformation from within the team.
In this session we take you through some of the challenges we faced and the actions we’re taking to create a culture where we can share who we are, what we bring to work and build empathy and a stronger sense of understanding and belonging within the BT Insight team.
Key takeaways:
1. The importance of understanding each other in order to understand our customers.
2. The importance of personal stories when building empathy.
3. Ways of overcoming siloes, location and demographic differences.
