Organisational review
The role of e-commerce within most organisations presents opportunities for cost effective growth when managed well. In addition to this, an effective marketing strategy, particularly with digital, can provide a route to finding customers in geographies that it might not otherwise be possible to reach. Planning digital or marketing teams from the ground up at the outset is a luxury rarely afforded, and these teams can grow organically as greater demands are placed on them, and budgets grow. It’s not unusual to find teams that have been formed through internal transfers and skills acquisition as priorities have evolved. This can lead to the situation where roles fit around the skills, personalities and career aspirations of individuals.
Supporting teams
However teams have been constructed and developed, the rapidly changing technical and behavioural world places a constant demand on teams to respond to these changes.
The challenge for organisations can come from the sheer amount of work required of teams and managers. This can make it difficult to find the time to step back and look objectively at the capacity of the team to deliver against expectation.
In the methodology below, the objective is to evaluate and support teams through change, ensuring effective processes exist, development needs are identified, and that the team are supported through what can be a disquieting process.
Stakeholder meetings
A preliminary set of meetings is required to fully understand the objectives of the engagement, and highlighting any key areas of focus. Central to this phase is understanding what is expected of the team in terms of its roles and responsibilities.
A brief report summarises these meetings, including timescales, and objectives.
Individual meetings
Following the stakeholder discussions, a series of meetings will be held with the individuals that comprise the team. Prior to these taking place, it is essential that the purpose of the meetings has been explained, and that they are not being evaluated or measured.
The questions asked will be generic in nature, but will necessarily explore areas of particular concern expressed by the team members.
The team members need to be assured that their views are confidential, particularly if it relates to inter-personal difficulties.
Information gathering
In the course of the engagement, it is highly likely that certain information will be required, some of which may be commercially sensitive. As such, an NDA should provide adequate reassurance. Such information may include:
- Budgets
- Salaries
- Job descriptions
- Commercial numbers
- Business dashboards/ KPIs
Conclusions
At the end of the engagement, a report will be produced that refers back to the original brief, and highlights any key areas of concern. This report will be discussed in order to explore any particular areas of focus.
In order to ensure maximum disclosure by the team members, comments relating to personal conflicts or difficulties are anonymised.
Objective and supportive
The purpose of the engagement is to evaluate the effectiveness of the team from all perspectives. This is designed to be a neutral viewpoint that may recommend changes within the team, in terms of technical skills and personal development.
It may equally make observations about the demands being placed on the team, and ways in which their work is managed.
Why work with me?
I have been building, managing, coaching and mentoring teams and individuals for 20 years. I have a long track record in developing technical skills, coaching, motivating, leading and performance management.
I have managed teams from as few as 2, all the way up to 25. This is across a range of roles and backgrounds including development, digital marketing and traditional/ offline marketing.
I have first-hand experience of conducting this type of engagement, and have been subject to it as well.
