"We against you". The developers against the non-developers. The Tech against the Non-Tech teams. Many companies, consciously or unconsciously, have created mental barriers between teams which harms not only the working climate but also economic returns.
One of the biggest challenges of any business is breaking up these barriers. According to one study, lousy communication, such as job-related and business operation misunderstandings, cost the company $37 billion a year. Wow, right?
You may also sometimes have prejudices against other teams and prefer the input of one of your "people" over the non-techs. But the opinion of your counterparts is so significant. Even a tech company is nothing without the knowledge of the sales team to sell your developed product. It's nothing without finance, managers and the rest of the rascals. Team members with different skills that work well together solve problems much faster and are much more efficient.
So? What can be done to unite the Tech with the Non-Tech Teams and solve existing fronts?
Bridge individual gap
Maybe you still know it from school or college. The so-called “buddy program” is mainly used when onboarding and to take new employees by the hand, but it can also help people get to know each other better, outside of their team and eliminate stereotypical thinking.
Some companies also use the method of "network maps". The relationship between colleagues is visually presented, and the goal is to expand your "spider web".
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Bridge mental gap
To work better with Non-Techs, you as a developer also need to show interest in learning more about their area of responsibility. So you no longer have to feel like a foreigner in their field anymore, not knowing their “language”. You will see, the respect for the work of the other increases and working with each other doesn’t feel like a visit to the dentist any more - long and painful.
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Strategies
At the beginning of each project, time should be taken to plan, so that all teams can exchange the desires and goals with each other and be on the same level. You understand your role and the role of others in the project. The most useful part of planning is breaking down larger tasks into smaller ones to minimize incorrect estimates of workload.
Transparency
In most offices, there is not only the mental separation between the teams but also the physical one. The two camps are assigned to their "corners" and talk only when they are "forced" to do so. For developers, this separation makes it less easy to ask essential questions, which makes them spend more time dealing with a problem than they might need. Even if you may not have control over it, it's better to sit closer to the colleagues of the other teams. Further opportunities to create transparency would also be daily stand-up meetings to clarify, what may have remained unclear the day before. All the problems that arise for you, you should address as early as possible to prevent a fly from becoming an elephant; and just do not start sugar coating it. It may taste fine in the beginning, but once the sugar has melted, it becomes intolerable.
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The company has to break the line between Tech and Non-Tech employees, but creating a work culture of clear, consistent and honest communication between teams only works with your effort. To conclude, remember to include everyone in your work process so that the goals and expectations are always clear.
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