In an organization, the daily life of the leadership team can be bogged down with the transactions that occur throughout it. Each department within the company works diligently to get the job done. Sometimes, though, departments can become so self sustained that it becomes isolated, or “siloed” from other aspects of the company. This event can be dangerous to the corporation, as we need to have departments interacting and sharing information. Successful companies thrive on great communication.
Company departments working independtly can negatively impact the corporation as a whole. Even if some departments work with others but disregard another, this cannot be conducive to furthering the company’s overaching goals. To combat this, the Hub and Spoke Method is used to bridge the gaps and knock down the walls between departments. The model helps bring together all departments for a single purpose. That purpose may either be driven by the CEO to help bridge the gaps he or she has noticed with the company or it could also be a new project or marketing campaign.
The “Hub” or “center” would be the campaign itself. For instance, let’s use a new bar of soap as a new product. Marketing must reach out to other departments, or the “spokes”, to collaborate on the campaign and how it might impact those other departments. The Buyer would need to know the product to source it from a supplier. The customer service department will need to know what may drive future calls to their center for customer assistance. Web developers may need to enhance the company website to advertise the product. Data Analytics experts must work closely with the Marketing team as well.
Marketing plays a key role in bringing the necessary areas of the company together towards a common goal. Each campaign will require close partnership with a multitude of teams to reach the set objectives. Digital Marketing specifically touches several facets of an organization – from Web Creators to help with email marketing, for example, or with the finance team to determine the working budget for a new promotion. As in the case of our reading in Chapter 1 this week, the ACME team came together to automate an email marketing campaign. The work to get there may have taken time, patience and understanding with other departments, but the common goal was realized. Through the Hub and Spoke Method, with Marketing acting as the centerpiece and other departments acting as the spokes, better communication within the company will be as evident.
