How to Fix Information Silos to Build a Connected Organization

Geographic and remote team separation

Consider a multinational company operating globally, both remotely and in physical locations. Because the organization operates differently across locations, it is difficult to share information across the organization.

For example, imagine an MNC with its main office in the US and a remote office in the Netherlands.

The HR team of the main branch has updated the company's employee onboarding policy and stored the latest version in its HR system. However, the HR team in the Netherlands still has the older version of the HR policies and is operating under it. The probation period for a new joinee was 6 months; it was updated to 3 months, but the Netherlands office HR team onboards the employee based on the older policy.

After onboarding the new employee, the HR manager must report the onboarding status to the main branch; at that time, he notices the siloed information. In this scenario, the information was siloed in the HR system, creating a gap in the organization's cross-border functioning.

Communication barriers between teams

Communication between teams is difficult. Each team has its own lane, with no easy road connecting them. When the HR team updates the accidental damage policy in the HRM system, employees must report any accidental damage to company equipment within 24 hours. Depending on the circumstances, the company may cover the repair or replacement costs.

One day in the manufacturing unit, a machine operator caused accidental damage but did not know he had to inform the plant head within 24 hours. The HR team updated the policy, but the information remained siloed in the HRM system, creating gaps in day-to-day operations and inflating organizational resources.

Knowledge hoarding and limited information sharing

Lack of knowledge sharing and knowledge hoarding can create information silos. When a senior employee cannot share their entire valuable knowledge with a new joinee, valuable information stays with the senior employee and is not transferred to the junior employee. This happens because senior employees have many organizational responsibilities; knowledge sharing is only one part, so they cannot transfer 100% of their knowledge.

Disconnected systems and lack of integration

Disconnected systems and lack of integration happen because each team uses dedicated software to meet its needs. For example, the HR department may use an HRM system, the sales team may use CRM software, and the technical team may use code editors. Integrating these systems into a single environment and passing information between them is difficult. In these situations, employees may have to manually transfer data, send files, or contact another team to get the information they need.

Set clear rules for sharing and managing information

Organizations must implement clear rules for knowledge sharing and managing information, such as:

• Employees must acknowledge information in any form, such as physical documents, conversations, or digital information.
• Implement role-based information access; not all information should be visible to everyone, and access shouldn't remain unchanged. Update access levels as organizational needs change.
• Assign ownership to keep information up to date; define retention periods.
• Share information only through authorized channels.

Use collaboration tools to improve team communication

Organizations can use collaboration tools such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, and SharePoint to share information and documents across teams. These workspace collaboration tools can help centralize and share information across the entire organization.

Collaboration tools also help teams communicate effectively by creating separate team channels and a centralized channel for sharing information across the organization.

Build cross-functional knowledge-sharing practices

Cross-functional knowledge sharing is an important factor in an organization's smooth functioning. For example, in a large organization, multiple development teams may develop components, but if the knowledge stays within each team, the next team taking over or building the next component can be affected.

To overcome such scenarios, cross-functional knowledge-sharing sessions and meetings are important. After completing the project, each team must document challenges and lessons learned; this helps future teams gain insights.

Use knowledge base software to centralize information

Knowledge base software acts as a centralized repository for holding all the information. Knowledge base software helps prevent information silos because all information in the knowledge base becomes accessible based on the access level.

It helps retrieve and access information as needed based on what we provide. It also helps unify fragmented information, preventing important information from getting buried.

Learn how knowledge management affects decision-making.

Watch for teams that depend on one person for answers

Image source: Reddit

Here, the Redditor talks about a developer who built part of the application but left the organization without documenting how it works. This has siloed the information with the developer who left.

Now, the current team has only a rough understanding. Some people know parts of the system, but nobody has complete knowledge. This delays application development and creates a gap in the organization's operations.

Closely watch teams that depend on a single person for knowledge. If that person leaves the organization, it can significantly disrupt the team's workflow. The organization's regular functioning can be disrupted. This happens because the information gets siloed with that one particular person.

Track recurring questions across teams

If each team member has the same question, they can find the information. Track recurring questions across the team and analyze the reason and root cause behind them. Then find the answer and educate all teams. Tracking recurring questions can help identify organizational gaps in knowledge sharing and management.

Look for bottlenecks caused by restricted information

Look for situations where employees repeatedly have to ask someone else or another department for information before they can continue their work. For example, a sales representative needs the latest product specifications but has to wait for the product team to send the document. This can delay the sales representative from finishing their task.