Introduction to Cross-Functional Collaboration
In a recent Intellum webinar, Shannon Howard, Director of Customer and Content Marketing, kicked off an engaging discussion about the pivotal role of cross-functional collaboration in customer education. Hosted for the customer education community, the session aimed to explore best practices, team collaboration, and overcoming common obstacles. Panelists included Mandy Patterson from Sprout Social, Jamie Netzer from Atlassian, and Nick Sey from Engage, each bringing unique perspectives from their organizations.
"Cross-functional collaboration should be easy because we're people and we should work together, but it's not always that simple," elucidated Shannon Howard while setting the stage for a deeper dive into building cohesive inter-departmental relationships.
Building Collaborative Relationships
Panelists shared insights on collaborating effectively across departments to enhance customer education. Mandy highlighted the importance of understanding stakeholders' needs, particularly from product marketing and product teams. This engagement aids in creating enriching educational content aligned with market strategies, a sentiment echoed by Nick, who emphasized the importance of getting integration and feedback from support teams.
The discussion underlined the value of establishing regular, meaningful interactions. Nick explained how Engage set up monthly meetings with product teams to stay updated on upcoming changes, cultivating a proactive rather than reactive working model. This proactive stance ensures that the educational content is always relevant and current for learners.
Effective marketing of educational content emerged as a crucial theme. Jamie highlighted the necessity of a strong internal marketing framework to align educational offerings with core marketing campaigns. Atlassian’s approach involves using shared templates to ensure community and university resources are included in broader campaign strategies.
“Learning content is the best content marketing you can have," stated Jamie, emphasizing the significant impact of integrating rich learning experiences into a company’s marketing fabric.
Overcoming Hurdles and Finding Solutions
Panelists also shared challenges faced during cross-departmental collaborations. Mandy explained a common challenge of aligning different departmental priorities, and how seeking mutual benefits can foster better partnerships. Nick described how engaging product teams with solid data on customer retention metrics helped emphasize the value of educational initiatives, strengthening cross-functional support.
A powerful insight came from Nick: "Now we have more than 60 entry points into our help center from our platform, up from just 10 initially. This wasn't possible without building those crucial relationships with the product team."
Engaging the Learners
Cementing the session was the importance of learner buy-in. Jamie advocated for clearly defined value propositions right at the learning content's entry point, ensuring users immediately understand the personal benefit. This, combined with the convenience of micro-learning formats, can significantly improve engagement rates.
As the webinar wrapped up, Shannon encouraged attendees to continue the dialogue by participating in upcoming sessions focused on unifying learning experiences across multiple platforms—an essential aspect of creating seamless learner journeys. This webinar captured the essence of why cross-functional collaboration is far from a mere administrative task but a strategic driver of enhanced learning outcomes and organizational success.
