At tracekey, all departments are interconnected and work together towards many goals. Our workflows not only involve daily exchanges within our teams about current developments. In various configurations and meetings, all teams keep each other updated on the status of software development, new market developments, customer requests, and current marketing campaigns.
None of our departments work completely isolated from the others. Many of our topics are interconnected and mutually dependent. An example? When a new software component is developed, such as the implementation of a serialization regulation, it doesn’t just affect the development team. The Sales-Marketing and Customer Success teams are already involved in market observation before development. This includes conversations with customers about development requests and additional target markets, as well as observing serialization regulations that will soon come into effect. If interesting opportunities or important changes are noticed, they are not only shared on our blog but also discussed with the relevant teams.
The Customer Success team is also constantly in exchange with customers about current developments. After the release of a software component, they are responsible for connecting the relevant customers to the new market, adjusting documentation and user manuals, and answering customer questions. Additionally, Sales-Marketing handles communication about new software features to potential customers.
Team Cohesion in Complex Issue
A crucial factor is team cohesion. It makes internal exchanges more effective and enables us to achieve common goals. No one is left alone with a question. If the contacts within one’s own team are not sufficient, everyone else always has an open ear and supports, for example, with complex support requests. Similarly, during our monthly company-wide update, it is not uncommon to hear ideas for new marketing actions from the development team, and the HR department also keeps an eye on data protection components that concern other teams.
Mutual support becomes particularly visible when a team is sparsely staffed due to vacation and illness. Through our agile approach and cross-team topics, someone from another team is always able to take on tasks in such special cases, such as customer support or preparing and moderating the next update meeting. The expert role for new topics, such as the AI Act, is not always taken on by the same people. Here, capacity and interest within the entire team are considered to distribute these complex and diverse tasks. This approach ensures that knowledge does not get stuck in internal team silos.
Common Goals and Visions
In recent years, we have also made significant progress in joint planning and goal setting. New topics are thought of interdisciplinarily from the outset and viewed from different perspectives.
Collaboration does not happen by itself but is promoted at tracekey through various impulses. This includes our agile working method based on Scrum principles. One element, the retrospective, leads us to constantly review our internal team working methods and utilize improvement potentials. Additionally, it involves continuously questioning whether communication and collaboration with other teams are running effectively. There is also room to discuss such challenges and find solutions together.
Collaboration at the Right Places
A few years ago, when the Sales-Marketing team was just coming together, one of our bosses handed us a newspaper article. It stated that Sales and Marketing should understand themselves as a unit. They should work together, not against each other. We were slightly puzzled. Why should this be a problem? After all, both areas are closely intertwined. We understood that even if departments or roles are very close, it does not necessarily mean that they work together.
For us this has always been different and has improved significantly in the last three to four years, especially regarding joint work on cross-team topics. Here, Corona helped. Due to the sudden lack of spontaneous exchanges in the office, we had to network better and more efficiently. Which team can contribute to this goal? How do the tasks interlock? Who needs to be picked up when and how? This type of professionalization is, of course, not only due to Corona. However, it indeed led to asking the right questions for collaboration and prioritizing them. It is also because we are still a relatively young company and had to ensure that joint, interdisciplinary work was maintained with the inevitable differentiation of topics and teams.
Food is Connecting
Additionally, regular communal meals play a role. Whether it’s spontaneous grilling at noon because no one feels like pizza from the local Italian restaurant or a large order from our trusted delivery service. It also happens that for joint team days, not only cakes are baked, but pumpkin soup, salads, or pasta casseroles are brought along.
Furthermore, diverse team events always provide an opportunity to exchange ideas and experience something together. For example, disc golf in the nearby park, a self-organized scavenger hunt through the area, or an escape room.
The conversations that arise are particularly valuable because they ensure exchanges beyond team boundaries. And the chat in the kitchen while getting tea or a spontaneous joint breakfast is always nice.
Better Together
At tracekey, team spirit is at the forefront. Our interconnected working method and strong cohesion between departments enable us to respond flexibly and efficiently to challenges. Through regular team events and joint activities, we not only strengthen our collaboration but also create a pleasant and motivating work atmosphere. Together we can achieve our goals this way and continuously grow.