Increasing Global Collaboration for a Management Consulting Firm
How Aciron does it
A consulting firm with locations in six countries was struggling with global collaboration. The firm wanted to enhance online teamwork across the offices, share information faster, and implement a technology plan for achieving business goals. This consulting team was looking for SharePoint consulting.
- Management Consulting
- Phased Approach
- Brainstorming Workshops
- Technology Consulting
- SharePoint
The challenge
The firm attempted to address their requirements internally by developing a centralized IT plan. It succeeded in aligning 4 of the 6 locations onto one technology platform. However, this plan failed to address the specialized needs of each office. The company distributed a cross-collaboration survey to leaders at each location to get a high-level understanding. The company then approached Aciron for help in evaluating their processes, identifying areas of improvement, and developing an organization-wide plan.
Our approach
Aciron began the project by reviewing the company's existing documentation. Aciron's consultants conducted interviews with key stakeholders. They took place across the 6 locations in order to better understand their current workflow and to validate key requirements. Aciron raised awareness around the business need for teamwork and using technology together. The consultants shared ideas for how to effectively implement cooperation tools. We obtained feedback from the interviewees on these ideas.
Following these stakeholder interviews, the Aciron team assessed their findings. The interviews highlighted the need for a common people reference database, a common project reference database, and a specific collaboration business plan. The interviews also highlighted areas for improvement. It including overcoming the language barrier between locations and offering more opportunities for relationship building. Aciron presented our team's business and technology recommendations.
Solution
In Phase I of the project, Aciron's consultants made actionable recommendations for how the company can improve global partnership. This advice included:
• Hosting a brainstorming workshop to elicit ideas from each office's employees and establishing a cross-office committee
• Developing a people-reference database and project-reference database to make it easier to find people who have project expertise
• Implementing a common Knowledge Management System to house the company's intellectual property and share knowledge across the organization.
• Sponsoring "Lunch & Learn" sessions to enhance collaboration