To keep your organization running smoothly, communication is key. You know this is the golden rule when it comes to your target audience and loyal customers, but don't forget that communication within your organization is just as important.
Avoiding the unnecessary expense of hiring an outside development firm is critical to your company's bottom line. That means communication between your internal and external teams is a top priority for your organization. What are some of the best ways your external development teams can improve communication with your internal IT departments?
1. Have clear goals.
Clearly defined strategies, objectives, and goals make everyone's job easier. Developing the right metrics determine the overall success of any project. 
Consider having a company leader create a video that explains exactly what the goals of the project are, which can be shared internally. For more information about defining goals and objectives, check out these custom software development services.
2. Keep everyone informed.
Don't ever leave anyone out of the loop. Keep each member of both teams informed of expectations and changes. You have staff that is both in the office and working remotely, so set up a system that keeps everyone up to date and informed.
Some essential first steps include:
- Clearly define which members of the team are doing specific tasks.
- Each member should know exactly what they are expected to produce.
- Timeframes and deadlines should be well established and defined.
3. Respect everyone's time.
Nip long meetings in the bud, and make sure you aren't holding meetings that could really accomplish its goals through an email. It's important to respect how valuable everyone's time is, and not waste it with fluff communication. Keep emails and other forms of correspondence brief and to the point.
Today's technology makes it easy for teams to communicate and stay up to date. These include updating your company's social media pages regularly, using group documents so everyone can make additions, and sending mobile notifications for time-sensitive materials.
4. Set up efficient weekly meetings.
In order to stay on the same page, it is also important to meet up regularly in the real world. These meetings should be brief, to the point, and ask the following important questions:
Is anything standing in the way of our success?
Are we staying on the right track?
Have any questions come up since the last meeting?
What are any new challenges that either team may have?
Make sure your meetings maintain a collaborative atmosphere and be open to everyone's ideas. With distributive workforces becoming the norm, make your physical gatherings something people look forward to.
5. Set up, groups.
Smaller groups within your teams help everyone get to know each other. People have different working styles as well as different ways of communicating, and smaller teams reduce a lot of the guesswork. Putting your internal IT and external development teams together in creative ways can get unexpected results. Online groups are a great place to:
- Praise a member of your team who is delivering exceptional results.
- Summarize important highlights of the week or month.
- Provide a snapshot of what is coming up soon.
- Let people know of any staffing changes and introduce new hires.
- Foster discussions about different working locations.
Use the technology that is available to you to keep lines of communication open, including a wide variety of available online meeting spaces and groups.
To find out more about keeping communication between your external development teams and your internal IT teams open, get in touch with us. We can also give you expert advice on web application development and designed enterprise websites. The right communication solutions will keep you ahead of the competition.