What are some tried and true strategies to drive alignment cross-functionally for a remote team?

Zapier has always been a remote workplace, so I appreciate how intentional teams are about building culture, relationships and trust. Some of the strategies I’ve found most successful in maintaining cross-functional alignment:

1. Call out misalignment promptly: it’s important to be vocal when you notice folks aren’t on the same page. In RevOps, we are sometimes the first to notice this because we have line of sight across multiple functions.

2. Open communication: We use shared channels like slack and google docs versus keeping correspondence private. This brings greater visibility and allows others to follow along.

3. Regular check-ins and cross-functional meetings to review priorities and goals. We have regular Sales, Marketing and RevOps syncs as well as check-ins for specific projects or initiatives.

4. Shared goals: Our RevOps team aligns to metrics that ladder up into the Demand Generation and Sales goals (e.g. increase qualified opportunities).  

5. Operating model: Our RevOps team has an intake process for new projects as well as project phases that include: Strategy phase, defining roles, scoping stage, feedback stage and execution. This has admittedly been tricky to get right – we’re often revising the best ways to stay aligned from strategic ideation to execution.

6. Share / publish your team’s top priorities: This has helped us make sure our cross-functional stakeholders are aware of what we’re working on and how they can support or collaborate with us.

7. Iterative processes: We try to keep our solutions flexible so we can iterate and improve based on feedback from Sales, Marketing, Customer Success and Customers.

• Agree on the in-scope and out-of-scope elements for the project with the key stakeholders.

• Set clear responsibilities and timelines for in-scope project outcomes.

• Identify dependencies so the team knows how adjustments to timeline impact the project as a whole.

• Set up a regular communication cadence related to the project (ie weekly updates) to ensure that deadlines are met and expectations are managed.

• Hold the team accountable for communicating and completing their areas of responsibility. Stuff happens; the only time it’s a problem is when the team doesn’t know about it to plan around it.

Remote and hybrid work environments have changed how we would typically engage with different teams. Driving alignment cross-functionally while remote requires intentional effort and strategies to make sure teams can work cohesively. Couple strategies include:

• Establish clear goals and expectations: Define shared goals, expectations for how cross functional partners can work together. Schedule check-ins to make sure teammates understand how their goals contribute to the overall success of the team

• Promote knowledge sharing & collaboration: Create opportunities for workshops, lunch & learns and cross functional brainstorming sessions. Remote work doesn't mean we have to minimize relationship building and "water cooler" moments. Establish platforms for team members to share best practices, and relevant insights on a regular basis.

• Establish communication channels: Utilize various communication tools to ensure timely communication among team members. Create transparent information sharing loops to keep everyone consistently aligned and informed.

For projects and initiatives, start by defining stakeholders and the level of involvement they need to have. I’m a big fan of the RACI framework. Understanding who needs to be aligned and how is the first step in driving alignment. 

Having one Accountable individual, or Directly Responsible Individual (DRI), also helps streamline communication. They should be responsible for identifying what are the key updates, who needs to know, and how to message it. More often than not, I’ve seen misalignment come from lack of communication (it’s often the first thing to drop when times are busy). Directly appointing one person for this helps ensure this step isn’t missed.

Creating formal Tiger Teams has also helped us keep the key working members around an initiative coordinated and moving. Bonus points: creating smaller and/or cross-functional teams like this also helps drive connection in a remote world. 

Larger initiatives aside and speaking more generally…

• Utilize team meetings and 1:1s. RevOps is already so cross-functional. Utilize the members of the team to get the latest on what’s top of mind for other teams and leaders. In the office, this happens more organically. In a remote world, you need to carve out time and be intentional. In meetings, go around the horn or discuss top of mind topics. Similarly, ensure you’re cascading any appropriate messages to ensure your team and stakeholders understand what’s top of mind for you. Err on the side of transparency and share as much as possible if you can - you never know when something that seems small mixed with another piece of information leads to a completely different understanding. 

• Make work visible. Revenue Operations works with many different teams within the company - not just Revenue teams, but also teams like Finance, Product, IT, and more. It’s impossible for stakeholders to understand everything that the team is working on, and oftentimes, they only see what’s delivered that directly supports them. Sharing a roadmap or more publicly promoting wins across stakeholders helps teams better understand the value of RevOps. 

• Overcommunicate. When you’re really busy, it’s hard to keep everything straight. No one remembers everything they’ve ever been told. Constantly refer back to communications that are important. Like I mentioned before, we bring our roadmap up constantly when we are discussing priorities and tradeoffs. Utilize all the channels too - email, Slack, meetings - people absorb information differently.