Summary

Joining Daniel for this episode is Tracie Smith of Zumiez to discuss ways to build cross-functional relationships between the studio and other departments. As content creation shifts from being a service that is performed on a transactional basis, to a more strategic part of a businesses plan to capture market share, we need to build better relationships between the studio and external stakeholders. 

Key Takeaways

• Content production will go from being transactional task that needs to be completed, to a more strategic part of the business.
• When studios are too siloed, the effect can be negative in both directions. Outside of the studio, people are unaware of what the studio does or how it impacts the business. Inside the studio, employees feel cut-off and like the work they do isn't important to the business.
• Your company culture plays a large part in your ability to make cross-departmental connections. The stronger and better defined a culture you have, the easier it can be to bridge communication gaps.
• Supporting internal creative needs for your company is a great way to get your studio involved in  helping other departments and share skills. Things like employee of the month portraits can really help build positive culture AND elevate the profile of the studio team.
• Hosting an open house in your studio can help build interpersonal relationships across departments that can help make meetings and future projects more efficient through more effective communication.
• Effective communication helps make it easier to keep goals and expectations aligned.

Links & Resources

Tracey Smith on LinkedIn

Zumiez

Credits
Produced by: Creative Force - creativeforce.io
Edited by: Calvin Lanz Sound - clsound.net
Hosted by: Daniel Jester - danieltjester.com