June and July are ideal months to target major deployments and head into the summer with some breathing room to refresh, learn new skills, and plan to close the year with a bang.
But Digital Trailblazers know that following any major deployment comes the
harder parts of
leading change management programs to increase adoption, capturing end-user feedback, and promoting activities that drive business
outcomes.
Add one more major objective to this list – marketing the team’s successes. DevOps, data science, security, marketing, and other contributors to a program and its deployment want to feel appreciated while participating in driving the targeted outcomes.
Why marketing the team’s success is so important
Forgetting to market the team’s successes will leave them feeling like they
are running on the hamster wheel of deployments with no recognition and
potentially without reward. That’s because if executives don’t see the
marketing efforts, they can easily forget the team’s hard work months later
when they review individual performance.
Equally important is that marketing the team can also have an amplifying
effect on
change management programs
and delivering business outcomes. Everyone wants to be a part of a winning
team.
Who should take charge of this effort?
Digital Trailblazers, of course! If you’re leading a digital transformation initiative, you
know one major deployment is only a step in the journey.
Below are several ideas Digital Trailblazers can consider when marketing
their team’s successes.
1.Schedule open demos with Q&A
Marketing activities should start even before deployments by scheduling open
demos with Q&A from end-users, stakeholders, and others interested. I
prefer having all
sprint reviews
open and inviting anyone to join and participate in the sprint cadence
demos. “The top agile teams turn their demos into theater where the audience
can participate with Q&A,” I wrote in a blog post on how feedback loops drive powerful culture change in agile and digital transformation. However, more conservative teams
may choose to have separately scheduled demos for end-users and
stakeholders. The key is to get people involved and celebrate the small wins
en route to a major deployment.
2. Plan a celebration with awards and recognition
An obvious marketing option is to schedule a celebration that includes team
members, end-users, and stakeholders. Allowing people to celebrate together
is an important culture boost – but it can go a lot further when Digital
Trailblazers recognize individual accomplishments. It may be too early to
truly celebrate a “win,” as I prefer announcing success only when change
management activities yield business outcomes. But Digital Trailblazers
should still
reward top performers
who exemplify the cultural principles the organization targets, and
deployment celebrations are ideal opportunities to provide this
recognition.
As many teams are hybrid working with remote working individuals and
globally distributed teams, Digital Trailblazers must consider inclusive
options that work for everyone. Consider keeping refreshments simple and
sending food baskets or ordering dinner for remote working individuals. I
recommend setting up virtual conferencing stations for celebrations spanning
several offices and encouraging people to stop by and say hello to their
colleagues.
3. Publish a dashboard of KPIs and their status
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Digital Trailblazers should consider marketing, change management, and
delivering outcomes as mutually reinforcing objectives. One way to do this
is to create and automate a dashboard that showcases the target KPIs and how
their trends, starting from weeks before the deployment, through change
management, and until outcomes are achieved. One best practice is to include
a news section in these dashboards to announce activities and to market ways
teammates continue to deliver improvements or enhancements.
4. Interview and publish end-user testimonials
Digital Trailblazers should also review the playbooks on how marketers
promote product launches and upgrades. One important activity is scheduling
time to interview end-users, especially the supporters who will likely
provide valuable insights and testimonials. Capture the testimonials on
video and publish them on training pages and wherever stakeholders and
end-users are likely to see them.
5. Schedule learning sessions with end-users
Another option for aligning marketing with change management efforts is to build them together in end-user training sessions. The training part of the sessions should teach the how, and the marketing should focus on the why, what’s next, and how to get involved. I recommend showcasing the team members during these sessions – put faces on the team behind all the hard work and, ideally, bring some of them along to participate in the training. Humanizing the team is a good way to promote the culture and teamwork.
6. Host an idea brainstorming session
Jamie Thomas, cofounder and CEO at
Cognito Forms, says fostering an
inclusive environment where every idea is valued cultivates creativity and
sparks enthusiasm. “Every quarter, we ask everyone in the company to pitch
and vote for their favorite innovation ideas. These innovation periods have
led to significant product updates that leadership had not yet considered.
The impact on our employees is a better awareness of how hard it is to go
from idea to reality and the steps involved. Their mindset shifts to look
beyond where we are to where we could be and empowers everyone to
innovate.”
7. Publish photographs from a team bonding activity
Consider planning a team excursion, an outdoor activity, or joining a
non-profit event. Every location with multiple team members should plan and
photograph their activity. Digital Trailblazers should publish these photos
because happy and exciting teams breed enthusiasm and support.
Digital Trailblazers – don’t forget to celebrate your own wins! Check out my
other post on
five summer activities to accelerate your technology leadership.
Digital Trailblazers! Join us Fridays at 11am ET for a live audio discussion on digital
transformation topics: innovation, product management, agile, DevOps,
data governance, and more!
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