Research shows that the adoption of marketing automation has increased by over 50% in the last year and is expected to grow exponentially within the next year. 

However, just like with any marketing platform, there are pitfalls that you can avoid when implementing a new marketing automation platform. These include: 

1.    Failure to align your marketing and sales

Research shows that businesses that fail to align their marketing and sales when adopting marketing automation often realise lower or even negative return on investment. This is tragic since marketing automation platforms are intended to help increase sales and ultimately profits for the company. 
Your sales and marketing teams should agree on lead definitions. The team leading your Marketing Automation implementation should be in constant communication with members from both Sales and Marketing. They should work through what constitutes a quality lead, expectations on lead volume and velocity and the type of leads Sales has the capacity and incentive to serve. The marketing team should also rely on constant feedback from sales, so as to use this information to create the ideal nurturing campaigns.

A good marketing automation software is not enough on its own. You will need the right sales and marketing teams working together for successful implementation.

2.    Assuming that a new platform will sort out all your issues

No matter how excellent a marketing automation platform is, it cannot make up for deficient internal processes. It’s an automated platform, not magic. A lot of effort has to be put into the marketing strategy and planning so that your implementation can be a success. 
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Since a marketing automation platform is a tool used by a long chain of individuals in a business, it is important that every individual in the chain does their job well so that overall success can be achieved. If any team member or groups of teams are slacking, irrespective of how sound the automation platform is, your business will not yield the desired results.

3.    Failure to produce up to date content that is relevant

Do not be deceived, content is a major component of marketing automation. The marketing content is what fuels your marketing automation platform so that it keeps going. Ensure that your automation platform is smoothly running by creating content that provides balanced information about the business and products and services offered. Including white papers, informative eBooks, research reports, infographics and other content is extremely valuable as well.

Watching out for this pitfalls is one step towards realising the successful implementation of marketing automation tools. However, let’s face it, it’s not as easy as black and white. That is why Collagis is dedicated to bringing your workforce effectiveness tools to the marketing automation transformation. Collagis will help make your marketing automation journey seamless and successful by bringing to your best practice change, program management toolkits, approaches, and processes, which they then customise to suit the needs of your business and to address the marketing automation challenges

Want to know more about how to effectively manage Marketing Automation change? For more information on Collagis and our services, email [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you.

Selecting the right marketing automation system can be gruesome. Changing or adopting a new marketing automation system is even more gruesome. When leaders decide to acquire a new marketing automation system, they should be effectively enabled to take their teams through the transition process as seamlessly as possible.

Leaders can be effectively enabled for the change by following these tips.

1.    Involve the main stakeholders in the decision process

Marketing automation systems are employed by several stakeholders in any business and involving them from the very onset of deciding on the best automation system is imperative. These stakeholders include sales, marketing, data and IT, who should all be involved in the selection process and implementation as well. They should be adequately trained on the system so that they are able to assist and oversee its implementation and use by teams.

2.    Prepare to migrate your marketing data properly

Leaders should ensure that their data is properly migrated into the new marketing automation platform. This will help ease the transition once the organisation starts using the marketing automation tools. It is common to find that some of the data is incomplete or of low quality.  A proactive approach to data strategy and management needs to be taken to ensure the data that moves into the new marketing automation system is relevant and useful. Otherwise, you put garbage in and you get garbage out.

3.    Prepare corresponding metrics and set goals for the transition

Leaders should proactively establish goals and then put together performance indicators that will be used to monitor how the team is progressing towards achieving set objectives. Changing into a new marketing automation system should not be rushed. It is a large project and it should be evaluated and adjustments made every step of the way so that the business gets the most from it.  Goals should be set with a realistic phasing, taken into consideration the time it will take to build and migrate programs and upskill the team.

4.    Engage IT in the transition process

Marketing leaders ought to work closely with their tech leaders when transitioning into a new marketing automation system. The process requires tech guidance from evaluation to deployment and maintenance. 

IT leaders can  help in developing a cost-benefit analysis for the services the automation system offers. 
IT professionals can also offer guidance on the best automation system to go for, customised to the organisations unique set of needs.  The biggest potential pitfall when it comes to switching marketing automation vendors involves issues with technology integrations. Addressing existing and unforeseen issues from the very onset can save the business a lot of time and money.

5. Identify Change Sponsors and Agents

Leaders and teams are often not effectively enabled to adopt and drive Marketing Automation Change. It is essential that leaders become sponsors of change, helping to create and communicate a vision for the future state and a compelling case for "why" change is required. Marketing teams are change fatigued, so leaders need to clearly demonstrate the "what's in it for me" for teams, and paint a picture of the future state that inspires action and adoption. Change agents within the team need to be identified and activated in order to embed the change.

Collagis recognises a gap exists between technology implementation and the effective embedding of people and process to support sustainable and effective MarTech change. Collagis can support your organisation in bringing best practice process change and program management toolkits and approaches to help enable Marketing Automation change. We can customise these to suit your unique needs and challenges  during marketing automation transition process.
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Want to know more about how to effectively manage Marketing Automation change? 
Contact Sheree on [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you.

The Challenge.  Do you find yourself wasting time looking for things at work?  Whether it’s paper or electronic files the frustration that comes with not being able to find that document or file is stressful and can reduce effective output.
 
The Cost.  In short, the cost of not being able to place your hands on that item of work you need is time.  Some people we work with waste up to an hour a day trying to find things.  What could you do with an hour of time back in your work day?

Simple tips to help you find things in rapid speed

1. File effectively.  There’s plenty of guides around on how to construct your own filing system.[1]  For example, build your files around the major components of your role.  To help, list your major responsibilities and projects.  Then create working files and reference files for each of those areas of your role.  The time spent filing can be returned in faster retrieval of material.
2. Don’t file what you don’t need to. Use advanced searches to help find the material you’re looking for[2]; which works great for electronic files, not so great for paper.
3. Use short term ‘piling’ backed by a good filing system.[3]  Piling refers to dumping a bunch of electronic files into one area or folder.  It’s almost the opposite of filing in that you don’t have to create a special folder.  For this option you’re really relying on your search engine.
4. Take a consistent approach to filing across all platforms – Think upfront about how you will use Outlook, shared drives, Sharepoint, etc.  Replicate the files you created in point 1 across all these platforms including paper files.
5. Use Conversation view in Outlook to draw together threads of conversation related to the same subject.  It’s a fast way to bring together emails that could be filed all over Outlook – inbox, sent items, other folders.
6. Don't keep what you don't need to keep.  If you have less to look through it takes less time.  So be ruthless with what you keep; hoarders beware!
7. File as you go - Outlook lets you file an email you send wherever you want, not just the default of Sent Items.

 
Whatever approach you use make sure that it’s serving you and not the other way around!

​Want to know more about how you can improve your productivity in the workplace? Contact us at [email protected] OR visit collagis.com.au/pep to find productivity programs for your workplace. We'd love to hear from you.


[1] https://hbr.org/2012/01/tip-for-getting-more-organized.html
[2] https://www.whatsbestnext.com/2008/12/filing-vs-piling/
[3] https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_85.htm

By Andrew Gallaway

The Challenge.  What do you feel when you're in the zone - reading, writing, thinking - at work?  Fulfilled, purposeful, in control?  How do you feel when someone interrupts you in the zone?  Frustrated, important, stressed, willing to please?  Mixed feelings right?  That's probably because there are 'good' interruptions and 'wasteful' interruptions.  The good interruptions are when you're being informed of something that's urgent and important. The 'whoop, whoop' of the alarm is a great interruption if the building is on fire!  But the wasteful interruptions can be damaging to an organisation because everyone loses - the interrupter and the interrupted.  Neither is doing productive important work during the wasteful interruption.
 
The Cost.    Three interruptions per hour can cost you up to 30 minutes of time when you consider how long it takes to deal with the interruption and then get your mind back into work.[1]
 
5 Simple Tips to find your zone during work time
 
1. If someone comes into your workspace and interrupts you it’s likely that they consider the issue important; they might even be super pumped and excited.  But how important and urgent is it compared to what you’re doing right now.  The first step is to assess the nature of the interruption.  “How can I help you?”  If the matter is more urgent, drop what you’re doing and deal with it.  If it isn’t, then could you make a later time that day to talk? 

2. Consider saving up those important but not urgent conversations for another time.  Collect your thoughts, emails, issues in a folder and take them to a 1:1 meeting with a colleague or a group meeting where the session is planned.  It could be once or more per week.  Cover off the matters you and your colleague have saved up during that session.  You'll be amazed at how much time you save by batching those discussions.

3. Recognise if there’s a problem with interruptions in your workplace.  This is important because interruptions can happen quite unconsciously and can become an organisational habit.  So, awareness is the first step.

4. Talk to each other!  If there’s a problem with interruptions talk to the team and get buy-in to recognise the costs.

5. Find the right place to work.  At Collagis we believe that work needs to be done in the right workspace.  If you have to do work where you need to concentrate and not be disturbed, could you book a meeting room to work in for an hour or so?  Tell someone where you are going just in case and ask not to be disturbed unless it's an emergency.  You'll only be gone an hour or so!  

Finding the right environment during work hours is kind of like coming into work early or staying late because that's the only way you can get work done; no one else is around to bother you. 
Think about it!  Why are you doing that?  Work in work hours as much as you can by creating the right conditions for you to get the work done.
 
Want to know more about how you can improve your productivity in the workplace? Contact us at [email protected] OR visit collagis.com.au/pep to find productivity programs for your workplace. We'd love to hear from you.

[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/markmurphy/2016/10/30/interruptions-at-work-are-killing-your-productivity/#4fa3968f1689

Author: Andrew Gallaway

The Challenge:  Do you find some people a joy to work with and others...well, not so?  It could be that you have unrecognised preferences in the way each of you work. 
               
The Cost:  When work preferences are at odds it can lead to frustration, stress, wasted time and in the worst case conflict at work.  This situation is no way for a team to progress and be effective. 
 
6 simple tips to discover and embrace work preferences

1. Recognise your own preferences when it comes to work. What are the conditions where you work best? How would you finish this sentence: "I work best when..."You might have a number of answers.I work best in the morning; I'm a night owl and think best between 2-4am; I work best when I know what outcome I'm driving towards; I enjoy discovering new things along the way; I like to do one thing at a time till it’s finished; etc.
   
   
2. Then ask yourself if it's possible that other people you work with might have different preferences? Of course they can! It's important to understand these differences and the relative strengths and weaknesses such differences bring to the team. For example, are you the type of person who enjoys a real global view of your work world, who is always scanning the environment and making connections between seemingly disparate events? Or are you more of a detailed person who has a razor sharp focus and likes to make decisions based on facts and figures? Both of these preference types contain obvious strengths but there are also elements of work that both these types of people find challenging or boring. The 'global' person might find it hard to close projects because they lose interest near the end, whilst the 'detailed' person might find it difficult to get started on new projects if there are a number of unfinished projects and they can't easily understand why something new is being started.
   
   
3. Celebrate the fact that diversity in style of work equals power...but only if the differing preferences are recognised and understood. To achieve team awareness, use an analytical tool to determine the individual work preferences of your team. Next share those results amongst the team whilst discussing the relative strengths of each preference.
   
   
4. Beware of black and white labels! Remember, just because team members have a preference doesn’t mean they can’t adapt in the short term for a good reason. For example, if they prefer to process work in a linear fashion, one item at a time, doesn’t mean they can't process a number of items simultaneously if it relates to a time sensitive deadline.
   
   
5. Watch out for blind spots across the team results. There is  a benefit to having a diverse team; different working styles bring various strengths to the team. If your team has very similar working styles, highlight the gaps and bring into the team styles that are not present in the team. If all team members are the same this might create harmony and strength in some areas. However, the team might be missing something in performance capability because they're missing a strength that exists in a difference preference. If you have a diverse team celebrate the good fortune you have of working together and carefully nurture the team and harness their styles for the benefit of the team.
   
   
6. Now you understand your own preferences and those of your colleagues it's time to consider what changes you might need to make to the way the team operates and how the team members interact with each other. There are some great tools that can help bridge any gaps between people that have different work styles.

Want help to implement your work preferences review? Speak to Collagis today about how you can make a real difference to your team's effectiveness today.

Contact us at [email protected] or visit www.collagis.com.au/pep to find productivity programs for your workplace. We'd love to hear from you.

 

Rapid review: By  S Edwards
May 2017

What is the future of Work Environments? Read below for an academic review from Rapid Context on global trends and the benefits of workplace environment innovation.

Re-inventing the work space

Innovative workspaces are born out of several generations of business stimulation efforts [1], with

literature stretching back to the 1940’s indicating that businesses have always been searching for

ways to create the optimum work environment that produces and retains highly productive

employees [2]. Companies such as Google, Microsoft and Westpac continue to incorporate these

approaches as a way to stay relevant and attractive in an age of redefined workspaces [2, 3].

Office space is not just an asset, but needs to be viewed as a strategic tool for growth [5].


Literature has shown that work environments that are uncomfortable and induce stress directly impact on

employee’s sense of well-being, productivity and quality of work [6,7].  Research by Empirica and

Hassell found that workplace design is a significant factor in attraction and retention. It impacts on

the extent to which employees connect and identify with their colleagues and the greater

organisation. It suggests that investing in workplace design and organisational culture is a more cost

effective strategy for talent acquisition than offering higher salaries.


Global trends in the development of innovative environments are varied, with approaches differing

for urban versus regional, and large organisations versus small [6]. As the term “innovation” implies,

there is no one answer to the perfect work place and thus it is important that companies take the

time to understand what they are trying to achieve by changing the space [3, 8, 9]. Hills and Levy

suggest criteria for reflection include workability, comfort, occupational density, the need for

privacy, control over the environment, adjacency to colleagues and functionality [8]. With further

literature suggesting all optimum work environments need a balance of spaces specifically designed

for collaboration, modifiability, intellectual work and solitude [10-12].


Research has shown that flexible work arrangements and the work-life balance they produce are

inextricably linked to employee attraction and retention [9, 10, 13, 14]. The use of flexible work

options within an organisation means an increase in the need for appropriate technology, with the

ability to be able to collaborate and communicate with colleagues regardless of location a key

element to a FWA’s success [15-17].


Projecting the needs of future employees can be daunting. An International survey conducted by the

Society for human Resource Management (SHRM) found that the majority of over 480 executives

believed the top challenges for the year 2022 would be attracting, retaining and rewarding the best

workers [18]. By the year 2025 it is anticipated that the contingent of workers known as ‘Millenials’

and born between 1980 and 2000 will make up 75% of the workforce [19]. Their career aspirations,

attitudes about work and knowledge of new technologies are vastly different than those who are on

the verge of leaving the workforce [20, 21]. Employers need to be alert and agile and respond to the

changes or face being left behind by their competitors [22].


Recommendations:

- Complete survey to ascertain what employees value most in their workplace, regardless of

position.

Want to know more about what to do next to build a workplace of the future? Contact us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you.