Wrike Collaborate Recap: A Fireside Chat With Kasey Schmidt From Visa Acceptance Solutions
When it’s Wrike Collaborate season, our team gets excited to nerd out about our product announcements and hands-on training. But what we really love are the sessions that allow our customers to share how they use Wrike to achieve impressive results. This year, we had the pleasure of welcoming Kasey Schmidt, Marketing Technology Lead for Visa Acceptance Solutions, who spoke with Wrike’s Global Customer Experience Lead, Jessica Wooding, about her team’s experience adopting the Wrike platform — and launching a completely new brand with Wrike’s help. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that the entire conversation is a must-watch from start to finish. Kasey’s insight on bringing Wrike into her team offers so many nuggets that listeners can implement in their own organizations, from how to slow-roll a tech change for maximum success, to the nitty-gritty details of how they use request forms to free up their creative team for more high-value work. The great news is that you can watch the entire conversation between Kasey and Jessica (as well as all the other sessions from Wrike Collaborate 2023!) on demand now, for free. Watch session Here’s a sneak preview of their conversation: Jessica: Is there something in the past year that you’ve been able to accomplish, despite all odds, that you’re particularly proud of? Kasey: Yes, we were able to launch a brand in the past year, which was huge. That’s no small feat. I think that speaks to the work that was done with our marketing team and how incredibly diligent they were in launching that brand within a very small timeline. So it’s very satisfying to look back at that work and understand that it went from announcement to launch in just a matter of weeks. We could see the work that’s been developed in a website and a brand identity guide and creative and general strategy to move forward with the growth of that brand. Jessica: Would you say that Wrike was a part of that success in launching the brand? Kasey: Wrike was a huge part of that success. We were really running with Wrike at that point, and it was to see Wrike in action, in our effort to build an entire brand and digital assets and a website and information architecture for that website and all of the creative that’s associated with the launch of that brand, and all of the events that might be associated. Having our team comfortable working in Wrike and understanding the platform to a higher degree and knowing what they needed to do within the platform — to ensure that they had the views set up correctly, that they were requesting creative correctly, and that they could really track how this project was progressing — all of that was paramount to our success. Jessica: How would you say that Wrike is really helping to support you and Visa on this journey? Kasey: Wrike provides an element of visibility that we didn’t have before as an organization. In any big Fortune 500, you’ll see teams on different systems, and teams working across a variety of project management tools. It’s hard to get somebody to log in to five or more platforms on a daily basis just to understand what’s going on with a project. We’ve seen that having all of those teams come into Wrike with one single view of our project management has been so helpful in clarifying where we’re at in certain workflows. And it’s really enabling people to work better and become less frustrated as they’re working on specific projects. Jessica: That’s beautiful. Now, you mentioned that there are multiple teams at Visa who are using Wrike. What are some of those teams that are using it and is it cross-functional or are they all in one department? Kasey: The way that we rolled out Wrike, I’ve been really impressed with our team and just how diligent we’ve been in ensuring that we’re taking a crawl-walk-run approach. We really did start slow and we made sure that our core teams were in there. Our creative team specifically was our first use case, then we slowly brought in our email teams, our events teams, our campaigns teams, and our content and creative strategy teams, and even some agency partners. We’ve actually expanded outward now to include additional marketing teams at Visa or other teams as well, not just marketing, which has been really cool, too. But with that comes a larger visibility as we’re seeing what’s going on across the organization. And I think that’s so helpful, especially as we start to realize that we can all operate in a matrix and we can’t just live in our silos. We’ve learned that it’s really critical to ensure you understand what’s going on across your organization and you maintain that level of communication. Jessica: Think back to life before Wrike — what was it like collaborating on those processes before you guys were using Wrike? Kasey: Oh my gosh, it just took us so long. That’s really the key takeaway. We used a few different project management tools and it took us a really long time to come to a consensus on what was going on. From a product management standpoint, when you’re asking a user to sift through information to find exactly what they’re looking for, it’s never going to create a positive experience. Naturally, we’re always thinking externally to our customers and considering how we can optimize their experience in the customer journey. But every now and again, it’s really important to step back and think, OK, what can we do for our internal team to ensure that they’re productive and maintaining the level of efficiency that ensures that they’re happy, healthy employees? We saw that as a huge opportunity, so we focused on choosing really good technology that met our use cases and was there to help us create a system and a flow in which everyone was comfortable in the user interface and we all were working in the same place. *** You’ll have to head over to the Wrike Collaborate 2023 on-demand page to watch the rest of the interview. While you’re there, make sure you watch our product updates as well! Watch session
The Power of Responsibility: The Importance of Taking Accountability in the Workplace
Responsibility and accountability are paramount to achieving success in the workplace. From the top down, individuals must understand and embrace their roles in order to foster a culture of trust, productivity, and teamwork. By taking ownership of their actions and holding themselves accountable, employees can create a positive work environment that benefits not only themselves but also the organization as a whole. Understanding Responsibility and Accountability Before delving into the interplay between responsibility and accountability, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of what each concept entails. Defining Responsibility in the Workplace Responsibility refers to the duty or task assigned to an individual or a team within an organization. It is about recognizing and acknowledging the specific roles and obligations that come with one's position. It also involves having a sense of ownership and commitment to the work being done. When individuals take responsibility for their actions, they demonstrate reliability and dependability. They understand the importance of their role in contributing to the overall success of the organization. Moreover, responsibility in the workplace is not limited to individual tasks. It also extends to collaboration and teamwork. Each member of a team has a responsibility to contribute their unique skills and expertise to achieve collective goals. This requires effective communication, cooperation, and a shared sense of purpose. The Meaning of Accountability at Work Accountability, on the other hand, is about taking ownership of one's actions and assuming the consequences that arise from them. It is about being answerable and responsible for the outcomes, regardless of success or failure. Individuals who are accountable accept responsibility for their actions and are willing to learn and grow from their experiences. They are willing to admit their mistakes and take steps to rectify them. Additionally, accountability is not only about personal responsibility but also about holding others accountable. Leaders within an organization play a crucial role in establishing a culture of accountability. They set clear expectations, provide necessary resources and support, and hold individuals and teams accountable for their performance. The Benefits of Taking Responsibility Taking responsibility in the workplace brings a multitude of benefits, both to the individual and the organization as a whole. Boosting Employee Morale and Motivation When employees understand and embrace their responsibilities, they feel a sense of purpose and value in their roles. This leads to increased morale and motivation, as individuals are empowered to contribute to the success of the team and the organization. A motivated workforce is more likely to develop a strong work ethic and go above and beyond, resulting in higher productivity and improved outcomes. Staff will also be more likely to take ownership of their professional growth and development, translating into a greater sense of fulfillment throughout their careers. Enhancing Teamwork and Collaboration When individuals take ownership of their responsibilities, they become more reliable and dependable. This reliability builds trust among team members, leading to improved communication, cooperation, and collaboration. A strong sense of responsibility encourages individuals to support and assist their colleagues, ultimately leading to a more cohesive and successful team that approaches problem-solving in an efficient manner and isn't afraid to celebrate individual and team accomplishments. The Importance of Accountability in the Workplace Accountability is a vital component of a thriving work environment, as shown by the following advantages: Promoting Trust and Transparency When individuals are accountable for their actions, trust and transparency become ingrained in the organizational culture. Employees feel secure in knowing that their colleagues will take responsibility for their commitments and deliver on their promises. This fosters a sense of trust and collaboration, leading to stronger relationships within the workplace. Driving Performance and Productivity When individuals take ownership of their responsibilities and hold themselves accountable, they are more likely to produce high-quality work in a timely manner. Employees with a clear understanding of their role and expectations can prioritize their tasks and manage their time effectively, resulting in high-quality contributions to the company. Fostering a Positive Work Environment When individuals are held accountable for their actions, it creates a sense of fairness and equality. Each team member knows that they will be recognized and rewarded for their achievements, while also being held responsible for any mistakes or shortcomings. Practical Ways to Foster Responsibility and Accountability By implementing the following strategies, managers and leaders can foster a culture of responsibility and accountability within their teams. Setting Clear Expectations Clear expectations are essential for fostering responsibility and accountability. When individuals know what is expected of them, they can align their actions and decisions accordingly. It is crucial for managers and leaders to communicate expectations clearly so that everyone understands their responsibilities and the outcomes that are desired. However, setting clear expectations goes beyond just stating what needs to be done. It also involves explaining why certain tasks are important and how they contribute to the overall goals of the organization. When people understand the purpose behind their responsibilities, they are more likely to take ownership of their work and feel a sense of accountability. Encouraging Open Communication Open communication is key to fostering responsibility and accountability. Employees should feel comfortable sharing their ideas, concerns, and progress with their colleagues and superiors. Regular feedback sessions and team meetings provide opportunities for individuals to discuss their work, seek guidance, and take responsibility for their actions. Open communication is not just about speaking up; it also requires active listening. Managers and leaders should create an environment where individuals feel heard and valued. By actively listening to their team members, managers can gain insights into their challenges and provide the necessary support and guidance to foster responsibility and accountability. Providing Constructive Feedback Constructive feedback plays a vital role in fostering responsibility and accountability. Managers and leaders should provide timely and specific feedback to help individuals recognize areas for improvement and identify actions that lead to positive outcomes. By providing constructive feedback, managers can empower their teams to take ownership of their responsibilities and navigate challenges with confidence. Providing feedback is not just about pointing out mistakes; it is also about recognizing and acknowledging achievements. When individuals receive praise and recognition for their efforts, they are more likely to feel motivated and take pride in their work. This, in turn, fosters a sense of responsibility and accountability as individuals strive to maintain the high standards they have set for themselves. By implementing these strategies, managers and leaders can create an environment where responsibility and accountability are not just buzzwords, but deeply ingrained values that guide the actions and decisions of every team member. When everyone in the organization understands their role and takes ownership of their responsibilities, the entire team can work together towards a common goal, achieving success and growth. Harness the power of responsibility in your workplace with Wrike. Start a free trial and cultivate an environment of accountability, improving task ownership and overall team performance. Note: This article was created with the assistance of an AI engine. It has been reviewed and revised by our team of experts to ensure accuracy and quality.
Intelco Unlocks Operational Efficiency with Wrike
Here’s a story we’re sure you’ll like because it’s one that you can probably relate to or stirs up past memories. Intelco is a software house that provides services for large industrial groups such as the motorway, airport, engineering, retail, textile, and many others. Based in Gussago, Italy, they’re a true strategic partner for companies that outsource personnel administration. The company offers a wide range of services thanks to the "tailor-made" customization of the IRIS software, an Intelco-owned platform made up of about 42 modules to optimize, rationalize, and digitize human resource management processes. Back in 2019, the company faced an all-too-common scenario. Their teams worked out of disparate systems, needed more visibility, and couldn’t track work efficiently or see work in progress or a historical record of completed projects. They were determined to find ways to optimize their processes and work smarter. Change management was needed. Although change seemed intimidating, they knew it had to be done to reach their end goal — improving collaboration and streamlining processes. We talked with Mattia Ronchi and Paolo Baiamonte, Project Managers at Intelco, to learn more about their workflows, major pain points, and what led them to choose Wrike. How did Intelco manage and track work before? MR & PB: We used to manage all our work via spreadsheets and handwritten notes. Our service team, in particular, relied on email and phone calls because clients couldn’t initiate new requests without first emailing or calling the service team. So any time a bug needed fixing or a change request was sent, the service team was inundated with inbound inquiries. It wasn’t ideal, and we knew there had to be a better way. What motivated your team to look for a better solution? MR & PB: It all started with upgrading our ticketing system and fielding new requests. The glaring problem was with multiple channels to accept requests. There needed to be a consolidated, easy-to-track system to handle everything. But we also wanted to streamline processes, enable more teams to have visibility into the work being done by all departments and collaborate. And here’s the big thing — we wanted to achieve everything in one place. What was your evaluation process, and what sold you on Wrike? MR & PB: Implementing organizational change isn’t easy, but we knew change management was in order, so we sought a work management solution. We sat through multiple product demos to determine which solution best fit our needs. After all the demos, we weren’t impressed because every provider was too niche, the software was too clunky, or it was not customizable to what we needed. Once we saw Wrike, it was clear how robust the platform was and how we could customize it to how we preferred to work. The other platforms were not as flexible as Wrike, which made all the difference. For instance, the request form is everything we hoped for and more because it simplifies the process and auto-assigns the right teammate instantly. Our request forms help us to prioritize work so that every morning when our teams arrive, they can easily see a prioritized task list in Wrike of what they have to do, so they’re not guessing what needs to be done. Which Intelco teams use Wrike to manage work and collaborate? MR & PB: Along with the service team, our project management team was the first group into Wrike because I helped spearhead the change management process. Once we saw immediate success, word traveled fast to other departments like marketing, legal, finance, and IT. Fast forward to today, and the entire company works inside Wrike. That’s another wonderful aspect of the product — each department at Intelco has its own dedicated Space where we set up projects and can track activities. It’s great because all our work can be kept separate yet still housed in Wrike. What Wrike features do you recommend most? MR & PB: With request forms, we can tie them to Blueprints and launch full-fledged projects in a few clicks, so that’s great! And before using Wrike, we didn’t track time spent on work, but now we do with timesheets — we couldn’t live without them! We can monitor the time spent per task in real-time. We can better plan and forecast easier because there’s more visibility and a record of time spent. Speaking of visibility, other features we love include the ability to create custom dashboards via Wrike Analyze. Everyone, including managers, can see which projects are being released and their respective statuses. No more digging through emails, spreadsheets, or handwritten notes because it’s all in Wrike. Not only is all our work and collaboration in the platform, but these features specifically have helped us quickly understand which teams are performing the most compared to others and where we need to improve. What’s next for Intelco using Wrike? MR & PB: Every new employee gets onboarded into Wrike from day one, and we plan to use Wrike Integrate to sync our Salesforce account and others from our tech stack. Check out the full case study There’s more to the Intelco story; you can get the complete details here. You’ll see how, with Wrike, they deal with 90% fewer emails, can complete bug fixes 50% faster, and save 30% time in progress meetings. Read the full case study here.
How to Stop Letting Your Coworkers Undermine You
It's probably happened to you more times than you'd care to remember. You're at the top of your game in the office. Your tasks are done, your projects successful. As a result, your quotas and goals have been reached and decimated. But then suddenly, you discover nasty rumors about you brown-nosing a supervisor or supposedly working your way up the ladder using unsavory tactics. Somehow coworkers take any opportunity to undermine your achievements by knocking you down a peg with their comments or actions. And you thought your colleagues were the best mates ever. Australians have an informal phrase to describe this phenomenon —tall poppy syndrome — the disparagement of someone who's risen to a level that's higher than the other poppies in the same field. In other countries, you're more likely to hear expressions such as the familiar, "Stop making the rest of us look bad." Whatever form it takes though, the results are the same: High-performing individuals sometimes have to endure negative backlash — even social undermining — from their peers because of their work ethic. The psychology of social undermining There are many negative social consequences to excellent performance in the workplace. A study in the Journal of Organizational Behaviour defines social undermining as behavior intended to hinder a worker's success, reputation, and positive relationships over time. This behavior might look like: Someone badmouthing your work or reputation Someone competing with you in order to gain status or prominence over you Someone purposely withholding information you need to do work Someone intentionally giving you false information about a task you're doing so you miss a deadline That same study considers social undermining a form of workplace aggression and identifies three main distinguishing factors, namely: This behavior is intentional. It's done on purpose and with a negative goal in mind. This behavior seeks to interfere with work relationships by influencing how coworkers or supervisors view the victim. This behavior assumes that the above negative outcomes will occur. An article in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology studying 1,087 recently unemployed respondents shows that those who experienced social undermining in the workplace reported having poorer mental health that manifested itself in feelings of irritation, anxiety, depression, and more. It impacts the worker and their output in a significant manner. In short, it's an attack meant to slow you down and bring you back down to the attacker's level. And its effects are detrimental to a person's psychological well-being and relationships at work. How to deal with undermining behavior So how does a top performer deal with being the target of resentment in the workplace? Or, what advice can we give to "tall poppies" and overachievers alike? Talk to your colleagues Once this undermining starts impeding your output, you should take concrete steps to alter the situation. First off, confront the people talking about you. If you know who they are, have a simple talk with each person one-on-one, and explain that you want the behavior to stop. This is often the most effective way to solve the problem. Report it But if your plea falls on deaf ears, take it up the chain of command. Talk to your manager, your department head, Human Resources, and so on. File a formal complaint with HR stating just the facts. Make it clear you will not accept this behavior. Pack your bags The simplest option is to weigh your pros and cons and figure out whether it's worth the mental aggravation to come in every day and work in a pit of vipers. If your "cons" column weighs heavier, then begin a new job search and find a friendlier workplace. TIP: Read the reviews of your next company on websites such as Glassdoor. Those anonymous reviews typically spill all the beans. Just remember: no company is perfect. Or... ride it out When confronted with a reader's dilemma that sounds exactly like the opening paragraph of this blog post, HR leader and Forbes columnist Liz Ryan shares this nugget: They say that the emotion most likely to follow intense dislike (even loathing) is boredom. Ryan's point is: If you don't let your sniping colleagues have the satisfaction of seeing you hurt and panicking, they'll eventually move on to another target. This is assuming, of course, you choose to stick it out in a toxic work environment where you have to deal with childish treatment from supposedly adult coworkers. And if you're unsure whether your workplace culture is toxic or safe, then rate your current office with the checklist in this piece: 10 Signs Your Workplace is Toxic. Control what you can: Yourself Finally, the age-old adage is true: you can only control your own reaction to a situation. You can't control what other people say about you or your work. If they're catty or passive-aggressive, you can choose to ignore them and refuse to take the bait. If they're hostile, you can choose to walk away. Meanwhile, you continue to do the work you were hired for to the best of your ability. Because doing it any other way (i.e. slacking off and choosing to produce mediocre work) is an insult both to your capabilities as a performer and to your employer's trust in you. Protect your mental health If you find the stress of dealing with toxic colleagues is bleeding into your personal life, it's time to reach out. Talk to a friend or trusted family member. Research the resources your company offers to support mental health. Remind yourself of the skills and expertise you bring to your organization and why you were hired in the first place. You can only do so much Excellence is divisive in an organization where mediocrity rules. Realize that you can only do so much to fit in or to try and change the culture before you yourself are tainted. It's better to find a company where your skills and your drive can be appreciated. And where, instead of worrying about colleagues stabbing you in the back, you work with people who have your back.
10 Free Brainstorming Apps and Tools to Spark Innovation
The key to brainstorming isn't just getting as many people as possible in a room so they can collaborate on the greatest ideas ever. It requires a bit more work to get the most out of your brainstorming session. Sometimes, the best brainstorming sessions are accompanied by a simple tool that allows you to record and visualize the progress of ideas. This allows your team to see the flow of ideas and gives more context around next steps.