Using Integrated Insight to Drive Growth
Summary
Key Insights
-
•
Transforming from a siloed specialist model to a multi-disciplinary, task-based approach enables more strategic impact with limited resources.
-
•
Allocating budgets by project objectives rather than by research methodology improves prioritization and capacity planning.
-
•
A small team (9 people) can support a much larger organization (3000 staff) effectively by blending skills and working across disciplines.
-
•
Shifting from reacting to stakeholder demands to proactive strategic planning unlocks team value and influence.
-
•
Introducing transparent resource allocation and triage processes reduces internal concerns and improves responsiveness.
-
•
Empowering junior and mid-level team members to lead projects cultivates leadership skills and enhances motivation.
-
•
Virtual ‘go-to’ person roles help maintain stakeholder relationships and ensure expertise is accessible despite a flexible team structure.
-
•
Change management requires continuous communication, framing the change as future-proofing and engaging staff to be the change.
-
•
Cross-disciplinary work increases learning, innovation, and helps staff develop transferable skills, improving retention.
-
•
Delivering high-quality outputs is the strongest proof-of-concept to win stakeholder trust and secure ongoing investment.
Notable Quotes
"We were spending 90% of our resource responding to tactical queries or performance reporting — essentially marking everyone's homework."
"I wanted to create a model that let us rapidly increase our value within the business."
"We threw out the team structure and started to commission work based on the multiple skills needed for each project."
"Budgets are allocated by project, not by specialism, so investment matches the scale of the question, not the methodology."
"Project leadership can be at any level; the right discipline leads, not necessarily the most senior person."
"Some managers felt undermined because they were part of the delivery team rather than just overseeing it."
"We created a decision tree to help junior staff decide which stakeholder requests to triage and which to respond to directly."
"We introduced 'go-to' people, like account managers, responsible for particular business areas to maintain relationships."
"The proof came from delivering the output — stakeholders stopped questioning the process once they saw the quality research."
"The team can now tell the World Service what to do, not just what the audience thinks."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"A regular heartbeat and familiar structure are really important principles to keep a community alive."
Marc Fonteijn Ru ButlerIncrease your confidence, influence, and impact (through a Professional Community)
December 3, 2024
"Tolerance to uncertainty is a big thing in climate tech compared to other fields."
Dem Gerolemou Alexis Oh Neef RehmanClimate technology fundamentals
May 15, 2024
"Implicit methods alone can explain around 80% of the purchase decision, with half of it due to unconscious measurements."
Daniela Magaña Flores Ariane Rahn Jeff Ephraim BanderAhead of Competition: Learn What UX Benchmarking Can Do for Your Business Today
March 10, 2022
"We focused on consolidating frameworks and landed on Canvas, which now supports 45 teams and growing."
Abbey Smalley Sylas SouzaScaling UX Past the Size of Your Team
January 8, 2024
"Before transitioning designers, we reviewed and agreed on a prioritized list with all executive leaders."
Patrick CommarfordDesign Staffing for Impact
January 8, 2024
"Engaging communities requires thinking beyond western-centric tools, considering language and cultural relevance for accessibility."
Xenia Adjoubei Sean BruceEmpowering Communities Through the Researcher in Residence Program
March 29, 2023
"Doing nothing is not a neutral act. Ignorance may be bliss, but it doesn’t absolve you from responsibility."
Craig VillamorDesign Systems for Ethical Design
January 26, 2023
"DP&M tools pull together necessary reference materials and design deliverables, showing how they relate to each other."
Jon Fukuda Ellie KryslDesign Planning and Management Support
October 3, 2023
"Our hypothesis was we could create better product faster with more eyes looking at the problem, not just product."
Iain McMaster IHan ChengDesign and Product: from Frenemy to Harmony
November 29, 2023
