You need a cross-department ‘pen pal’

Many years ago, I had a pen pal from Connecticut. We’d been introduced by a friend while I was still living in my native country of Turkey.

At the time, I was considering studying abroad where they lived in order to get a degree in computer science at the University of Bridgeport. My pen pal was majoring in a completely unrelated field, but we had some of the most interesting conversations. Just the fact that we were from different cultures and backgrounds helped change both of our outlooks. I learned, for example, that students in the U.S. had a more individualistic perspective than i did. They were really trying to discover who they were—in college, especially. 

Now, as an entrepreneur, all these years later, I often reflect on how much that pen-pal experience helped me understand perspectives other than my own. It’s also why, as CEO, I believe it’s important to create opportunities for cross-department “pen pals” because I know it can help us foster more openness and inclusiveness in the workplace.

Here’s why: 

The benefits of branching out in the workplace

Cross-departmental relationships are key for creating better communication and better alignment across your company.

For instance, one of my star employees who worked in the marketing department, Maggie, was struggling to understand the technology behind a new product we were developing. “I honestly don’t get how these features work,” she told me after a meeting.

So I immediately connected her with one of our developers. Not only did this help with brainstorming for her own work, but both team members were able to learn from the other person’s skill set. Beyond this interaction, they began emailing each other whenever frustrations came up, and were able to help one another come up with creative solutions on new projects. 

Diversify the conversation

“It’s worth noting that, though diversity and inclusion best practices are meant to benefit people from underrepresented groups, they actually benefit everyone and create a stronger team overall,” writes New Yorker director of engineering Tessa Ann Taylor for NYT Open.

Just as with my own pen-pal experience all those years ago, pairing cross-departmental team members of diverse backgrounds goes beyond learning about a specific professional specialty. It opens up the conversation in new and interesting ways.

At my company, Jotform, we regularly encourage mentorship from the get-go with our internship program, and we encourage pairing people according to different backgrounds so that each can gain a greater understanding of things beyond their skill set or experiences. Generally, these pairs correspond at least once per week to check in, and we’ve found that they’re not only able to collaborate more easily, it also helps ease up any awkwardness or barriers around communication. 

Ultimately, cultivating this practice changes your overall culture because people aren’t afraid to ask colleagues from other departments for help or assistance, thereby creating more autonomy. This kind of communication is essential for sustaining long-term collaboration. 

Each of your departments working together harmoniously—IT, marketing, design, sales, customer support—will significantly influence your company’s success. According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 report, workplace engagement has remained stagnant. But I believe that by diversifying the conversation with concrete practices like cross-department pen pals can move the needle forward.

Promote innovative thinking

When employees aren’t engaged, it doesn’t just drag down productivity, it also reduces innovation. Why? Because interacting with people from different niches stimulates communication and creativity. 

Cross-department pen pals can elevate their own skills by problem-solving with other experts, as creative ideas often emerge from fresh perspectives. Before one of our product launches,  pen pals often encourage one another to stay focused, engaged, and more motivated because they feel they can openly share their thoughts in a judge-free space.

While many leaders focus on team-building exercises to foster more innovative thinking, having a pen pal is a stress-free way to increase the sharing of information and knowledge. Teams become more agile and feel more involved in your company’s purpose.

Continuous growth and learning

After a few months of connecting with her developer pen pal, I’m happy to report that Maggie didn’t just gain more understanding about the technology behind our latest product—she learned significantly more about what goes into IT thinking. 

“It used to feel really overwhelming,” she confided to me over lunch one day. “But then something just clicked.” Now, not only did she feel more confident to perform her own tasks, she was excited about new possibilities for future projects. 

I’m a strong advocate for cross-departmental collaboration for this simple reason: It encourages ideas and helps build team morale. 

Aside from promoting pen-pals, Jotform operates with small, cross-functional teams where each group is like its own little business. Individuals are both independent and empowered to make their own decisions while also working on the same project. 

Over the past 16 years, we’ve grown the company from a startup to a global business with millions of users and hundreds of employees. And over the course of that time, I’ve found that this kind of structure allows team members to become more committed and engaged—and feel a greater sense of belonging to the culture as a whole.