6. Do you have a team integration plan?

You’ve selected a partner — great! Now let's talk about successful team integration.

We won’t go into detail about the processes, infrastructures, and technologies for sports analysis, as your partner will provide you with (or at least advise you on) everything you’ll need. Instead, let’s talk about team integration.

One of the greatest challenges many organizations overlook when bringing in a sports analysis partner is the people aspect.

It’s not unusual for partners to experience pushback from in-house teams who may feel threatened about working with an “outside” partner. They may be resistant to the change or even actively undermine the partnership.

If you don’t have communication and collaboration processes in palce, you will face significant cultural challenges.

Here are three crucial lessons we’ve learned over the years to integrate our teams with client teams smoothly.

1. Start planning at the contract level.

Many contracts are structured in a standard vendor–client format, which creates unequal footing at the very beginning of the partnership. In our partnerships, we operate under a “shared burden, shared success” mentality.

2. Be transparent with your internal team.

Be upfront and direct about bringing in a partner and create a plan to win over your teams.

Assure them they are still valued, tell them exactly what to expect, and explain how a partner will benefit both the company and them personally.

A well-thought-out communications plan is just as important as your technology or process plans.

3. Integrate your teams immediately.

To further cement a “one team” mentality, create a common organizational chart and make sure that your internal and partner HR teams are talking to each other regularly.

Identify a partnership champion on both ends and create “partnership ambassadors” among both teams by sending members to work at each other’s engineering centers for a few weeks. Video chat is a great tool for real-time collaboration, but nothing compares to creating relationships in a face-to-face environment.

Building a Collaborative Foundation for a Successful Work Culture

In today’s business world, almost no one works alone and even fewer create products end-to-end without the help of others.

It’s more important than ever that our primary skillset isn’t our specialized craft, but rather the ability to effectively collaborate with others.

When we create as individuals, our creations are a reflection of ourselves. When we create as a team, our output is a reflection of our team’s relationships and dynamics.

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