Gatekeeping and Silos in Organizations

Dealing with change in organizations is not easy. External conditions keep changing, employee engagement can suffer, and other normal everyday factors that face a business exert a huge demand on how work gets done. Organizations of all sizes face the challenge of managing their resources to maximize efficiency and productivity, reach goals and meet customer demands. And certainly, any initiative that seeks to improve internal ways of working, must contend with approaches that don’t always serve the company as a whole. Case in point - gatekeeping and silos. It’s important for organizations to understand the difference between the two but also how they are related.

Gatekeeping is a process of controlling the who, what, and when of resources. This control is often used to regulate the flow of information, protocols, or other processes between different groups. Gatekeeping can be an entire team or an individual. In a best case scenario, gatekeeping creates structure that can create a more efficient and streamlined process. It can also be used to maintain a certain level of quality overall.

A survey conducted by the Harvard Business Review found that 55% of respondents reported that gatekeeping improved the flow of information within their organization. Additionally, 50% reported that gatekeeping helped to reduce the number of redundancies.

Silos, on the other hand, are divisions of resources, either within the organization or between different departments or teams. Theoretically these divisions are meant to create a sense of organization and order. By separating resources into different categories, organizations can more easily identify and manage their resources – provided this differentiation results in the appropriate exchange of collaborative methods that meet company objectives.

Silos, for the most part, cannot escape their negative label and impact on organizations. A 2017 study by McKinsey found that silos can lead to inefficiencies, such as duplication of work, lack of collaboration, and a lack of innovation. The study also found that silos can lead to reduced job satisfaction and decreased employee engagement. This might sound obvious, but often the origination of the silo comes via gatekeeping. What was once considered an essential step in creating more structure in the organization (gatekeeping) something changed and suddenly silos formed - often unintentionally.

Gatekeeping isn’t totally free from issues either. The wrong intent, people with agendas, or other bad business practices can turn gatekeeping into an unnecessary roadblock in the execution of business. Process and structure for the sake of it, isn’t the answer. A real business problem must persist, and gatekeeping becomes the solution. Everyone agrees and is on board with this to ensure that the resulting processes are of value.

Ultimately, it’s important for organizations to understand the differences between gatekeeping and silos to make informed decisions about how to manage their resources. Gatekeeping can be a successful strategy for controlling the flow of information and resources in the right way, while silos can be detrimental to the organization. Regardless, inside the organization, people need to regularly question if internal systems, controls, and processes are benefitting the business. Flexibility and adaptability to change these processes will result in making the right decisions as a company scales.