Overcoming the 3 most common challenges of design teams in large corporations

We all know that digital products are not limited to digital native companies, that is, companies whose core business is a digital product. A lot of Forbes 500 - or S&P or Fortune - companies fit into this category. And it's becoming more common over the last few years that these companies are not only increasing their presence in the digital realm but doing so with internal teams. By doing so, they need to set product and design teams, often under the same leadership.?

In this article I'll be discussing challenges faced by product design teams in large corporations, which can entangle their ability to innovate and deliver high-quality products. Drawing from my experience leading design and innovation teams across multiple countries and industries, I’ve identified the three most common challenges and some strategies to overcome them.

1. Complex Organizational Structures

Large corporations often (or always?)? have intricate hierarchies and multiple layers of decision-making, which can slow down the design process and stifle innovation. Designers might find themselves needing approval from various departments, each with its own priorities and processes.

Strategies to Overcome:

• Foster Cross-Departmental Collaboration: For every project or strategic goal that the design team undertakes, it's crucial to involve different departments in the process. Establishing regular meetings and communication channels with departments such as marketing, engineering, and sales can help identify shared goals and align priorities and expectations. This collaborative approach ensures that everyone is on the same page and working towards common objectives.
• Clear Escalation Paths: Define clear pathways for escalating decisions and gaining approvals. Having a well-documented process can reduce bottlenecks and ensure that the design team can proceed without unnecessary delays.
• Empower Design Leaders: Empowering design leaders—and even designers—with decision-making authority whenever possible is crucial. This approach can vary depending on the company and the specific initiative, but once implemented, it can streamline processes and simplify navigating the corporate landscape.

2. Balancing Innovation with Business Objectives

This is one of the most common dilemmas in big companies: "How can we innovate if the company is so focused on business results, not allowing for experimentation?" Is there a constant push and pull between creating cutting-edge designs and meeting commercial goals? I don't believe so. For me, the sweet spot is crafting the design strategy to align with the business strategy, delivering results that traditional approaches wouldn't achieve. Position the design team as a group capable of generating business value through initiatives no other team is exploring.

Strategies to Overcome:

• Strategic Alignment: Ensure that design initiatives are closely aligned with the company’s strategic goals. Regularly engage with high leaders to understand their objectives and demonstrate how design can complement or contribute to these goals.
• Metrics and KPIs: Develop clear metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure the impact of design on business outcomes. This can include customer satisfaction scores, savings, avoided churns, new revenue, conversion rates, and increase in customer base.
• Balanced Approach: Encourage a balanced approach where the design team can explore innovative ideas while also focusing on practical, incremental solutions. Addressing small problems—low-hanging fruit—will give the team more space to work on disruptive initiatives. This balance can be achieved by dedicating effort to both exploratory projects and core business initiatives.

3. Maintaining Consistency Across Multiple Products and Teams

In large corporations, ensuring design consistency across various products and teams can be a significant challenge. Inconsistent design practices can lead to a fragmented user experience and dilute the brand’s identity.

Strategies to Overcome:

• Design Systems: This is as obvious as it is difficult. Designing a comprehensive design system can be complex to create, and even more challenging to implement and propagate. Such a system must encompass components, tokens, patterns, guidelines, and templates. Setting these up requires significant effort and necessitates buy-in from senior leadership. Though it may take time, maintaining a well-crafted design system represents a significant stride towards unified standards and a cohesive user experience.
• Regular Audits: Conduct regular design audits (or design critiques) to ensure that all products and teams are following the established guidelines. This helps in identifying and addressing inconsistencies early on.
• Continuous Training: Offer continuous training and workshops for designers and related teams, including marketing, sales, customer support, and engineering, to keep them abreast of the latest design practices and tools. Foster a unified design culture by promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration across teams.

Product design teams in large corporations face significant challenges, but with the right strategies, these challenges can be managed.

By fostering cross-departmental collaboration, seeing design and business objectives as the same, and maintaining consistency through the different initiatives, design teams will thrive and drive meaningful outcomes.

Feel free to comment, agree or disagree in the comments section, or reach me for a chat about it. I would love to hear different points of view on this matter.