Bridging the gap: leading corporate communications and IT to success together

Interview with Tony Witek Staff Specialist Communication Excellence & Tools Infineon Technologies AG

Bridging the gap: leading corporate communications and IT to success together

Two areas, one common goal. What actually sounds simple is often much more complex in reality. But are there solutions for successfully bringing the two worlds together? How can new tools be introduced quickly and smoothly through effective project management between IT and corporate communications? What obstacles lie in the way and which key moments determine the success of the introduction of a new communication tool?

AG CommTech: Tony , in your topic you imply a gap that needs to be overcome and cooperation with IT. How did you come up with this topic?

Tony Witek: In my role at Infineon, I work at the interface between Corporate Communications and IT. You can imagine that I act as a point of contact for all of our communications colleagues, communicating their needs to our IT and organizing everything so that we work together as efficiently and effectively as possible. This interface function gives me an insight into both worlds and I would like to share my experience.

AG CommTech: In your breakout session at Summit 2024, you will tell us about a specific tool launch. What is so special about it?

Tony Witek : The circumstances were special: a small project team, only three months – and 1500 future users at the same time. I’ll be happy to tell you how we managed to do this on time, what challenges we faced and what the end result was!

AG CommTech: Your project sounds very extensive and ambitious – how can you achieve something like this in such a short time?

Tony Witek: First of all, it is important to be aware of the framework conditions that apply to an implementation scenario. These can usually be very different: different resources and budgets, who should and may use the tool in the end, which other interfaces need to be informed and more – it is important to get a good overview here and to be aware of the space in which you are operating.

I also think it’s important to talk about expectations within the project team. The more people sitting around the table, the more interests are represented and the more complex it can become. It helps to have an unfiltered discussion about what is expected, what the goal is and what is important to each individual. A project, as in our case, where the effort is more on the business side, absolutely needs a reliable IT partner, even if the effort seems lower at first because there is no classic programming effort, for example.

AG CommTech: Can you give us a teaser of one of your key moments?

Tony Witek: Sure, to put it simply and not to anticipate too much: Everyone knows the moment when something suddenly doesn’t work. In our case, the implementation of a certain interface function was technically much more complex than expected and, in case of doubt, jeopardized the go-live date. At first, this is always not such great news and can be a damper in a dynamic working group in which the first steps have been very positive. It is perhaps comparable to the feeling in soccer when you win four match days in a row and then only manage a draw in the fifth game. And yet you keep going. It is important to take another look at the project scope and reassess the situation and whether the goal can be achieved without this function.

AG CommTech: Can you give us an insight into how you got your organization on board with this topic in such a short time?

Tony Witek: When you’re in a role like mine, it’s not just classic project management that’s important, but also proactively driving the change that this tool introduction brings with it. By this I mean, for example, the transition from the phase before the go-live to what should happen after the go-live. A project plan cannot just consist of fixed deadlines and milestones. Certain topics take time and need to be divided into phases – it’s the mix that makes the difference. An onboarding phase does not end with the last training offer, but perhaps only three months later, when the data analysis shows that the trained users are also using the actual tool. Until then, you should remain flexible so that you can readjust with additional training offers. We should always be clear: Behind every user there is only one person – you can’t just work with milestones and manuals.

However, it is also important to think about the project team: it helps to think about scenarios at an early stage about what the phase after go-live or project completion might look like and how responsibilities will change. I think it’s important to pick up the project team in quiet moments during the course of the project. This gives the team security and anticipates the question: What happens next?

AG CommTech: Can you give us an outlook on what participants can take away from your breakout?

Tony Witek: I’d love to, and I’m also hoping for an inspiring exchange with the participants, because: Every organization is different and every rollout is different. Anyone can certainly draw up a project management plan for a tool rollout according to a “scheme F”. For me, it’s important to hear from the participants which individual key moments in the collaboration with other company parties, such as IT, were important for them or which experiences were made – we can certainly learn a lot from each other here.