.svg){kind=small}
Chris Lord, CTO and co-founder of Lambent, an occupancy analytics and spatial intelligence company, shares his experience with Akooda and how it has transformed his understanding of his organization.
The Struggle: Information Overload and Lack of Visibility
Chris, with a background in large-scale distributed systems and data analytics, felt that existing search tools were like peering through a keyhole. They offered glimpses of information, but not the comprehensive view he desired. He needed a way to understand the pulse of the business, not just find information buried in various siloed systems.
Lambent relied heavily on a variety of collaboration tools like Google Workspace, Slack, Miro, Confluence, and Jira. While these facilitated communication (and were critical as the team worked remotely), they lacked visibility into how information flowed across these systems. Chris felt like a conductor of an orchestra that was only able to hear snippets from each instrument while not understanding the beautiful symphony the team was producing.
Early Wins: Onboarding and Identifying Risks
Akooda's strength lies in its ability to integrate with various collaboration platforms and analyze communication metadata. This provides valuable insights into team dynamics and communication patterns, empowering Chris to become a more informed leader.
Chris found Akooda's Comm Chart particularly helpful when onboarding new employees, helping him monitor new hires' integration into the team. By visualizing communication patterns, he could identify potential risks like isolation or lack of engagement. Akooda allowed Chris to see if they were receiving enough instruction and collaborating effectively with their team and across teams. By identifying blocks or breaks in communication, Chris could intervene early to ensure a successful onboarding experience.
Understanding Inter-team Communication: Breaking Down Silos
Akooda wasn't limited to individual teams. Chris used it to zoom out and analyze communication between departments. This helped identify bottlenecks and communication chokepoints. For instance, he discovered that information flow between two key teams was inefficient, slowing down response time and missing key objectives.
This led to a restructuring where stakeholders were directly involved in prioritization discussions, eliminating the need for intermediaries. Additionally, multiple sets of priorities were consolidated to create a single shared backlog, providing transparency and streamlining project management. These changes ensured all departments were on the same page and collaborating effectively.
True Visibility into Team Focus
Akooda's Share of Attention feature goes beyond traditional project management by analyzing communication patterns. This allows Chris to see how team energy is distributed across various initiatives, ensuring everyone is aligned on the most important priorities.
Chris created a KPI in Akooda based on the share of attention different initiatives and projects received to it could be tracked over time.
<div class="custom_div_wrapper">
<div class="custom_div_custom">
<h3 class="custom_div_h3">
"There's often a disconnect between what teams report they're working on and what they're actually accomplishing," Chris explained. "Akooda helps bridge that gap by giving us real-time insights into what work is being done and where work is being done. This allows us to make adjustments as needed."
</h3>
<div class="custom_div_sub_text_wrapper">
<div class="custom_div_avatar">
<img src="https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/64b86ba75fb4f88d7488a0ef/6630f6fd70cbcd06d7f381c0_Chris%20Lord.jpeg"/>
</div>
<div class="custom_div_subtext">
<div class="custom_div_sub_text_name">
Chris Lord
</div>
<div class="cutom_div_sub_text_position">
CTO and Co-founder, Lambent
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
Unlike other tools that rely on self-reported data, Akooda leverages communication metadata to provide an objective view of where a team's attention truly lies. This allows for proactive management and ensures resources are allocated efficiently.
Catching Up Made Easy with Summarization
Chris also highlights the value of Akooda's Summarization feature. Upon returning from PTO, he can quickly grasp the status of a project or partnership through a concise summary. Akooda's summary provides a condensed overview, similar to a project briefing, allowing Chris to understand the current state and jump back in or follow-up without wasting everyone’s time.
Insights and Information Flow
Chris envisions Akooda as a democratizing force, empowering everyone in the organization to access valuable insights. While leadership benefits from a high-level view of team dynamics and communication patterns, knowledge accessibility is equally important for the broader workforce. This is where Akooda's Enterprise Search comes into play, unlocking the true potential of the platform for the entire organization.
Enterprise Search eliminates the need to interrupt colleagues, optimizing workflow. Using natural language, employees can ask questions like "rationale behind decision X" or "meeting notes about Y." Enterprise Search then intelligently searches across all communication channels Akooda integrates with, surfacing the most relevant information. Importantly, it does this while adhering to existing security and privacy settings. This ensures only users with the appropriate permissions can access sensitive information.
Enterprise Search goes beyond keyword searches. By removing the barrier of perfectly formulated queries, it fosters a culture of information transparency. Employees can directly access knowledge they need, reducing reliance on email tag or interrupting colleagues. Akooda's secure Enterprise Search helps information flow freely across departments while respecting privacy boundaries. This empowers everyone to leverage the collective knowledge of the organization, accelerating decision-making and fostering innovation by removing information bottlenecks.
Akooda: The Fitbit for Organizations
Chris emphasizes how Akooda acts as a digital well-being tool for the organization. It provides a holistic view of communication patterns, allowing him to assess overall alignment and identify areas requiring attention.
Much like a Fitbit motivates you to stay healthy, Akooda helps us proactively manage our organization's well-being," explained Chris. "It provides insights into our strengths and weaknesses, allowing us to address shortcomings before they become major issues.
Future of Akooda at Lambent: Empowering Everyone
Akooda is a valuable tool for maintaining continuity, understanding the health of the organization, and making data-driven decisions to improve team dynamics and overall performance.
