Meet your (internal) customers

The sales team knows it needs to get out and meet the customers - that is obvious.

What about the supporting functions in your company?  Do they get out and meet their internal customers face to face?

Not talking here about just going to a staff meeting: Do the middle managers in HR, Finance, Facilities, Security, etc. have lunch with line managers?

A lot can be accomplished if that personal connection is established.  Line managers grumbling about the inefficiency and bureaucracy of staff functions might be a little more understanding if they know that the managers in charge of those functions are good, smart people facing tough constraints.

And instead of grumbling, the line managers might be a lot happier if they know that they can pick up the phone and get issues resolved quickly when necessary.

And the managers of those staff functions might benefit from hearing direct feedback from the line managers.  They might get a different perspective than what they hear from their direct reports and what they can see from the metrics.

Get out and meet your customers, whoever they may be.