Building High Powered, Multi-Skilled teams is harder than you think. Are we doing enough to make it happen?

We are living in interesting times, where technology has become the backbone to all companies. But, not all companies/businesses have embraced technology equally well, this is creating winners and leaders in various industries. The Good part is that all companies understand that embracing and adopting technology is key to their survival and growth. The challenge is more complex than that, the issue is that it’s not one technology or business application that solves the problem.

So how do we address this challenge, which is multi-dimensional?

It’s time to build high powered, multi-skilled teams that possess expertise in multiple technologies and understanding of business fundamentals (ROI/Financial and expectations of end users). But, this is a challenge we are seeing in numerous companies, who are not able to recognize and attract the multi-skilled talent. Often times HR business partners are in recruitment mindset, where it is all about filling an open position and matching the Job requirements.

To address this challenge, it’s time to introspect the talent acquisition and recruiting practices, coupled with the company culture and how much entrepreneurship is encouraged and appreciated by the senior management.

What does a nimble and multi-skilled smart team look like?

• Small size, typically 5 – 15 resources (there can be multiple of such sharpshooter teams)
• Problem solvers, folks who read a lot, experiment and are not scared to fail. (but eventually know how to build it)
• Know how to survive in an ambiguous and unknown environment.
• Possess core analytical skills, know multiple technologies (Mobility, Data, Automation, able to mix and match various technologies etc.)
• Possess business acumen and technology understanding (must to build cool products and solutions that are commercially viable)
• Knows what a customer will buy and pay for.

Who can help build these multi-skilled teams?

• Every company needs a talent magnet, a person who is a live example of multi-skilled individual, with a fire in the belly to create value (Dreamer/Builder)
• HR or Talent team who is forward looking and do not have a recruiter mindset. (Innovative HR team has a big role to play in the new world)
• Company culture and visionary management that supports entrepreneurship
• Example: You see this phenomenon of talent magnet, multi-skilled teams and creative/innovative HR in startups and progressive large enterprises. (most organizations are not able to practice what we are talking here, although they pretend to)

Why this issue is important and immediate fix is needed?

Let’s look at few Industries where high powered, high energy, multi-skilled and agile teams are making a big difference.

Connected Cars

• It’s not about building any car, but it’s all about how to build a new generation car that leverages technology and provides user experience, safety, connectivity etc. (skills needed are UI Design, Mobility, Safety, Analytics, AI, Machine learning, long lasting rechargeable batteries etc.)
• Team of 10-20 multi-skilled folks will surely build something new and create a lot of value. (A team with lot of expertise in one domain will be hard pressed to build such a complex product)

Smart Cities

• Even more complex challenge, problem solving has a totally different meaning here. What skills do we need this team to possess while designing and building a Smart City?
• Mobility, Networking, Huge Data analytics skills, Integration of multiple technologies, AI, VR etc. (Learning, experimenting and figuring things out becomes an even more important skill here)
• Understanding how a city operates, how citizens use various amenities, how humans behave in different situations is equally important when you are building a Smart City.

Voice enabled Shopping

• Amazon is already raising the bar every day for all retailers, e-commerce has a totally different meaning today than it was two years ago. Can you compete with Amazon with huge teams who are just good at one thing they do very well? Nope.
• Voice enabled shopping is a new phenomenon that is being experimented by various companies. This is a new skill where the team has to understand the smart voice technology and how to integrate with the e-commerce platform. Learning, experimenting, entrepreneurship becomes key soft-skills in building these solutions.
• Problem solving, training to take calculated risks are more valuable in these situations where new challenges come up every day.

Internet of Things (IoT)

• Mobility is at the core of any IoT solution, teams without advanced mobility and networking knowledge will struggle to build a successful solution.
• Security is the biggest scare and priority everywhere. You have to be ahead of what hackers are doing and thinking to beat them.
• Making different applications and software to integrate with each other and work on real-time basis is a necessity for always-on solutions.
• Plus, making a commercial product that sells and makes money where buyers are very well informed and knowledgeable puts a lot of pressure on your teams to be business savvy.

In conclusion, I would say:

Talent Magnet (that Dreamer / Builder Leader), Out of the box thinking HR business partner and Visionary Management, all play an important role in enabling the right culture that leads to building High Powered, Multi-Skilled teams.

Happy to share my experiences, I can be reached at sunil.sehgal@techarcis.com or 678-361-4357.

What are your experiences? Please share