7 Tips to Build a Robust Tech Team for Your Company

In today’s rapidly changing technological landscape, you must adopt a structured approach to upskilling your organization’s technical personnel. However, for both corporate leaders and individual contributors, embarking on a skills development path can be intimidating. The pandemic served as a wake-up call for most enterprises, signaling that digital change is on the horizon.

Every manager would like a staff that makes their job simpler by addressing problems and collaborating. You don’t want to be spending your days putting out fires or resolving conflicts. What you require is a successful team that you can inspire to perform extraordinary things for your firm. Building a good team takes time and skill, as does identifying an organization that is right for them. This article will assist you in building a team and what you need to be looking for in a candidate.

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1. Think carefully about your needs

When employing new team members, consider them an investment in your future rather than someone to do the job for the time being. When you construct a temporary team, they will be assigned to duties they are unfamiliar with when you scale up, affecting your resource management. Imagine you’re building a Lego tower. If you don’t have the right pieces, your tower could fall apart! It’s the same with a tech team: hire people who fit your long-term plan. According to LinkedIn Research, Companies that plan their hiring well are 36% more successful at keeping their employees.

To avoid this, keep your company structure in mind at all times and manage the hiring process properly. The tech staff should be the cement that holds everything together. The team structure should be based on the company’s business model. This allows you to identify the appropriate requirements when looking for a candidate. For example, when Netflix started making its own shows, it hired engineers who knew how to handle streaming video. They didn’t just look for people to fill seats; they invested in the right skills for the future.

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2. Insist on experience

Hiring talent for a growing tech team is tough, and the talent you do discover must be encouraged to stay, develop, and advance within the company. We recommend recruiting good technical leaders so that you feel comfortable and secure in delegating authority because the initial few hires are critical in building a great team.

When you’re putting together a team, experience matters. For example, hiring someone who has worked on big projects before can make your life easier. But it’s also important to help new team members learn and grow. Google often hires experienced engineers to lead projects, but it also supports young talent by offering mentorship programs.

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3. Ask the candidate to show, not just tell

Always insist on seeing, not just hearing, about their accomplishments. Case assessments and tests can assist in determining an employee’s strengths and limitations. This includes demonstrating abilities other than technology, such as lateral thinking, reasoning, and problem-solving. Don’t just listen to what people say about their abilities. Ask them to show you! It’s like having someone claim they’re a great cook, but you don’t know until they make you a tasty meal.

A company called Automattic, which runs WordPress, gives candidates a project to work on before hiring them. This helps the company pick the best talent. You can choose who is a superior asset to the firm based on assessments. You can also select applicants who performed well in interviews but did not perform well on the assessment. The organization should have a training program in place to ensure that they are well-prepared to hit the ground running.

How to Do This: Use coding tests or ask them to solve a real problem your company faces. This helps you see how they think and work.

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4. Don’t build a wall

It is critical to include other essential team members in the interview process. A poor cultural fit might result in financial turnover for your firm. Before the wall is built between the teams, break it. It’s important for everyone to get along, like players on a soccer team. If they don’t work well together, the whole team can suffer. According to a report published by Gallup, Companies with a strong team culture see 21% higher profitability.

A good fit guarantees that engineers and employees of different functions can communicate and collaborate efficiently. Companies may risk critical failure if engineers are not coordinated, especially on items requiring complex engineering. For example, at Amazon, teams interview candidates together to make sure everyone is a good fit. This prevents misunderstandings and builds better teamwork.

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5. Lookout for passionate

The first step is to establish a consistent organizational culture. No amount of training will turn a new hire into a proactive and invested employee if he isn’t passionate and organically motivated. A passionate person is often a self-starter who will drive initiatives and spur creativity and innovation amongst the team. They will continue to learn and share, actively contributing to the business as well as the community and industry.

You want people who love what they do, like a kid who’s excited to build the tallest Lego tower. According to a research published by Deloitte, passionate employees are 125% more productive. Elon Musk once said he looks for people who have “fire in their eyes.” He wants to hire those who are naturally driven and curious.

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6. Let the tech lead hire

Your new CTO or CIO should be in charge of assembling their crew. However, you will need to collaborate with him or her to determine what types of personnel are required. The size of a team will vary depending on the firm. You’ll need someone who understands security, someone who can monitor a company’s software and hardware requirements, and an innovation officer who can collaborate with clients and project managers to keep things moving smoothly. Teams should always be diverse in terms of race and ethnicity. For example, At Spotify, the tech lead interviews new hires to make sure they fit into the company’s tech vision. This helps keep projects on track and ensures a good match.

7. Give people space

Technical jobs are complex and demand concentration. Interruptions are the enemies of concentration and profound thought. Recognize the complexities of their work and provide them with long periods of undisturbed work time whenever possible. A study published by University of California, Irvine suggests that ;eople are 40% more productive when they have quiet time to work.

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This shows appreciation for their contribution. Companies can distinguish themselves from competitors by providing huge blocks of dedicated time for their staff. This can make your organization more appealing to high-performing individuals who seek out the most difficult tasks. For example, companies like Basecamp are famous for having “no meeting days” so their team can focus better. This has made their employees happier and more productive.

Building the right team is challenging and time-consuming. Taking the time to build the best team possible, on the other hand, is an asset rather than a liability. Every business will fail if it lacks a strong team.

Technology is advancing at a breakneck pace. So you must have a team that is made up of people who are willing to give their all without hesitation and help the organization in any way they can. You need people who will accompany you on the entire journey. Keep these things in mind as you begin to build a strong tech-savvy team for your company. 

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