How to build great teams in technology
Since 2011, when I first assumed a position where i had to take care of the selection of human resources , I realized what it means to build a team in technology.
And although I was in a technical position, I was given the task of expanding the team of developers, with the following sentence:
“find others like you”
Under this premise the task seemed simple because the first thing I thought was to look for people with similar knowledge to mine and for this it was very effective to look for people from my same university, who had studied the same as me.
I proceeded to make a list of everything my first hired person needed to know, and verify it through interviews and tests.
This worked on a few occasions, but truth be told, I was missing the opportunity to scout a large pool of candidates with complementary skills for my team.
Knowledge is important, but knowing how to generate and apply it is better
In general, there is key knowledge that we require for certain jobs, but at the end of the day knowledge can be built. Therefore, sometimes it is more important to find people who have a great willingness to learn.
Validating knowledge through a title or what the resume says can give us an idea and save time with a particular candidate, but restricting other candidates because they do not have these certifications is a mistake, and especially in technology.
The university is a very valuable space in professional life, as it gives individuals another perspective and tools. Undoubtedly, marked characteristics can be seen between those who had the opportunity to go through the academy and those who did not.
However, this does not mean that these characteristics are essential or that they cannot be obtained in another way. In fact, university education sometimes restricts or does not give the opportunity to experience the external world and can remain theoretical.
I am one of those who have always thought that we need a bit of both profiles, because innovative solutions arise from the diversity of perspectives.
A team is more than a set of skills combined
We could be tempted to define a technology team due to the different job profiles: backend developers, front-end developer, project manager, interface and user experience designers, among other more specific ones. We could even look for talent that is more specific and restricted to the programming language they speak.
When we search and evaluate in this way, we are not sure that the candidate will adapt to the company culture, if he/she knows how to work in a team or if he/she complements his co-workers. It is important to assess the degree of affinity, communication skills, attitude and willingness to learn constantly.
In the world of technology we have many people who despite being very good technically, have a lack of fundamental soft skills to perform adequately in teamwork.
One way to have these skills within our work team is to encourage or support the growth of these skills through training. Well, we will not always find people who have developed them.
Although we have put a lot of emphasis on soft skills, I will not deny that technical knowledge is essential.
But I want to emphasize the importance of complementing these skills with knowledge, because in this way all that technical knowledge can be used to enhance teamwork.
What profiles do I need in my technology team?
Bottom line: It depends on the type of needs your organization has.
Here I am going to mention the categories, and although you may need one, it could be all of them as well.
These are:
- Internal Support: Director of technology, technicians.
- External digital product support. Director of Support, Technical Support Agents, Developers to make adjustments to the product.
- Digital product development. Responsible for the Product, Project Managers, Designers, Developers.
- Innovation. Experts in innovation, designers, marketing specialists and, in general, everyone involved in the production process.
And the programmers?
Technology, software, and especially the web, have evolved rapidly since their conception in the 1990s.
Since its implementation, different methodologies have emerged for solving problems, programming languages and paradigms, and various ways of applying it.
This diversity brought with it tools that facilitate its implementation, making it unnecessary to know advanced mathematics in order to make software. This means that in just 6 months it is possible for someone to learn a specific programming language and start applying it to projects.
Is it easy to find programmers? Yes, but it’s not necessarily easy to find the one your team needs.
Leading a team in technology
This is where it is important to have a person who knows and has experienced everything we have mentioned above.
It is important that you have gone through a process in which you understand what it means to be a developer, that you have had the opportunity to lead teams, that you have been in direct contact with the client and have a good foundation in team objectives, whether in innovation, support, or development of digital products.
If you are in the process of implementing a technology team, the first step is to make sure you have someone who can understand the needs of the company so that, aligned with this, define the objectives of the team and can properly choose and implement the strategy.
You can achieve this with the advice of a company that has experience in this area, or there is always the option of hiring a company that understands these dynamics well so that it becomes an extension of your organization in the technological area, while you focus on the mission of your business.
With Swapps you can have the peace of mind of having that ally in digital technology that is transparent, agile and that offers you excellent support, to help your company grow.
Write to us, we are your ally in digital technology.
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