A New Way of Building Teams

How to build an effective and stable work team? How to attract talent? How to prevent talent from leaving the company? These are questions that burden companies that are trying, sometimes unsuccessfully, to form work teams. 

But what exactly makes it hard for companies to build teams?

• Not finding talent
• Talent leaving the company because what they are offered does not suit them and does not fit their objectives 

Companies have to adapt in order to attract and retain talent. 

1. What kind of players are you looking for?  What do you have to offer to attract them?

Can you imagine Messi playing for the Blackburn Rovers? Technically, he could, but it’s a little hard to imagine. What do the Blackburn Rovers have to offer him? The possibility of winning the Copa America, the Euro Cup, a World Cup? None of these. So why would Messi play for them? It wouldn't allow him to exploit his potential; it wouldn't make any sense.  Because he has such a tremendous amount of knowledge and experience, one would expect to see Messi in a team that allows him to do something unique in the world. 

Now, for a rookie who has never played in the Premier League, being part of the Blackburn Rovers would be the opportunity of a lifetime. He may not be the best player in the world, but he is going to do his very best to improve his skills, become a better player and help the team become champions. Why? Because he was given the opportunity to start, and that’s a lot. Think about your company. What does it have to offer? Unique experiences in the world, impossible to find anywhere else, or opportunities to start? 

2.The survival of the fittest

Darwin said it: the one who survives is the one who is most adaptable to change. To survive, companies have to adapt to today's reality. And to adapt, they have to change, and change is always hard. The traditional way of building a team was to hire people to work permanently, full time, in the office. But here’s the news: the world has evolved, and this  “traditional way” of building teams is becoming more and more obsolete. Today, the company can achieve its objectives without the need for all its employees to work permanently and full time in the office.

To be able to survive, the company must adapt to the new way of building teams. Talent exists. There are plenty of talented people. The challenge lies in adapting and being creative in order to attract it.   

3.The old paradigm

Historically, jobs were permanent, full-time, and with fixed hours. Employees worked from Monday to Friday, from 9 to 6, in the same company their entire lives until retirement. 

The structure of the company was designed around this model: several benefits were given as the employee reached a certain number of years of seniority. In Argentina, for example, the number of vacation days that employees are entitled to is proportional to the number of years they have been with the company. 

Today, this model is becoming obsolete. People do not want to be "married" to the same company for the rest of their lives, nor do they want to have to go to work at the office every day full time, or have to work on exactly the same thing all the time. This obsolete model does not attract talent.

4.The problem: not offering what talent is looking for

People have evolved faster than companies. 

Workers no longer want the outdated model, which is what companies generally offer them. Companies are then faced with a problem: they cannot get candidates to form teams, because they simply cannot attract them with what they offer.  It is no longer viable to want to form a team where everyone works permanently, full time, with fixed hours and in the office. That's not the way to attract talent today. 

5.The solution: hybrid, remote, global teams

Hybrid teams There are different hiring modalities. Not all employees have to be permanent and full time. Perhaps the company doesn't need it, nor do the candidates want it. There are other options:

• Full time, contractor
• Part time, permanent
• Part time, contractor

The hiring modality that can be chosen depends on the nature of the role, the company’s needs, and what the candidate is looking for. The company has to get a very good understanding of what roles it needs and how much time is needed for that role. 

Let's look at some examples: A strategic, expert, senior person, who is in charge of elaborating a strategy, a solution and defining guidelines for another professional to develop, can work as a contractor for a few hours per week.

A software architect who is in charge of providing the architecture and design can work as a full-time contractor for a few months, until the project is completed. People with enough expertise to be part of the company, but not enough to work full time, can be permanent, part-time employees. Who can work full time on a permanent basis, then? People who are still developing, for example, junior and intermediate roles, as well as those who LEAD the vision and mission of the company and the team members. 

There is something else to take into account: there exists the possibility of having employees with business and technical expertise working full time but in another location. Depending on the role, they may be located in different cities and even countries. Just as there are different types of tasks and needs, there are different hiring modalities. To stay with just one is to fall behind. 

Flexible Time. Not all jobs have to be on a fixed schedule, from 9 to 6.Instead of imposing a fixed schedule, offer a range of hours in which people can do their tasks. For example, a person who works 8 hours may be able to work between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and do some hours in the morning, some in the afternoon, and some in the evening. Flexible hours make a job attractive.

Remote teams While some roles can be in the office, not all of them have to be.

The more technical, mechanical roles, which are not related to decision making and strategy, can be remote and can be performed from home without the need to go to the office. Perhaps the person needs to go to the office only for a meeting, for creative purposes or when it is easier or necessary to talk to others in person.  

Why force the person to go to the office when it is not really necessary?

Global teams Not all team members have to be in the same country. There are roles that, because of their nature, can be performed from anywhere in the world. This brings other advantages, such as the currency difference, which can allow the company to hire talent with a smaller budget (it's a win-win), and the time difference, which, depending on the time zone, can mean that there is always someone working, or on call. 

At Pitcheers, for example, we have connectors around the world. The connectors overseas are in charge of generating conversations with new candidates and, once these are in the interview process with the client, they are passed on to the connectors in New Zealand. Talent is all over the world, not just in one place. 

Adapt or be left behind Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change, said Hawkings. The paradigm has changed, and it is no longer news that companies have global competition. This refers not only to the products and services they offer, but also to the talent they attract and retain. To remain competitive, you as a company have to adapt to change and seek global talent. Otherwise, the disadvantage against your competition is going to be enormous.  

It is much easier to achieve the company's objectives with well-built teams, with people who are willing to work and give their best so that the company can do well. And this, most of the time, is achieved with hybrid, remote, global teams. 

So, to answer the questions at the beginning: How do I attract candidates?  To answer this question, let’s flip it: what is talent looking for? To attract them, you have to understand what they want, and offer it. Not everyone is looking to work full time in the office.

How do I build an effective and stable work team? By finding people who are eager to work in the company, willing to give their best so that the company achieves its objectives. 

Sounds too good to be true. Do such people exist? 

Of course they do.

How do you find them? By offering them something unique in the world. This can be the opportunity to improve their lives. 

There is a lot of talent around the world that aims to work for companies abroad or relocate. Being able to do so would imply a huge change of life, not only for the workers, but also for their families. As a company, you can give talented candidates the opportunity to change their lives for the better, and they are going to give their best to help the company achieve its goals. 

For Messi, the unique experience is the World Cup. What unique experience can your company offer the candidate you are interested in?

How do I prevent employees from leaving the company? It's one thing to find talent, and another to retain it. To find committed people, you have to open the door, give them the opportunity to start. This will have a huge impact on their lives. These people will be committed and will do their best and beyond to improve and help the company achieve its goals. 

In short, to create successful teams, you have to change the way you look for and retain talent. You must look outward, pay attention to international talent, dare to forget borders and conquer global talent. 

Where to start? At Pitcheers we have already started with you. We have a talented global community eager to work. Talk to us. We'll help you find the talent you're looking for.