How Can 'Cross-Functional Teams'(CFT's) be Leveraged in any Organisation?

There is a lot of talk in organisations about teams and teamwork. Organisation Directors and managers speak about it all the time. It definitely has benefited each team as a lot of value is generated by people working closely together as a group. However, team work benefits get limited to team boundaries as managers and eventually the employees, develop “your team” versus “my team” attitude. They view their functional team (with reporting hierarchy) as their primary team and everything else secondary. 

Managers (knowingly or unknowingly) strengthen this feeling amongst their team members as they fight to build products for their teams while showing resistance to requests from other teams or functions. This behaviour finds its way to their team members unconscious bias influencing their thinking and decision making.

This unconscious bias establishes superiority about one’s own team and work, makes us unwilling to learn about other and from other teams. Poor understanding of other teams work and their challenges along with our past perceptions of working with specific people from certain groups causes resistance while dealing with people outside one’s own functional team.

The outcome is execution silos with managers controlling their teams (and their output) in the name of being protective about their team members. 

Today, when you embark on the product development journey, setting strictly-enforced boundaries between departments, won’t accelerate the growth, but will only slow it down. To bring a gulp of fresh air, some creativity and maybe new ideas, try opting for a cross-functional team instead.

A cross functional team comprises of a group of people with different functional expertise that work towards a common goal. It includes representatives from different levels of the organisation and may also include members from outside the company. Team members are often separated by functional and or set organisational boundaries but at the end of the day, they all work towards the same common goal.

So What exactly are Cross Functional Teams(CFT's)?

Cross Functional teams are a group of people with different functional specialties or skill sets, responsible for carrying out all phases of a program/project from start to finish.

The functional areas of people in cross-functional teams can have diverse ranges. When a group of people from different backgrounds, like the marketing, sales, product teams, come together to achieve a common goal, it creates a cross-functional team.

Cross Functional Teams can exist as a central part of an organisational structure or as an addition to the company's main hierarchy.

A Cross functional team(CFT) is really just a fancy way of saying groups of people with different skill sets working together to achieve common goals and that’s business is about.

Why Do You Need Cross Functional Teams?

If your organisation has a vertical management structure, the top management would unlikely have a connection with the customers. For running a business, the customers need to be satisfied.

With cross-functional teams, the silos or vertical structure is eliminated since all the team members with different expertise are integrated to work on the sole purpose of satisfying customers by producing the right product and or service.

There are many things that go into making a successful team like shared goals, complimentary skill sets, cooperation, respect, communication, empathy, etc. That list becomes even longer and forbidding when you throw a spanner into the works and turn the team into a cross-functional team.

A successful cross-functional team that brings together talent from across the organisation is seen as the holy grail of effective management. Combining innovation and speed-to-market, gives a company an undeniable advantage over the competition.

What to Expect When Building a Cross-Functional Team

A cross-functional team meaning is that it gathers people of all sorts from different departments, divisions, offices, and at times even companies. What brings them together is a common task. The beauty of such a team is that by bringing people from various spheres, you also bring to your project baggage of their personal experience, knowledge, and expertise. They encourage collaborative culture, knowledge sharing, and can spur some creativity within the team.

In any organisation, there is an integration of different teams to achieve the organisation’s goals and realise the full potential of the individual and the team. Whether it is the collaboration between the Research and Development(R&D), I.T., marketing, and sales to commercialise a product or creating an in-house interface, there is always an interaction amongst different departments.

A cross-functional team is mainly composed of individuals from different functional areas within a company.

These days, with the constantly evolving technology, comes a need to apply agile development principles to a company’s product development strategy. 

But efforts to apply these principles are hindered by siloed teams, disconnected workflows, and a lack of system integration. But the reality is that in most cases, end-to-end production for a single company can take a toll on resources and present many challenges, making the entire endeavour inefficient. 

The functionality of cross-functional teams becomes advantageous in an agile environment where they are required to adapt rapidly to changes and or requirements. Such a team is useful when you require innovation to happen quickly and without unnecessary bureaucratic hoops.

With that foundation, it becomes easier to make informed decisions to invest in infrastructure that supports a cross-functional production strategy that promotes collaboration, visualization, speed, and overall efficiency.

Through integration, teams can plan and execute quickly and efficiently. Ensuring cross-functional teams are working at their highest potential requires constant adaptation and evaluation.

It is best to conduct sufficient research before assembling the team. The management also has to identify the appropriate stakeholders and make sure that there is appropriate representation in the team.

Assembling the team for the job can be a hassle. While each member is used to interacting with colleagues from their own domain, in a Cross-Functional Team they have to interact with people from varying departments. They have to be open-minded and must have good communication ability. 

The shared thought process and the passion to build and grow a successful business is the secret ingredient of organisational compatibility and team building. 

A cross-functional team needs to have responsive priorities that can be shifted or changed altogether based on current market conditions and customer demands. No successful project has a strategy that stays unchanged throughout its life. If you are not recalibrating, you are not responding to the world around you, which always leads to failure.

Benefits Of Cross-Functional Teams(CT's)

Cross-functional teams offer several benefits over more traditional “siloed” organisation structures.

There are many benefits to having a cross-functional team, but some of the most significant ones are:

• Pushes Organisational Boundaries

CFTs transcends usual functional boundaries. They go beyond organisational structures, ensuring that skilled employees from different teams collaborate to work cohesively. They group of people closer and enable them to understand each other's viewpoints. That promotes a work environment where there's a constant exchange of ideas and information.

Building CFTs means to divert the negative mentality where particular divisions of a company refuse to share information with other teams.

• Fosters Creativity

Cross-functional teams are composed of members with different expertise and responsibilities. This diversity often leads to greater creativity, as team members can share their unique perspectives and contribute new ideas. Additionally, cross-functional teams tend to be more flexible and adaptable than traditional teams, as they can better adjust to changing circumstances.

A few key factors contribute to the creation of cross-functional teams. First, members of these teams are typically assigned based on their skills and expertise rather than their position within the company. This allows for a greater diversity of perspectives and ideas. Additionally, cross-functional teams typically have more flexible roles and responsibilities, enabling team members to be more adaptable and responsive to change. Finally, cross-functional teams often rely on external resources and expertise, providing a richness of ideas and perspectives.

• Reduces Cycle Time

Cycle time is the period required to complete one cycle of a project from start to finish.

Cycle time is also the duration between a customer's demand for a service and the delivery time. The longer it takes for the assigned team to deliver the outcome, the more the relationship between the customer and the company degrades.

Over time, this can also negatively affect the company's bottom line. But when skilled people work together, problem-solving becomes easier and faster.

A group of people can define their area of expertise and divide the tasks accordingly. After job allocation and defining purpose, teams collaborate to get the job done in the expected time.

• Thorough Decision Making

Working in a team is about making collective decisions and arriving at a consensus together.

Teamwork can help drive effective decision making. When teams work together, they come up with numerous alternatives to a problem than when working alone and they generate these problem-solving alternatives together. Decision making becomes faster when working in a cross-functional team(CFT).

In a Cross Functional Team(CFT), you have a group of people from marketing, sales, operations, etc working in the same team. Thus, a problem in the cross-functional team gets seen through various viewpoints because everyone pitches in to solve it. Having a variety of perspectives makes the problem easier to solve.

Effective teams know that a situation can affect each department and have an effect on the whole organisation. So they try to develop a solution that benefits the customer and the business as a whole.

• Offers a Fresh Perspective

Working alone can become monotonous. However, working with a team with the same area of expertise can be boring too. To look at things from a fresh perspective and view point, you need people with diverse skill sets. Cross-functional teams fit perfectly into this equation.

A group of people with diverse professional expertise can develop new ideas that others might have overlooked. They can also perceive a problem or flaw with the solution that went unnoticed.

• Development of leadership Skills

Cross-functional collaboration can provide employees with opportunities to develop their leadership skills. Every employee can have a chance to lead a project on a temporary team, which encourages them to adapt their communication, collaboration, and conflict management styles to the needs of their team.

New leaders can pump life into a project, and if they are successful, they can be encouraged to seek permanent management positions. This benefits both the individual employees and the company as a whole. In addition, cross-functional team leadership skills can help them be more effective in their roles and help create a pool of potential future leaders for the company.

• Brings Peers Closer

When teams collaborate, they sometimes agree or disagree with each other's decisions. But it definitely brings them closer. Working together enables a group of people to let go of any former judgments they might have formed of each other when they were in different departments.

Team collaboration lets people see how their team members arrive at a conclusion and their thought process. It makes them more understanding and accepting of each other.

• Speed

Another benefit of cross-functional teams is their speed. Because they have all the necessary skills and knowledge on board, they can move quickly without waiting for approvals or input from other departments. This results in a more streamlined workflow and shorter project timelines.

Cross-functional teams are also able to be more flexible and responsive to change. They can quickly adapt to new requirements or challenges because they are not reliant on other departments or specialist skills. This makes them ideal for agile or rapidly changing environments. So if you need a team that can move quickly and efficiently, a cross-functional team is the way to go

• Regulates Internal Communication

For teams to be successful, they need to know what every team member is up to. It is possible only when groups communicate amongst themselves internally.

Communicating effectively enables people to learn skills and strategies from their team members. An effective team that communicates well, frequently discuss new ideas. Such teams work to understand what's best for everyone and how they can effectively fulfil their individual roles.

• Developing management skills

The management skills required for leading a cross-functional teams work are different from those needed to lead a traditional departmental team. When you lead a cross-functional team, you need to be able to manage people with different skill sets and perspectives. This can be very challenging, but it is also an excellent opportunity to develop your management skills.

Leading a cross-functional team will allow you to hone your skills in problem-solving, communication, and conflict resolution. These are all essential management skills that will come in handy in any organisation.

• Stimulating innovative ideas

In order to encourage innovative thinking within an organisation, one of the best things that can be done is to form successful cross-functional teams. This type of team brings together employees from different departments who may not usually work together regularly. By working together on projects, these team members can better understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses and learn to appreciate the different perspectives that each member brings to the table. This type of team environment can be very stimulating for creative thinking and can lead to the development of new and innovative ideas.

To build a successful cross-functional team, the team members must have a shared goal or objectives that they are working towards. Without this common purpose, the team will likely struggle to generate new and innovative ideas. It is also vital that the team members feel comfortable communicating with each other and can work together effectively. If there are any communication or conflict issues within the team, these will likely hamper the team’s ability to generate new ideas.

How To Develop Cross-Functional Teams(CFT's)

One of the most important things to keep in mind when building a cross functional team is to ensure a clear and attainable goal. Without a shared goal, it will be difficult for team members to work together effectively. When you have a goal in mind, it is essential to carefully select team members who have the necessary skillsets to help achieve that goal. It’s also important to create a team charter that outlines the roles and responsibilities of each team member. This will help ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same objectives.

If and when done correctly, an effective cross-functional team can be a powerful tool for an organisation. A cross-functional team can help to foster a more collaborative and innovative culture within an organisation.

Some key points to remember while building such a Cross Functional Team(CFT):

• Put together Effective Teams

It is the starting point. How your team functions will depend on the kind of team, they are. Most importantly, you need to recognise if the employees will play on each other's strengths.

After deciding the project's common goal, figure out which employees can help in achieving the target. Here professional human resources can help you recognise employees who will fulfil your requirements.

• Define Clear Roles And Objectives

Setting down goals and objectives is an excellent step for creating a cross-functional team. Clear objectives improve collaboration, communication, and help the business grow. It also helps everyone understand where the company is heading.

When you set a common goal and delegate tasks, team members know what's expected of them. It enables them to strategize and divide tasks among themselves easily. Managers and teams can also conduct a SWOT analysis to figure out individual strengths and how to overcome their weaknesses.

Having SMART organisational goals can be used expertly by skilled cross-functional team members. It can make dividing and following responsibilities easy.

* S- Specific

* M- Measurable

* A- Achievable

* R- Relevant

* T- Timely

• Involve The Customer

To ensure smooth execution of the cross-functional project, it is necessary to sync with the common goal. That is where involving the customer comes in handy.

Customer interaction allows teams to be clear about the outcome expected from them. They can then proceed accordingly.

Sometimes, the team leader assigns a team member to represent them and interact with the customer(s). These people update the customers at regular intervals and take their feedback. Doing so creates clarity and sync between the customer and the team.

• Embrace Diversity and Inclusion

Cross-functional teams give you the power to select people from really diverse backgrounds.

You can include team members from various backgrounds like gender, ethnicities, and professional expertise. Research has shown that diverse teams are more effective in processing information. They provide fresh ideas and quick solutions.

Once you have assembled a diverse team, it is equally essential to make this team feel important and included.

If team members feel they are not as valuable as others, they might feel left out. This can cause the team to lose out on a skilled employee and thus increase the cycle time. To avoid this, treat everyone equally and fairly. Everyone should be allowed to express their views and opinions openly.

• Share Accountability For Organisational Goals

A successful team understands that whatever they achieve is for the team and not individualistic. Cross functional teams can only successfully function when they know that each team member is responsible for others' actions.

Responsibilities need to be shared equally among employees. They should progress with the mentality that the whole team will be held accountable depending on the cross-functional project’s outcome. It will lead to them helping each other out to achieve their respective targets.

With shared accountability also comes shared recognition. When cross-functional teams deliver outcomes, success is shared among each employee. Every team member should be acknowledged and appreciated for their contribution.

• Establish Metrics

Measurement makes room for progress and improvement. When you assess an idea, you can recognise the pros and cons of that thought. You can identify the problems and the consequences they might have. Thus, it is essential to re-evaluate regularly.

Another way to use metrics is to measure employees' performance and their progress.

Metrics like time management tools are extremely helpful. They track the time and effort required to complete the cross-functional projects. Measuring can also help realise if the employees lack skills or understanding somewhere. Doing this can allow employees to track progress and take up training sessions to upskill.

The problems that cross functional teams solve

When they work well, cross functional teams solve loads of problems. What problems?

• The cost of translation

The cost of translation refers to the cost of translating requirements between various disciplines or stakeholders. Like Chinese whispers, the cost of translation slows down overall product development time. Cross functional should mean faster development since you are not sitting around waiting for a member of one team to clarify something before you can speak to the other.

• Discipline-based dysfunction

Without cross functional teams, skilled employees are instead segregated by skill set. This causes problems when different disciplines are pitted against each other; rather than identifying as the ‘product team’ to solve product problems for customers, the narrative becomes ‘engineering’ versus ‘design’.

What’s the secret of a successful cross-functional team?

• Making them self-managed

• Occasionally shaking the team

• Taking care of their professional growth and development

• Building a team around highly motivated people that care what they do and share the same mindset despite their different skillset and backgrounds

Key Takeaways

• Cross-functional collaboration results in not just achievement of stated operational goals, but also offers ancillary benefits like improved productivity, more efficient processes and transformational changes to the organisation.

• Even though knowledge sharing is essential in cross-functional teams, members could hold back from sharing knowledge. So they need to be proactively incentivised not to do so.

• Embracing technology like cloud management apps, communication tools, etc, can enable the smooth working of cross-functional teams.

• Alignment of goals and individual incentives is necessary for the success of a cross-functional team.

• Restructuring teams to improve the flow of communication and increase transparency will help individuals overcome differences if any and help focus on results and outcomes.

Cross-functional collaboration, if done right, can make a company leaner and more innovative from the ground-up, because all decisions are taken through a cooperative and creative process with singular focus on the achievement of each organisational goal.

Conclusion

A cross functional team exists primarily to execute on strategy. Yes, many cross functional teams have a high degree of autonomy where teams can decide how to achieve Objectives and Key Results(OKRs), but ultimately, much of the time spent as a cross functional team member is on execution.

A Cross-Functional Team can help organisations in achieving ambitious goals by adapting to adversities and executing tasks with collaboration and efficiency. 

Cross functional teams are a modern take on what has always been at the heart of successful, productive companies; groups of people working together to achieve shared outcomes. When executed badly, cross functional teams can feel like a box ticking exercise for digital transformation champions to prove that they are ‘doing digital’. But, with the right balance of skillset, goal setting and support systems, cross functional teams can give you the best results at achieving the goals you have set.

Many leading organisations like Google, Netflix, Amazon have also adapted to this structure because they believe that cross-functional teams are the sources of productivity and efficiency.

For instance, Amazon utilises cross functional team efforts for producing the initial draft of its annual objectives. By doing this, the company uses diversified expertise to generate ideas to set the end goals of every year.

Do the needs and the benefits of cross-functional teams seem feasible to your company/organisation in the long run?