Building a strong tech team is absolutely essential to companies today. Tech isn’t just about raw technical experience, it’s also about personal skills, project management abilities, and the ability to prioritize. When developing a tech team in a particularly competitive environment, it’s important to consider all factors and be aggressive about finding unique talent. That means sometimes thinking outside of the box and going where the competition isn’t.
Don’t Just Look in Traditional Locations
The best talent may not be available in the classifieds. If you have a strong eye for talent, there are a lot of benefits to recruiting directly from college, trusting your networking, or looking for a specific individual in a dedicated classified service. You can look for people who are better experienced through networking and contacts.
Limiting yourself to only the more popular venues will put you in a competition pool with a lot of different businesses.
Always Start Your Foundation With a Strong Individual
When you’re starting a team from scratch, the first thing you need to do is find a single strong individual who is going to be the foundation. This individual is going to set the tone for the team and will inform the way that the other team members act and react.
Moving forward, this individual is going to be the one to advise you on the other team members. They are going to be able to give you feedback on your decisions and will bring both expertise and experience to the equation. This person will be your second in command and will operate in a critical role.
Listen to the Rest of Your Team
It’s important to listen to your team whenever you’re thinking about making changes; they may see things that you do not. But listening to your team isn’t just a practical matter, it’s also an emotional one. Team members are more likely to feel confident if the decisions made take their opinions into consideration. They may also feel resentful if decisions are made without them.
Of course, you also can’t make all your decisions based on your team. You also need to explain to your team with clarity why you’re making the decisions that you are.
Start Thinking First About the Roles
Every person on your team should fulfill a specific role and be the best fit for that role. Gaps create oversights and overlap can cause people to butt heads. These roles are designed to be specific, so everyone knows what they are intended to do and they don’t step on anyone’s else’s toes.
Of course there are generalists who also add value, but they will still know which role they fulfill.
Now that you know how to create a strong team, it’s time to start looking for your team members. Start today by posting to the Software Specialists job listings.
