Cross-functional team

What is a cross-functional team?

A cross-functional team refers to working groups that have employees from each stream, including marketing, development, support, sales, and more. Most of the time, people from diverse expertise come together to work towards a common goal.

Why are cross-functional teams important?

Here's why every organization should consider building a cross-functional team:

Makes it easy to solve problems, since employees with diverse skills, expertise, and backgrounds come up with better solutions to complex problems
Breaks down silos among different teams and helps employees understand the kind of impact their work makes
Helps employees grow faster, as they tend to learn from each other
Sparks creativity and boosts innovation by helping employees look at challenges from different perspectives
Encourages teamwork and builds a greater sense of belonging as employees work toward a common goal

What are the key characteristics of cross-functional teams?

Here are some of the key traits of a cross-functional team:

Varied perspectives
Better collaboration
Accountability
Stronger sense of teamwork
Structured communication
Problem-solving
Faster decision-making
Flexibility and adaptability

What is the best example of a cross-functional team?

Organizations often develop cross-functional teams during the new product development process. It consists of developers and engineers who build the product, designers to create its user interface, quality assurance engineers to test its efficiency, marketers to run campaigns around it, a customer support team to help customers adopt the product, and a sales team to gather constructive feedback from customers.

How do you build a cross-functional team? How do you build a cross-functional team?

Here are five steps to establish a cross-functional team from scratch:

Step 1: As a first step, set up clear goals to understand what you're trying to achieve by building a cross-functional team. This will help you understand what kind of expertise are required for your team.

Step 2: Select employees with the right set of skills from different departments and operations required to achieve the goal you've set.

Step 3: Set clear expectations for each employee based on the stream they belong to and assign a mentor who can guide them as a team. Define what success would look like.

Step 4: Encourage the mentor to establish a safe space that allows the cross-functional team to brainstorm new ideas, exchange feedback, and come up with solutions to different problems.

Step 5: Offer the right resources and tools required to help them work seamlessly together.

What are some ways to make a cross-functional team more effective?

Here are some practical tips that'll help your cross-functional team improve its collaboration and output:

Select a good mentor for your cross-functional team—someone who is able to communicate really well, build trust within the team, help them see the bigger picture, clarify goals, and provide constructive feedback. The right mentor will act as a guiding force for the entire team.
Be sure to establish a single, intuitive communication channel to streamline communication so that the information doesn't get lost. Let them use it effectively to offer real-time updates, track tasks, offer feedback, and stay aligned on the same page.
Provide the space for your cross-functional team to operate independently. Allow them to take risks, experiment, make mistakes, and learn from their experiences. This is the only way to support innovation.
Offer regular training programs to help your employees develop cross-functional competencies. Provide all the necessary knowledge and tools they need to adapt to different disciplines and contribute effectively.
Encourage the group mentors to check in with their cross-functional team frequently. This will help them track progress without micromanaging, share feedback, and recognize wins, while staying aligned with their goals.