How to build effective cross-functional teams
An organization comprises various departments, each striving to achieve its specific goals. However, challenges often arise when cross-departmental communication becomes necessary.
Here, you need to build a team that works with different departments to achieve a goal. But the question is how you can build a cross-functional team that works effectively.
See, it’s not about making a team where you can onboard staff from different departments. It’s about creating a cohesive unit where individuals bring their expertise while aligning with a shared purpose. According to the Harvard Business Review, 75% of Cross-Functional teams are dysfunctional.
Interestingly some of the most groundbreaking innovations — from Apple’s iPhone to Tesla’s electric vehicles — weren’t the result of a single department working in isolation. Instead, they were the result of cross-functional teams, where designers, engineers, marketers, and strategists each collaborated to reach a common goal.
To build such a team, you need to go beyond team collaboration strategies. It requires thoughtful planning, clearly defined roles, and a culture that embraces mutual respect and accountability. A managed approach ensures the success of a cross-functional team lies in its ability to achieve a goal.
But how do you achieve this? What are the foundational steps, and what benefits you will get? In this blog, you will be familiarized with essential strategies and actionable insights to help you build a cross-functional team that works seamlessly and achieves exceptional outcomes.
What are cross-functional teams?
A cross-functional team is a team of members from different departments working together to achieve shared goals. For instance, a software company could create a cross-functional team with staff from development, sales, marketing, and support to produce a new application.
Organizations often create cross-functional teams temporarily to achieve a particular task or milestone. However, some enterprises permanently use these teams to stay competitive.
Whether temporary or permanent, the effectiveness of cross-functional teams depends on how well they are structured. When done right, they can become a powerful organizational tool for driving innovation and achieving long-term success.
7 easy steps to build a cross-functional team
- Set clear project goals
Before making the cross-functional team, you have to define project goals, as it will help you to ensure that everyone on the team is aligned and working toward the same objective. Some of the points you have to consider are:
Budget: What’s the maximum amount of money allocated for the project?
Deadline: When does the project need to be completed?
Desired outcome: What result are you expecting?
Using project management tools like ProofHub can streamline goal setting. It will help you to establish clear goals, assign tasks, set deadlines, allocate budgets, and monitor milestones all in one centralized platform.
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2. Select the right team members
After identifying the goals, you have an idea of what kind of skills and expertise will be required. You surely need a diverse mix of skills and backgrounds that can contribute to the project. It’s good to look for team players who are strong collaborators, effective communicators, and eager to learn from others.
For instance, if you are developing a software product, you will likely need a developer to handle technical aspects, and a marketing specialist to analyze the latest market trends and write the strategy that would suit your product in particular.
Avoid choosing individuals who are overloaded with work, resistant to collaboration, or too territorial to work well with others. Moreover, consult with department managers to include their insights when selecting team members. Wondering how to create a team with strong dynamics? Check out our tips on How to build a team: Tips to create strong team dynamics.
3. Establish roles and responsibilities
Now you have a list of your team members who will work cross-functionally, so you need to define their roles and responsibilities clearly. Specify who will manage the team, who will be responsible for deliverables, and how the team will communicate. A clear definition of roles and responsibilities will ensure that everyone knows what they are doing and how it fits into the overall success of the project. For instance,
Team leader: He oversees the progress of the team and conflict resolution and ensures that all activities are in line with the project goals.
Subject Matter Experts (SMEs): Provide insight and expertise in their field to guide the decision-making process.
Task owners: People responsible for delivering certain deliverables or milestones.
4. Foster open communication
“Communication is the solvent of all problems and is the foundation for personal development.” — Peter Shepherd
As per the McKinsey report, well-connected teams see a productivity increase of 20–25% stating the importance of communication. Open communication should be encouraged among all the members of the team. This is important because it allows them to share their ideas, concerns, and feedback without fear of judgment. It also fosters a culture of transparency and trust where the voice of every member of the team is heard and valued.
Additionally, create avenues for constructive feedback, both positive and negative, and ensure it is delivered respectfully and productively. This helps the team to constantly improve while maintaining high morale.
5. Leverage collaborative tools
It’s really hard to build a cross-functional team without the use of team collaboration tools like ProofHub. You cannot manage tasks effectively or maintain clear communication across different departments without a centralized platform. These tools will help you to manage and collaborate effectively by providing features like task management and built-in chat for real-time discussions, helping you achieve the best collaborative approach.
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6. Monitor progress and provide feedback
Until the goal has been reached, you should monitor progress regularly to stay on track. Set measurable milestones and review them periodically to identify any bottlenecks or areas requiring additional support.
You manage and monitor progress in many ways, but it is recommended that you use project management tools. It will help you to generate a report of the project immediately so you can analyze the overall progress of the project. Based on your analysis, you can reevaluate your project’s goals and decide if you want to adjust them or change your plan for achieving them.
Don’t know how to give feedback effectively? Here you will learn how to give effective project feedback.
7. Celebrate and reward success
Last but not least, you must celebrate and reward the success of your cross-functional team. It will help you recognize the efforts and achievements of your team members and motivate them to reinforce the value of cross-functional collaboration. You can celebrate and reward success by organizing team gatherings or virtual celebrations to acknowledge milestones achieved together.
Additionally, sharing success stories within the organization can inspire others and emphasize the importance of collaboration. If you need more creative ideas for celebrating team success, then I have something for you.
Here you will find 16 creative reward ideas to recognize your best employees. Read it and apply it.
Benefits of cross-functional teams
1. A great way of innovation
Getting your team out of their comfort zones or regular working department helps them become more engaged. They can look at problems from multiple perspectives, leading to the generation of fresh ideas and innovative solutions.
2. Cross-functional teamwork keeps work interesting
No matter what your workflow is, things can get stale in any company. When team members get bored at work, they will become less productive and more likely to leave for a more interesting work environment. Cross-functional teamwork injects variety and fresh challenges into the work environment, keeping team members engaged and motivated.
3. Team members learn from one another
When everybody brings their different skills to the table, they are naturally going to learn from each other and expand their own skill set and knowledge base. For example, the human resources manager might learn better strategies for writing job descriptions and maybe how to share them on social media by working with the marketing specialist. Similarly, the marketing specialist might learn from the HR manager about how to better communicate with a diverse audience. This cross-pollination of skills and ideas creates a ripple effect of growth and development within the team.
4. Greater flexibility and adaptability
These teams are inherently more flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances. When unexpected issues arise, cross-functional teams can draw on the expertise of various members to devise innovative solutions. This agility enhances the team’s ability to respond to market changes. Remember a quote by Jeff Bezos that perfectly captures the importance of adaptability.
“If you’re not stubborn, you’ll give up on experiments too soon. And if you’re not flexible, you’ll pound your head against the wall and you won’t see a different solution to a problem you’re trying to solve.” — Jeff Bezos
Conclusion
In today’s dynamic business environment, cross-functional teams are a powerful asset for organizations striving to stay competitive. It starts with setting clear project goals, assembling the right skills and expertise and ensuring seamless collaboration. Once the team is in place, it is essential to define roles, assign responsibilities and establish a system for tracking progress. Celebrating their success is also a major step in building a cross-functional team. Regular check-ins, open communication and the right collaboration tools like ProofHub can help streamline workflows and keep everyone aligned.
Apart from this, a strong cross-functional team is based on trust and accountability. Encouraging team members to share ideas, voice concerns and learn from others builds a culture of innovation and problem-solving.
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