Core Flex Teams Work Better

Innovation never comes from a single technology – it always happens when multiple technologies come together – along with a number of non-technological factors. In addition, a typical successful innovation requires a variety of skill sets to come together. These skill requirements, especially for working with niche technologies can vary from idea to idea.

Ensuring that the right skills are brought together, in a timely, rapid manner is key to a successful innovation program and one great way to ensure this is to work with a small core team and supplement this with larger flex teams.

The small core team need only facilitate the innovation program and not be burdened to come up with new ideas. The small core team also ensures the continuity of learning from one innovation project to another.

A larger, flexible team allows the innovation programs to tap into any skillset available within the organization, as needed, and only for the duration needed. This allows for a nimble and agile bench management while providing the technology teams a wide variety of real-world projects. Since the flex team members work on multiple projects, they bring diverse experience and advanced problem-solving skills.

While dedicated teams may bring in a depth of understanding about the particular problem, they also tend to have a fixed point of view. Besides, having to maintain a bench of people often becomes very expensive. Given the scarcity of emerging technology skills, it is often not even possible. Instead, a mix of a core team coupled with a gig-style model for flex teams works better. It offers businesses the flexibility to build the teams as and when they want. We can think of it as the ‘Uberization’ of talent providing a more effective staffing model for long-term innovation programs.