How to build a high performing team for the future

A future high performing team will be more diverse than ever and so will be the makeup of those teams. According to Glassdoor, 67% of job seekers say a diverse workforce is important when considering job offers. Diversity comes from many different perspectives, including gender, generation, race, workforce type and the way a team functions.

So what will teams look like in ten years? Here are five trends we predict based on what’s happening in the workplace within the past few years.

Trend 1: Global workforce is still in

According to American Sociological Review, companies reporting the highest levels of racial diversity in their organizations bring in nearly 15 times more sales revenue than those with lowest levels.

With the trend of globalization, international talents mobility continues. By 2065, no racial or ethnic group will be a majority and therefore there will be no US corporations that have employees consisting of a single race.

We can expect that there will be more culturally diverse teams in the workplace in the future.

Question for employers: How can you offer intercultural communication training and support for your team members?

Trend 2: Multi-team is rising

Employee retention is going away. Today, more individuals are hiring companies to fulfill their dreams and teach them specific skills rather than a company hiring employees and trying to retain them permanently.

As a result, it’s not uncommon for employees to function in a “micro career mode,” which develops their skills while performing in their current positions in order to prepare for their next career move.

What we need to watch for in the future workplace is more project-based and less department-based teams.

Question for employers: How can you provide your employees opportunities to work on different projects that leverage their talents and passions?

Trend 3: Generation Z in workplace

2017 will mark the first full year that Generation Z will be settling into the workplace, with a new mindset on business and new expectations on their optimal work environment.

Just as Millennials brought a new dynamic to the workplace when they entered the workforce, Gen Z is now adding another layer of complexity to cross-generational communication.

While Gen Z will bring new insights and perspectives into the workplace, be aware they will also bring some challenges and new modes of thinking into the workplace.

Question for employers: How might you develop a balanced team consisting of members of Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomers?

Trend 4: Blended workforce type

Multiple studies from Intuit to The Freelancer's Union predict that at least 40% of the workforce will be freelancers in the next few years.

The rising number of freelancers indicates that more companies are outsourcing services to maximize their resources. At the same time, more individuals are pursuing micro-careers. This combination will lead to teams with a blended workforce.

You will notice more part-time employees, freelancers, contractors and agencies will be working side-by-side with full-time employees.

Question for employers: How might you provide the flexibility and a work-life balance for your talent?

Trend 5: Team over individual performance

The function of our jobs is no longer singularly task based. More than ever, we are relying on each other to move the organizational goals forward. According to ATD (Association for Talent Development), one of the biggest challenges for managers is how to motivate a team to a more clearly defined goal.

Based on Deloitte’s 2017 Global Human Capital Trends , 88% of this year’s respondents across the globe rated building the organization of the future as a very important issue as networks and ecosystems replace organizational hierarchies.

This shift reinforces the trend that teams will become more collaborative and team performance will be weighted higher than individual performance.

Question for employers: How can you build a perfect team that can deliver high performance while working well together?

With these five trends, employers might need to upgrade their talent management strategy. Ensuring alignment of the whole team is more and more critical than recruiting and retaining a few rock stars. What’s your talent strategy regarding creating a high potential team?

Read more about team management on the TTI Success Insights blog page.