When the Harvard Business Review calls company culture an “organization’s DNA,” it emphasizes the importance of creating a workplace culture that sets employees up for success. The DNA combines multiple components, including mentorship, collaboration, autonomy, employee engagement, accountability, and employee empowerment.
A lesser-known but equally crucial component is craft teams. To understand the structure and function of craft teams, we often have to study them with regard to product teams. You can make up a craft team out of a product team.
So, how does this team elevate company culture and facilitate innovation? Let’s discuss this in detail.
What Is a Craft Team?
A craft team is a group of employees with similar jobs or skill sets with a joint mission of excelling at their craft. Suppose you’re a SaaS company whose employees include software engineers, designers, and product managers.
You can create a craft team of software engineers. These individuals will meet regularly to share their knowledge, learn from each other, resolve challenges, and provide feedback. The bottom line is to help each other grow.
You might think when anyone in your team wants to adopt a new skill, they turn to YouTube or Google. But that’s not true. An HBR study found that 55% of employees first talk to their peers and second to their bosses.
If employees are already more comfortable turning to their peers, why not provide them with an organized platform where they can do just that? That’s what craft teams are for.
Importance of craft teams
It’s no secret that we’re facing a skills gap globally. The speed at which tech is evolving is hard to keep up with, especially when employees are expected to juggle multiple tasks daily.
A viable solution to close the skills gap is reskilling and upskilling, as agreed upon by 82% of executives worldwide in a McKinsey survey. Craft teams can help do just that.
One of the main reasons your employees might feel unengaged and unappreciated is due to isolation in the workplace. Let’s say Project A requires a group of software engineers and designers to work together.
Since this cross-disciplinary team works in isolation, their members rarely get a chance to learn from each other and build on the same principles. Likewise, they are doubtful of their competence because they have no idea what other employees at the same level as they are doing. Having a craft team bridges this gap for them.
The Role of Peer Practitioners
Let’s start by explaining what peer practitioners are. They are members of the craft team who offer mentorship, guidance, and support to other employees in their group. Some of their roles include:
Encouraging each other to stay relevant
Considering the tech advancements and workplace evolution rate, some roles will be completely obsolete in the future. In tech, Forbes predicts these to be network engineering, repetitive coding, single-language development, infrastructure engineering, and more.
However, just because these roles may not be useful in the future doesn’t mean individuals with the skills to perform these jobs will be useless. They still have the fundamental skills to learn newer technologies and stay ahead of the curve.
Peer practitioners can help them in this regard. For example, younger employees in a craft team can help older members learn new technologies and stay relevant. Conversely, senior employees can share their knowledge of industry trends.
The trend of skills losing relevance is not limited to tech-related jobs. It’s the same for other departments, too. A Gartner research found that 58% of workers will require new skills to do their jobs well in the future.
Since 2017, the new skills required for a job have been increasing at a rate of 10% year-over-year. Organizations cannot keep up with this pace through repeated hiring or expensive training sessions.
Peer practitioners provide a cost-effective way to ensure all team members remain relevant in their jobs.
Implementing new methods and tools
A decade or so ago, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) were not nearly as advanced as they are today. With the advent of these technologies, we now have many new tools and methods.
However, not everyone is on the same page when it comes to using them. For example, AI has begun revolutionizing the SaaS space. While the involvement of AI may be common knowledge to most employees in your SaaS team, how AI is being used may not be clear.
Who can teach your employees about these new methods and tools? Their peers in the craft team.
At the end of the day, no company can afford to be using outdated tools. It’s sort of like an MS Paint vs. Photoshop comparison. MS Paint might have done the job in the past, but now that better options are available and other companies are leveraging them, you don’t want to be left behind.
Value of learning together
Learning together is usually more fruitful than doing it alone. Many scientific and workplace studies have proved this.
LinkedIn’s 2022 Workplace Learning Report also found that 86% of Learning and Development (L&D) professionals believe learning to be more engaging when people do it together. Even better, 91% of respondents said employees who learn together achieve more success in their fields.
When employees learn together in a craft team, they have a better shot at staying engaged. It’s also a more casual approach than a formal training session. That’s probably why there has been a 301% increase in employees becoming a part of learning groups since the pandemic.
The Need for Both Product Teams and Craft Teams
If we have not clarified it already, let us say that craft teams alone won’t cut it. You have to couple them with product teams.
A product team is a group working on a particular project related to developing a product. People in this group include:
- Product managers
- Product owners
- Engineers
- Product designers
- Product marketers
By looking at this list, you can visualize the craft teams that can be formed. For example, product managers, owners, and marketers could create a craft team to learn about the latest customer acquisition techniques.
The effectiveness of product teams
There’s no denying that product teams are the base of any product development process. They address the customers’ pain points, create the product, market it, and continuously improve it over time.
They’re irreplaceable, and we can all agree on that. But every once in a while, they need help and guidance, too.
Forming craft teams around them to help with areas of their expertise can be the boost they need. The impact is even more significant when these craft teams include colleagues and external experts.
Risks of the “island effect” in product teams
Imagine you’re stranded on an island. You feel alone and isolated. It seems like there’s no way out.
That’s how members of product teams sometimes feel, especially when they’re working on different aspects of product development with little to no communication between them.
If you supplement these product teams with craft teams, the island will move closer to land. Now, everyone in the team can teach and learn from each other.
Complementary nature of product and craft teams
We’ve already established that craft and product teams go hand in hand. A product team is often the precursor of a craft team, and the latter can help the former in multiple areas.
- When both work in tandem, you can expect:
- Continuous reskilling throughout the product development process
- A boost in agility and innovation
- Employees feel more engaged in their work
- More focus and clarity on customer-centricity
Benefits for company culture and productivity
The craft-product team duo doesn’t only help employees. It’s equally essential for an organization, especially with regard to employee engagement and overall productivity.
On the one hand, it improves company culture, fostering a sense of belonging and encouraging a growth mindset.
Let’s take two scenarios. In Company A, employees get the assistance and guidance they need from their peers as a part of the craft team.
Employees in Company B are left to fend for themselves. They could struggle to find answers independently, leading to frustration and burnout — not to mention the lack of engagement and productivity.
Which of the two do you think will be more successful? Definitely Company A.
Besides improving company culture, craft and product teams improve productivity. It’s not rocket science. Employees, when appropriately skilled and motivated, will be more productive.
Distinction Between Product and Craft Teams
Don’t make the error of using ”product team” and ”craft team” interchangeably. They’re two distinct teams and shouldn’t be confused.
Product teams are made up of a diverse range of professionals. These employees work together toward a common goal of delivering excellent products to customers.
Craft teams comprise employees with similar professionals. The core purpose of these teams is to promote professional and personal development. While this may be indirectly related to customer needs, it’s not the team’s primary focus.
Think of product teams as the captains of a ship and craft teams as the crew. Product teams are responsible for setting the general course, while craft teams provide the necessary support to ensure smooth sailing.
Strategies to Help Craft Teams Grow
You cannot just tell a few people they’re in a team together and expect them to figure it out from there. A little organization and planning will help craft teams grow and reach their full potential. Here are a few strategies that can help.
Facilitating productive meetings
Craft meetings should be regular and productive. To make them regular, set a time and day of the week when employees should meet.
Let’s say you hold a craft team meeting every two weeks. Have an agenda for the meeting so that it can be productive.
- Who will lead the discussion?
- Which topics will the team discuss?
- How long will the discussion be?
- Will there be a session for feedback?
For example, you can have two craft meetings a month. In the first meeting, members share their challenges. The second meeting can be about discussing potential solutions and how to move forward.
Scheduling regular Craft Chats
A Craft Chart is an informal meeting where employees can discuss successes, challenges, and ideas. It’s also an opportunity for them to share feedback and learn from each other.
You can hold these chats in person or over video conferencing. Make sure you also designate a facilitator who will keep everyone on track and ensure that the conversation is constructive.
Also, keep track of previously discussed topics and make them available for people to return to later. For instance, you can share a summary of the discussed information in the craft team’s Slack channel. It will help avoid repetition, saving everyone’s time.
Fostering individualized professional development
Here’s an uncontested truth: the same approach will not work for everyone. If there was a one-fits-all solution, everyone would find success.
But that’s not the case. Employees in your craft team will also have different learning needs and capabilities.
To foster individual professional development, it’s imperative to encourage people to find their distinct learning styles. Do they learn better through self-guided exploration or with the help of a mentor? Is online learning more effective for them?
The key is to ask everyone what works for them. Then, assist them accordingly.
Organizing book studies for team engagement
What better way to learn than turning your craft team into a small book club? Every month, the team chooses a book and discusses it after everyone reads it.
Sometimes, we all read the same book but come up with different perspectives. Or, one team member may have missed something that another team member has noticed. Forbes says these are some books everyone in your team must read:
- Gettin’ (un)Busy by Garland Vance
- Stop Making Sense by Michael J. Fanuele
- Superfans by Pat Flynn
- Five Stars: The Communication Secrets to Get From Good to Great by Carmine Gallo
- Goals: How to Get the Most Out of Your Life by Zig Ziglar
- Stand for Something by Brian Burkhart
You can also include industry-related books and research papers for your craft team to discuss. For example, if you’re a healthcare SaaS organization, you can recommend books that discuss upcoming digital health trends.
Establishing feedback loops
Taking in information without ever giving out feedback won’t help anyone. Without a two-way flow of information, it’s hard for craft teams to identify any mistakes or gaps in their knowledge.
Craft teams should create a safe space where people can share their ideas and be confident to receive constructive criticism. Team members don’t have to share or get feedback in every meeting. Make it a once-a-month affair.
Utilizing Slack channels for daily communication and resource sharing
Yes, meetings are important. But sometimes, a team member may have something urgent to say or ask. By the time the next meeting arrives, they may have forgotten about it.
Slack channels are perfect to ensure smooth and continuous communication between craft teams. Here, the members can share resources and tools, too.
For example, if a team member comes across a helpful article, they don’t have to wait for the next meeting to share it. Instead, they can post a link in the team’s Slack channel, and everyone can benefit from it immediately.
The team can also socialize in the Slack channel. It will help build familiarity, making everyone more comfortable with each other. Such a solution is beneficial for introverted employees who might have a hard time speaking up in a physical meeting.
Elevating Your Company Culture With Craft Teams
As established, craft teams can be the missing element that turns a mediocre company into an extraordinary one. When professionals with similar interests and backgrounds come together, they can work collectively to bring the best out of each other and the business.
It’s also important to remember that the perfect balance of craft and product teams is required to ensure success. Product teams meet your customers’ demands, keeping them satisfied with your products.
Craft teams can form within product teams to uplift and empower employees. Through mutual learning, professionals in the craft teams can form a more innovative, empowered, engaged, and better-skilled product team. So, it’s a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Want to learn how else you can ensure growth in your organization? Check out our blog for other company growth-related topics.
