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How High-Performance Companies Are Breaking Critical Work Down into Projects
How High-Performance Companies Are Breaking Critical Work Down into Projects
Brenda Do
September 25, 2019
9 Min Read
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Did you know agility is the new efficiency? Chances are, your company follows a
traditional work model based on hierarchical roles. Although the model worked for
decades, it’s too slow and cumbersome for today’s business needs. That old model
was designed during the Industrial Age when people worked primarily in factories
and strived for efficiency. Today’s new work model focuses on agility.

Companies need more agility because in our digital world, disruption is an everyday
threat. The new business environment requires companies learn faster and adapt
swiftly to change, while supporting the shifting demands of their workforce.

Quote about forward-thinking companies

To function with higher agility, speed, and adaptability, companies are getting
work done through flexible project teams. This shift requires companies…

Focus on skills, not roles

Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer of Netflix, suggests seeing talent “in
terms of fungible, flexible, agile groups of people that come together, then
disband. Then come together in another group and disband again.”

McCord says to look past roles and see each worker as “different cards in your
deck.” Then create processes that:

Look at your employees and contingent workers to identify all the cards (talent)
you have in your deck.
Figure out what cards you need for the game you’re playing. Know what talent you
need and at what skill level to get the work done.
Deeply understand what you’re trying to do, then rearrange the teams and the talent
to do it.
Project teams can be made up of employees or contingent workers. Growing in
popularity are hybrid teams where employees perform the ongoing work that moves
your company forward. And flexible talent provide project-based work requiring
specialized skills. Hybrid teams function in an agile way by focusing on assembling
the right skills for a project.

Do whatever it takes to create your ideal deck of players. “If you’re going to
build something that has a whole bunch of incremental builds in it, then
freelancers might be a critically important part,” says McCord.

Letting go of limitations
Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends survey show 88% of companies believe it’s
important to redesign their work model, but only 11% of companies know how to do
it. When tackling a large project, it can be difficult to know how to break it down
enough to understand what talent you need, at what skill level, and at what phase
in the project.

When this happens, you may want to add a program consultant or project manager to
your deck of required talent. As UCLA learned, program consultants not only keep
the project on schedule, they can also help raise the project’s result.

If you utilize a Freelancer Management System (FMS) or other contingent workforce

solution, it may provide advisors. Such as how Upwork Enterprise clients can
utilize Talent Services, who can help staff find talent faster, coordinate and plan
projects, and more.

The resources are out there to help you work with more speed and agility. What
companies are realizing is by breaking work down into flexible project teams,
companies remove preconceived limitations. You’ll see how much more your current
staff can produce and at what higher level they can innovate.