Blended teams are the future of organizations
The business world has changed significantly in recent years. Especially in the area of talent management, a new wind is blowing – out of necessity. The days of a fixed team of internal employees seem to be definitively over. In many sectors, there are structurally more vacancies than there are candidates. As a result, many companies fail to fill their vacancies. At Authority, they are therefore opting for a completely different approach: blended teams of internal and external employees.
“Companies must dare to face the truth,” says Alexander Schmitt, business manager at Authority. “The classic organization with only salaried people no longer offers a future. Talent is scarce … and yet many companies continue to stubbornly and fruitlessly search for salaried employees to hire. In addition, more and more people, are looking for flexible forms of work that offer variety and freedom. This is difficult within a traditional organization. The rising number of start-up self-employed and freelancers says it all.”
“We see more and more companies already using freelancers, but those assignments are usually ad hoc and do not lead to a structural form of collaboration. In a blended team, freelancers and externals are fully part of the team, but the employment contract is irrelevant. They are and will be as involved as team members who are on the internal payroll.”
Why Authority works with blended teams
“The so-called war for talent is real, especially in the search for digital marketing profiles,” Alexander said. “The demand is much greater than the supply. Many people claim to be marketers, but the difference in quality and expertise is huge. Moreover, there are so many specific marketing disciplines that no single marketer can be an expert in all areas. Yet many companies are still looking for a permanent marketer who must be able to do everything, the so-called “white raven.” That is an outdated way of thinking.”
“At Authority, we work with experienced marketing experts in their field,” Alexander explains. “Some are on our payroll, others work as freelancers or independent consultants. For each project, we assemble a team with exactly the expertise and skills needed to deliver top-notch results. In addition, each team member does exactly what they love to do most, which makes them extra motivated. Each freelancer benefits from successfully completing the assignment. Wasting time and half-hearted work are usually not in their dictionary. That’s a difference from marketing agencies that have mostly internal employees. They want to keep their people on the job as much as possible, which means that these also work outside their areas of expertise and, interest. That often has a negative effect on results.”
“HR must come from the business”
“Thanks to our own blended organization – practice what you preach – we can offer our clients three different models,” Alexander says. First, we are a fully equipped marketing agency with all the expertise on board. This allows us to help organizations in every step of their marketing journey, from strategy to execution and follow-up. We also work as a consulting partner, supporting and advising our clients’ internal marketers in various areas. Finally, we also build successful marketing teams for our clients. Because we are purebred marketers ourselves, we know what marketing profiles you need as a company.”
“We strongly believe that a solid foundation in the business (i.e. marketing) is the key to success in building (digital) marketing teams. We find that more and more companies are open to a new organizational model with blended teams, but lack the skills and time to implement it themselves. That’s where Authority comes in. We position ourselves as a partner to our clients … like an architect. And just as architects of houses have knowledge of building styles and materials, we have experience in building and managing internal, external AND blended marketing teams. “
The future of talent management?
So should we all massively play the card of blended teams? “The answer is more nuanced than that,” Alexander said. “There are other solutions to finding the right employees. For example, some people are still more comfortable in a permanent job with one company. Keeping employees working longer and recruiting internationally can also be a solution. The trick is to combine all possibilities into the right mix for your company. We are absolutely convinced that blended teams will provide an answer to the tight labor market in the near future.”
This article was written for Alexander Schmitt, business manager of Authority.
Alexander already has 20 years of experience in digitizing businesses and optimizing various eCommerce platforms.
