CTO Guide: Fifteen Qualities to Seek When Building Your Tech Team

Building a strong technology team to accomplish your technology vision means finding talents with various skills while fighting an uphill battle against tech talent shortage. 

Some companies focus on candidates with broad expertise, whereas others prefer to shore up their teams with rare skill sets that bring diverse viewpoints to the table – the foundation of success. 

This post will look at the must-have qualities on your tech team, as seen by Forbes Technology Council. 

Good team qualities 

Of all the skills you need to have on your tech team, being an effective team player is quintessential. No matter what field the candidate comes from, working in a team is key to faring well in their role. Hiring those who thrive in a team environment will make your project run smoothly.   

A balance of business acumen and hard skills 

CTOs believe that a successful candidate has both tech expertise and business acumen. Prioritizing tech skills in your search, you might deprive your company of organizational skills – critical to running an IT company, project, or department. 

Read also: A Guide to New Employee Onboarding

Diverse software engineering skills 

As an initial hire, it’s recommended to look for a candidate with strong software architecture skills, as well as the ability to build and coordinate a cross-functional team. This candidate usually has an eye for the strengths and weaknesses of the solution. 

Enterprise architecture specialist

A business analyst with EA expertise is a great combination that ensures the project’s success. CTOs believe that technology departments require forging close-knit relationships with other business elements. Someone who has BA and EA expertise can bridge the gaps between tech and other units, communicate feedback and suggestion improvements to the stakeholders, and play a key role in forming beneficial investment strategies. 

Well-versed in cloud computing 

The cloud is part of many today’s technologies. Knowing its capabilities and how it works is an absolute must-have quality to include to your team. One more vital skill is understanding the standards of cybersecurity. Finally, if there is such a need, hire someone with expertise in migration from a legacy stack to a newer one. 

Design skills 

UX/UI skills are vital for building a product that would satisfy the most demanding users. That’s why specialists that uphold a user-centric approach at every step of the process has never been more essential.  

Online education or gaming experience

Since many tech companies are transitioning to remote, we can see a slump in hiring. Right now could be the right time to tap into education or gaming sectors that are currently on the rise. It benefits your team when its members can lap up recent trends and adjust to them. 

A product-focus mindset

The first step of any project is outlining the user story. That is a critical moment that defines if the project is going to evolve in the right direction. Laying the foundation for the future product can be done by someone with product development experience, such as a seasoned product leader. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) experience 

AI is the new frontier for businesses, making a lot of sense for companies to engage data analytics, data engineers, and machine learning engineers. CTOs emphasize that in the shortest time horizon, these technologies will transform the world. In some scenarios, interweaving AI can even help discover new business models. Even if that’s not the case with you, AI is still the ripple power affecting an entire businesses’ landscape. 

An inquisitive mind

Fast learners on your team can be the driving force who can adapt to the market’s constant changes. In a way, having such a capability can be more valuable than the number of completed projects in the portfolio. If you can engage people who are good at improvising and always ask questions – the sky’s the limit. 

Cybersecurity 

Many companies are still figuring out the challenges, policies, and issues imposed by remote work. Today, cybersecurity skills are a must to have for any company. Someone in this role needs to take over the protection of your internal systems and network from hacking and data theft. With all the IoT devices and unprotected networks used by employees at home, your company can be at risk. 

Read also: Transition to WFH: The Cost of Security

A good communicator 

Many roles lay at the intersection of business and technology. To bridge these two aspects of business, a candidate needs solid communication skills, industry knowledge, and analytical skills. Such a person will translate technology into the business sphere to help make better decisions. 

DevOps 

DevOps helps organizations create a smooth development flow at all SDLC stages while increasing security, stability, and productivity. That is especially important for the distributed environment. Having a strong DevOps skillset on the team will ensure an excellent experience when using your product. 

Resilience

The ability to navigate adversities is an important quality to look for in a candidate. Positive experience in the past is no guarantee of future results. Sometimes you are thrown off the tracks. How candidates handle setbacks shows their commitment to what they do and willingness to learn from mistakes. 

Bridge your team’s skill gap 

CTOs need to identify what skills the team is missing. When building a team from the ground up, they need to take a good look at the organization’s environment. Hiring for an existing team, conducting a skill gap analysis will help land the best suiting candidates.  

NCube is the Way to Overcome the Software Developer Talent Shortage

We at NCube will assist you in bridging your tech talent gap. Tech talent might be scant in your region – we help you build your own remote tech team in Ukraine. Our teams support critical projects of CrossEngage, Flighright, Encore, FRST, and many more. NCube will build you the right team for you to solve your software development tasks.