Cross-functional teams: The new IT imperative

Cross-functional teams that blend IT and business professionals are nothing new, but now they have become almost a mandate.

At Sun Life, such teams are referred to as “agile teams,’’ and CIO Laura Money believes they are “much more productive and can make things happen faster.” Not only that, but because these teams include consumers of the service being developed, “we notice we get a lot more impact and more value for the client when teams work that way,” she says.

The pandemic provided a reality check that the world needed to become more digital and that meant tech and business strategies needed to merge, she says, resulting in increased reliance on cross-functional teams. No longer was it feasible for IT to build something and “throw technology over the fence” and then have the business say that’s not what it needs, Money notes. “It doesn’t make sense given how tightly technology is tied to the business moving forward with their strategic agenda.”

Going cross-functional also gives organizations an edge in hiring and retention, Money maintains. “If you want the talent, you have to work this way,” she says. “People now feel it’s more productive and they feel it’s part of something important when they are working on small teams … [young] people don’t want to work in the waterfall way.”

Gartner also believes cross-functional teams are the future. By 2024, the research firm predicts 30% of corporate teams will be without a boss due to the self-directed and hybrid nature of work. Doing so will make teams more efficient, the firm contends, as evidenced by the shift during the pandemic to peer-to-peer decision-making to save time and reduce bottlenecks. 

Sun Life