T-shaped employees – how can they transform a company?

The growth and development we are all experiencing in these fast and chaotic times touch all aspects of our lives. The job market is more competitive than ever and changing so quickly that it's challenging to keep up with current expectations.

Due to vast technological advances and progress being made non-stop in that field, it's difficult to locate 'the hottest' job, as no position is stable in that matter. What can be said, however, is that there is a relatively new 'trend' that influences the employability. That is more frequent looking for T-shaped employees by HR departments. What benefits do employers see in this type of employees? We will answer in the article below.

T-shaped employees – who are they?

There is a growing interest in T-shaped employees. But, what does a T-shaped employee mean? It describes the spectrum of abilities that a person possesses.

To explain it, let's divide the letter "T" into two parts – "I" part and horizontal part.

The "I" part is a core, which represents the area in which one is an expert and has vast knowledge regarding it. That's usually because of their educational background and professional experience.

The horizontal part represents abilities that go beyond their area of expertise. Such skills might be acquired independently by doing some reading, taking part in workshops, or by any other suitable means.

Employee-oriented job market

Additionally, the job market is changing from employer-oriented to employee-oriented. This means that now it's a job for the employers to find and convince their potential employees.

By offering training and showing that you care about personal development and extending their skills beyond one area, you are becoming a much more attractive workplace that is employee-oriented. It will be much easier to draw skilled and intelligent people who want to grow and develop and probably will be an excellent addition to the company.

3 benefits of T-shaped employees

1. The possibility to incorporate them into versatile projects

Team members that are considered I-shaped might have trouble comprehending aspects that go beyond their expertise. Meaning that the process of introducing them to projects in different fields would be much more energy and time-consuming.

It's easier to incorporate T-shaped employees to various projects, as they have some ground knowledge about other areas.

Putting it shortly, T-shaped team members can work on multiple projects, making them versatile.

2. Smooth team cooperation

When an entire team works on a project, it usually means that there are few different professionals, each with a separate task. When these people have basic knowledge regarding their colleagues' areas of expertise, they already have a better ground for clear communication. These employees understand where other people's ideas come from or why some particular tasks are time-consuming for them.

A team of T-shaped employees guarantees to have smooth and easy team communication.

In conclusion, such people have knowledge regarding many fields and thus can understand other experts. Additionally, there is less tension and misunderstandings among co-workers.

3. Better accomplishments with smaller energy required

T-shaped people are experts on their own, but they also have just enough knowledge to communicate flawlessly with other experts.

This will increase the number of projects that they can work on effectively and will vastly reduce the time of introducing them to such projects. That means that there is no need for additional training when incorporating them into new projects. In short, better results with lesser energy.

Summary

In conclusion, there is no downside to having T-shaped employees. A team of T-shaped co-workers cooperates better because of a smaller amount of misunderstandings. Such people can work on multiple projects and offer a non-standard approach to the means of work or the project itself. That means, your company will avoid wasting time and engaging additional employees because one employee will be able to perform various tasks.

What can you do in addition to hiring T-shaped people in the aspect of their skills and expertise? It's also beneficial to offer workshops and training to fuel the personal development of your current employees. By such means, you will not only show your current employees that you care about their professional growth but also will become a more attractive workplace. As a result, you will draw skilled and intelligent employees.