Meet the Team Cognira Series
With the advancement of technology and normalization of remote-work, more and more companies are adopting a global team mindset. Though it may seem as simple as online communication and collaboration, there are a lot of other moving parts to ensure success of the team and the company. At Cognira, we have the pleasure of having a global team that resides in the United States, Tunisia, and France.
In our sixth installment of the Meet the Team series, Elias Bouricha, VP General Manager, shares his experience and knowledge of building a successful global team.
Meet Elias
Like many leaders at Cognira, Elias has a passion for learning and education. He received his engineering degree at ESTP Paris, and his masters in optimization research at IAE France.
After many years spent in France, Elias relocated back to Tunis, Tunisia to give back to his country and pursued a career in the telecommunication and electronic manufacturing industry. While working, he found an interest in management and eventually received his MBA in financial management services.
With 1 undergraduate degree and 2 masters degrees under his belt, Elias had a desire to build his own business that would serve to help foregin companies start businesses in Tunis. This sparked a relationship with Predictix, owned by Hatem Sellami, who encouraged Elias to be their Tunisia Branch General Manager and help build a successful global team. Since then, Elias has had the opportunity to manage teams in Tunisia for Infor, and now of course, Cognira.
Outside of his day job, Elias has the pleasure of being owner and board member of his family business franchise of french chocolate “Jeff De Bruges” in Tunisia.
Global teams exist everywhere
Many companies today have adopted a global team mindset. In fact, Harvard Business School found that 89% of corporate employees work on at least one global team, and 62% have colleagues from three or more cultures. Yet, only 18% of multinational corporations feel they have a strong leadership to meet future business challenges. (learn more here).
Though technology has given us the opportunity to collaborate globally, it does not mean it will be successful. A company has to be confident in owning the complexities and challenges of managing a multicultural team. Throughout this article, we provide 4 tips on how to build a successful global team!
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Effectively recruit the right candidates:
Hiring for a position in a different country can be challenging if you are doing it yourself. You may not know where to advertise, what qualifications match with the job description, miss out on career fairs, and most importantly, struggle with the timezone difference. A local leader has the knowledge and tools needed to find the right candidates for your company. Additionally, they have better eyes to see if the candidate will fit in culturally and ensure that they’re not just hiring good talent, but also open minded individuals.
- Prevent operational issues from going unnoticed:
We like to think that everyone in a company has a voice. However, without local support, many operational issues may go unnoticed by upper management due to not being in the flesh. A local leader has the opportunity to talk face-to-face with the team, understanding their needs and concerns, and is able to relay it back to leadership.
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Serve as a bridge between two different countries:
Running a global team isn’t easy, making communication a challenge. A local leader serves as a bridge between two different countries, providing context when there is confusion or a need for clarity.
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2. Encourage cross-office communication
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Set-up a ‘meet your colleagues’ forum:
It doesn’t need to be fancy, just a shared forum of all the team members at your company listed with their email address and office location. Then, it’s up to leadership to encourage team members to set up a quick meeting with new (or old) colleagues to get to know each other!
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Host fun team meetings:
Whether weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly, it’s important for the team to get together that isn’t a work meeting. For example, you can kick off your meetings with a fun trivia challenge, and then chat about recent birthdays, work anniversaries, new hires, etc. Something fun we do at Cognira is to finish off our meetings with a learn & share on a topic either related to Cognira, work tips & tricks, technology, and more.
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Plan to meet in-person:
While COVID-19 has put restrictions on global travel, getting to meet your team in-person can create a greater connection than online communication can.
3. Create shared values while respecting different cultures
It’s important for team members to have shared values, regardless of cultural differences. When we are able to connect with one another, we not only understand each other better, but we create a positive workplace culture.
A few ways to create shared values:
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Leverage your global company vision:
Having a strong company vision that your employees not only agree with, but are passionate about is crucial. It is vital to hire team members that agree with the foundation of the company before creating shared values as a team.
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Invest in a mentorship program:
A mentorship program can give both new and tenured employees the opportunity to connect and learn about each other, especially when both reside in different offices. This overall can foster more meaningful conversations on team projects.
4. Plan, plan, plan
- Assign local team leads to keep the lights on when leadership is not online.
- Work around each other’s time zones (and respect them). If you need something from a global team member, make sure you plan to meet with them during their office hours.
