The pandemic has pushed countless businesses of all sizes to reexamine the way they operate. For many, that has meant a shift to remote work. While this new reality presents some unique opportunities, it is also not without its challenges. However, with the right approach, businesses can build a highly productive, engaged, and loyal remote team. Here are the strategies that are crucial for successful remote workforce management.

Workforce Management in the Era of Remote Work

Ample Communication Technology

One of the greatest challenges of managing a remote team is maintaining communication and collaboration among employees. When everyone is in the same office, it’s easy to have impromptu meetings or pop into someone’s office for a quick chat. But when everyone is working remotely, there is far less opportunity for spontaneous communication. The best way to combat this is to provide ample communication technology options to your remote team.

This means having a secure, reliable messaging platform for employees to use for spur-of-the-moment, day-to-day communication as well as video conferencing software for more formal meetings. It’s also important to make sure that everyone on the team knows how to use the technology and that there is someone available to help with any technical issues that may arise.

Regular Check-Ins

Regular check-ins are crucial in managing remote employees. These can be done via email, messaging platforms, or video conferencing software and should be conducted on a daily basis, if possible. During these check-ins, business owners and managers should touch base with each employee about their work progress and any challenges they may be facing. This is also a good time to provide feedback and offer any assistance that may be needed.

Clear Expectations

One of the most important things you can do as a manager is to establish clear expectations with your employees. They should know exactly what is expected of them in terms of work hours, deadlines, and deliverables. If you can provide them with a clear roadmap, they will be much more likely to stay on track and meet business requirements.

Social Interaction

While working remotely has many advantages, it can also be very isolating for some people, particularly those not used to working from home. As such, business owners and managers should make an effort to promote social interaction among their team members. This can be done through regular video chats, virtual happy hours, or even just casual conversation during check-ins.

Regular Performance Reviews

Conducting regular performance reviews with remote employees helps ensure that everyone is meeting expectations and that any issues are addressed in a timely manner. These reviews can be conducted monthly or quarterly and should include both a review of recent work as well as goals for the future.

Performance reviews provide an opportunity for employees to get feedback on their work as well as receive recognition for their successes. They also give business owners and managers an opportunity to identify areas where employees may need additional support or training.

While remote work brings about new challenges for managers, these strategies can help. And with the right technologies and systems, managers can effectively oversee their remote employees just as well as an in-office team. Do you need help setting your remote team up for success? Contact us at Project Genetics today for a free 30-minute introductory call!

There are many components to a successful project recovery plan that need to be implemented in order to successfully get a project back on track. Here are some questions you should be able to answer when developing your recovery plan.

6 Questions That Should Be Answered in a Project Recovery Plan

1. Is Recovery Necessary?

Before beginning to plan out your steps to recover a project, it can be worth examining whether or not the project is worth recovering in the first place. It may be that the goal of the project is no longer valid or the costs of recovery outweigh the value of the project to the point that recovery isn’t feasible. Be sure to have a clear vision of how the project will be beneficial before undergoing efforts to recover it.

2. What Is the Project’s Scope?

Having clearly defined goals and sticking to them is essential for the success of a project. However, the scope of a project can often change over time as more people with different visions become involved in the project. Try to limit this wherever possible by figuring out what the original goal of the project was and sticking to that goal in all your efforts.

3. Who Is Involved in the Project?

As part of understanding the scope of a project, it’s important to determine exactly which members of your team will be involved in the recovery process. Developing an organization chart with clearly-defined hierarchies of decision-making can be a useful exercise to this end. Clearly defining who is involved in a project will help to maintain clear and consistent messaging for the entire team.

4. What Milestones Will Success Be Measured By?

Knowing what benchmarks you’ll measure the success of a project with is essential to monitoring the success of a project over time. Ask yourself what milestones along the way to the project’s goal you’ll look for over the course of the project. This will give you the ability to reevaluate strategies as you go depending on whether or not you’re reaching these milestones.

5. What Extra Resources Should Be Devoted to Recovery?

When a project has gotten away from its initial plan, you will usually need to dedicate additional resources to get it back on track. That may require changing schedules or assigning overtime to workers involved in the project. Figure out what resources you have available to devote to a project before getting recovery underway.

6. Is External Help Necessary?

In many cases, bringing in outside resources will help you recover your project successfully. Outsourcing work involved in the project can help reduce the workload on your team. Working with project implementation professionals can also help you define your plan clearly and get additional resources to help achieve your project’s goals.

Our team leads the field in project implementation and recovery, and we can put our expertise to use in helping your business succeed in all its project goals. Reach out to Project Genetics today and learn how we can help your business succeed to its fullest potential!

When you’re eager to begin a project, it can be challenging not to leap straight into the execution phase. Though planning may not hold the same satisfaction as making moves, you’ll be glad you accounted for any ongoing ERP implementation and created a well-outlined charter. The initiation phase is the foundation of your project, so taking the time to get a solid start will benefit your project’s future success.

5 Best Practices for a Successful Project Initiation Phase

1. Know Your Project’s “Why”

This question may seem overly philosophical, but it’s critical to the success of your project. Your project’s “why” determines whether your project is worth completing. To establish it, you’ll need to answer three questions.

First, what is the project’s goal? Also, what are the reasons this project should be completed now? Finally, what business benefits are you expecting to receive from this action? Once you answer these questions, the “why” of the project should be clear.

2. Determine The Deliverables

Knowing your goals and objectives is essential, but you’ll want to go further and break them down into concrete deliverables. Once the project is underway, deliverables are the targeted result.

Depending on the project, it could be something like implementing a new software system, closing a specific number of contracts, or constructing new facilities. Knowing the deliverables you want from the project allows you to establish the task breakdown necessary to achieve your desired outcome.

3. Take ERP Implementation Into Account

Implementing an enterprise resource planning system into your business will affect all departments. Since implementation can take anywhere from a few months to a year, depending on the changes occurring, you’ll want to account for it when planning your project’s timeline. A well-planned, relatively simple implementation most likely won’t slow progress on your project, but one that is chaotic or poorly designed will use up employee bandwidth.

However, having an enterprise resource planning system implementation underway doesn’t mean you need to hold off on starting new projects; that would be inefficient. Instead, you’ll want to consider any significant changes occurring in the company when planning your project so that you are prepared for any potential hangups.

4. Establish and Document Major Stakeholders

As stakeholders will have significant sway over project decisions, all the necessary parties must agree on them. Then you will want to decide how many stakeholders are needed to make a decision and the role each stakeholder will have in the project.

Finally, since maintaining stakeholder engagement is challenging during most projects, you’ll want to have each stakeholder sign off on their commitments. This step can prevent you from running into issues or confusion down the road, as each stakeholder will be aware of their responsibilities from the start.

5. Craft the Charter

The project charter is your guideline to success—the project’s “why,” the deliverables––and stakeholder roles will be listed in this document. You’ll also want to have team structures outlined and the contact info for core people participating in the project.

Project constraints, risks, and assumptions will also be included. The charter serves as a comprehensive overview of the project and allows the project to be commissioned. Charter creation is a vital step since this document will serve as a guidebook throughout the project.

When your company needs project solutions, our team is here to help. At Project Genetics, we bring the no-nonsense guidance you need during high-stakes situations like mergers and acquisitions. Work with people as passionate about your business as you are; contact Project Genetics and find out how our experienced leadership team can help you.

While there are many reasons for Mergers and acquisitions (M&A), one thing is for sure – it can oftentimes lead to the need for a project recovery plan. This is because M&As can often disrupt normal business operations and create chaos within an organization. If you are responsible for leading the recovery efforts in the aftermath of an M&A, then you’ll want to read on!

Why Mergers and Acquisitions May Require You to Redesign Your Approach to Project Recovery

To Avoid Duplication of Effort and Resources

One area that is often affected by M&A is project management. In many cases, each company will have its own project management system in place. This can lead to confusion and inefficiency as employees attempt to coordinate between two different systems. In some cases, it may be necessary to shift to a new enterprise project management system that allows smooth integration with your ERP. This can help to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure that projects are completed efficiently.

To Ensure That the New Company Culture Is Embraced by All Employees

There are a lot of moving parts during M&A, and it’s essential to make sure that your approach to projects takes into account the new company culture. In some cases, you may need to redesign your entire approach. For example, if the new company is more hierarchical, you’ll need to make sure that your project management processes and procedures reflect that. If the new company is more collaborative, you’ll need to update your processes accordingly.

The key is to make sure that your approach is aligned with the new company culture. By doing so, you can ensure that all employees feel comfortable, included, and embraced in the new company culture.

To Maintain Continuity of Operations

In order to maintain continuity of operations during a merger or acquisition, it is essential to take into consideration all types of project operations that may be affected. For example, if two companies are merging their IT systems, then the project management approach to recovering the IT system must be designed to account for this change.

The efforts may include things like designing a new system architecture or redesigning the process for how data is migrated from one system to another. Other examples of project operations that must be considered include changes to manufacturing processes, financial systems, sales and marketing, as well as HR systems.

To Protect the Interests of Shareholders

In any organization, shareholders are the ultimate owners and have a vested interest in the success of the company. They provide the capital that allows businesses to grow and expand, and they expect a return on their investment. As such, it is essential that companies take into account the interests of shareholders when making decisions during and after M&A.

As you can see, M&A can be a tricky process, especially when it comes to the sustainability of projects. However, if you are prepared for the challenges and have a solid plan in place for recovery, you can make the transition as smooth as possible. Contact us today at Project Genetics and let us help you redesign your recovery strategy so that your next big move goes off without a hitch.

ERP implementation, also known as enterprise resource planning implementation, helps businesses streamline their operations, promotes organization, and allows them to benefit from the automatic sharing of information in real-time. There are many benefits to implementing this system into a business, including overall cost reduction and increased efficiency among systems and employees. Still, in implementing ERP, you must avoid some of the most common mistakes people make during this process to ensure ultimate success.

The Three Biggest Mistakes People Make With ERP Implementation

1. Not Utilizing the Vendors

The vendor that implements your ERP system has experienced employees who know everything about the new system. Many people choose to white-knuckle their way through difficulties learning the system and don’t reach out to the vendor to ask questions or get help.

As a result, the learning curve takes even longer, and employees’ workdays are marked by frustration. This is unnecessary because your vendor is an essential resource that you need to utilize, especially during the transition period. Always reach out to your vendor with questions so you can learn the system, understand the ins and outs of how it works, and learn it quickly so you can benefit from everything your new ERP system has to offer.

2. Not Implementing a Training Protocol for Employees

The purpose of an ERP system is to streamline operations to make everything more efficient, including the employees’ roles. However, introducing any new system to employees will temporarily turn their work lives upside down. In the case of ERP, change is a good thing and will eventually make work-life easier. Still, without implementing the proper training protocols and planning for the learning curve, employees will feel frustrated, confused, and overwhelmed by the sudden change.

It’s important that before implementing this system, you give your employees advanced notice of the coming changes, allot time for the learning curve, and provide the resources and training they need to learn the new system. Then, they too can benefit from how the ERP system streamlines their tasks and workloads as quickly as possible.

3. Not Planning for the Company’s Needs

There are different ERP systems, so you must have someone with expertise who can evaluate your needs and implement the right system. That individual should also be able to evaluate your processes so that once the system is implemented, employees simply need to learn how to use it and then train others, including potential new employees, as needed.

The planning stage is imperative for a successful ERP system, so when you have an expert who can do the preparation and planning for you, you can ensure a simple and effective transition.

If your company needs help streamlining projects to ensure a profitable and successful outcome, our experts can help. At Project Genetics, we take a no-nonsense approach to project management and specialize in helping our client’s projects succeed. If you want to streamline your project management division, we can help. Contact us today at Project Genetics to learn more about our project solutions, technology solutions, and partner solutions that can help your company thrive and succeed.

Coming up with ideas for your business is one thing, but executing those ideas involves challenges of coordinating multiple teams in an effective way. Here are some common project delivery issues that you need to keep in mind when developing a strategy for your business.

The 6 Biggest Challenges to Successful Project Delivery

1. Unclear Goals and Objectives

If the endgame of a project is unclear to the teams involved in executing it, there won’t be a unified vision for people to work towards. This will lead to confusion and a lack of cohesion between team members, impacting the quality of the results you get. Giving everyone an easily-understood goal right from the start of the project helps to keep everybody on the same page.

2. Scope and Budget Creep

Hand-in-hand with the issue of unclear project objectives is the common problem of scope creep. This refers to when the intended goals of a project begin to become broader over time as a result of factors that weren’t taken into account when goals were being set, often leading to a project going over budget. Planning ahead of time to clearly define the scope of a project is essential to avoid these issues.

3. Poor Communication

Very few worthwhile projects can be completed by a single individual, especially in the business world. That’s why coordination and collaboration between and within different teams involved in a project is essential. Providing the right communication infrastructure for your workforce will allow for improved teamwork, fewer misunderstandings, and a more cohesive approach to the project.

4. Conflict Between Team Members

Another aspect of communication issues that can impact a project, conflict within the team carrying out the project can also lead to negative results. This conflict is only natural at times, as projects are important to the people who work so hard on them. Good leadership is required to resolve disputes in a fruitful way, leading to a better end result that takes everybody’s feedback into account.

5. Lack of Contingency Plans

No matter how thorough and well thought-out the plan behind a project is, there are inevitably going to be unexpected variables that come up. Being prepared for these circumstances before they arise will help you resolve issues in a calm manner with no unnecessary panic involved. Developing plans for various ‘what-if’ scenarios in advance will help give your project the flexibility it needs to succeed.

6. Deadline Issues

One often-overlooked factor in the success or failure of a project is the deadline given for the project. A lax deadline will cause a project to fall on the backburner, while an impractically short deadline will lead to corners being cut and substandard results. Figuring out realistic time management for your projects will allow you to give your teams exactly the amount of time they need to thrive while still maintaining high efficiency.

The project implementation tools that we offer will give you everything you need to tackle these issues and any other challenge carrying out your project entails. Contact Project Genetics and see how our management consulting services can benefit your business!