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!

The success of your business doesn’t happen by chance. It requires precise planning and having the right people in the right positions working to make those goals come to fruition. The world we live in is technologically advanced, and that’s not going to change any time soon. To ensure your business is using technology to its advantage, it’s important to understand why having technical project management is so important.

The Importance of Technical Project Management

The people you hire to work for your company bring a specific set of expertise that is invaluable, but when it comes to technology, this is a field that is changing rapidly. Not everyone in your company is going to have the skills and experience necessary to keep your business operating optimally. They could learn, but how much time and effort is that going to take? Don’t you need them focused on the job you hired them for?

If you and your employees aren’t on top of the latest developments, your business might be falling behind. You have to be flexible and adaptable to make it in the ever-evolving world of business. When it comes to the importance of project management and technology and what it can do for you, here are some questions you need to consider:

Do You Have Experience With Hardware and Software Installation?

It takes more than just having computers in your office building to keep your company running. You need the right programs and systems to take care of business. If you don’t know what those are (or how they may change over time), then you might find yourself lagging behind your competition.

Do You Know How to Get Your Business in Front of Customers Online?

Not only do you need the right technology to keep your business running efficiently, but you also need to use technology to attract and retain customers. It’s not enough to have a website online anymore: you need a presence. With the right project management, finding and keeping customers will be a breeze.

Are You Familiar With Trends and Upcoming Changes in Technology?

Technology continues to advance, and if you aren’t keeping up with the latest trends and changes, you’re getting left behind. You have a lot on your plate when it comes to your responsibilities at work, and trying to stay on top of technological advancements is a full-time job.

With the right project management for technology, your business will stay on top of the latest technology trends and changes to keep you relevant, and you won’t have to add more tasks and duties to your plate or anyone else’s. You and your employees will be able to focus on what you do best.

Technology has been both a blessing and a curse when it comes to your business. In many ways, it has made it easier to get your product offerings in front of customers, but since it changes so rapidly, without the right expertise and education, keeping up can be challenging. Finding the right technical project management is essential, and if you’re ready to work with the best, contact Project Genetics today.

When it comes to a workforce management system, the goal is efficiency. Efficiency and organization go hand in hand and together help lead a business towards success. WFM is a crucial component for many businesses, which is why WFM systems produce such incredible results. However, it’s essential that companies who implement these systems also remain flexible to maintain efficiency when dealing with schedules, people, data, and workflow.

How To Stay Flexible and Efficient When It Comes to Your Workforce Management

Consider the Human Element

Even after implementing a system designed to streamline business operations, schedules, data, and employees, it’s important that you remain flexible because, at the end of the day, you are still dealing with people, not robots. For example, even with seemingly perfect planning, there may be times when employees aren’t able to cover certain shifts, resulting in delays, which may cause temporary frustration.

Knowing this potential situation in advance and understanding that your technology is still managing human beings will allow you to pivot, redirect, and adjust as needed without feeling like the system has failed you or that you’ve failed in your role managing the system.

Employ the Right Overseers

The best way to ensure efficiency in this realm of your business is to find the right employee or employees to run or oversee your WFM system. A skilled, experienced, detail-oriented individual with a background in WFM systems will be able to allocate the right people at the right time to fill the necessary roles and meet the deadlines.

They will also understand the human element, create schedules and shifts that take the lives of the employees into account, and ensure that no one is overworking to the point that it’s negatively impacting their ability to produce results. Doing so will help ensure organization, a streamlined process, and overall business success.

Hire a Consultant

If your business needs a WFM system to ensure the successful outcome of one or more projects, the best way to ensure that your project is successful, stays within the budget parameters, and meets deadlines is by hiring consultants who specialize in WFM systems. A qualified consultant specializing in this aspect of business will take all of the guesswork out of this process for you and ensure that your project is successful.

Both smaller and larger businesses can benefit from hiring a consultant to handle this aspect of their business because they can trust that the management of that project, from the scheduling to the budget and everything in between, will be carefully monitored and directed in such a way that only leads to a positive and profitable and successful outcome.

At Project Genetics, we know that a successful outcome begins with a proven process. We understand the varying needs of larger and smaller businesses and different project demands. Whether you’re walking through a merger or acquisition or your project requires a quick turnaround, our team can help ensure flexibility and efficiency. Contact us today at Project Genetics to learn more about our WFM experience and how it can transform your next project and promote the ultimate success of your business.

Any business is only as good as its ability to execute its goals and objectives. One of the key components of successful execution is an effective enterprise project management system. But what happens when your current project management system isn’t cutting it? If you’re experiencing any of the following signs, it may be time to rethink your system.

4 Signs It’s Time to Rethink Your Enterprise Project Management System

1. Inefficiencies Working Cross-Department

In any large organization, it’s inevitable that departments will need to work together on projects from time to time. However, when inefficiencies start to crop up in the way that these departments communicate and collaborate, it’s a sign that something is wrong with the current project management system.

In order to avoid these problems, it’s crucial to have a system in place that is designed for cross-departmental collaboration. An effective system will make it easy for team members to stay informed about the latest developments on a project, share files and documents, and coordinate their efforts.

2. Downtime

With the increase in data processing and storage needs, the proliferation of new devices and platforms, and the rise of cloud-based applications, enterprises are finding that their project management systems are struggling to keep up. This is leading to increased downtime, which can have a serious impact on productivity and profitability.

When businesses are faced with these challenges, it’s time to rethink their management systems. By switching to a system that is designed for the modern business landscape, enterprises can avoid the costly delays and disruptions that can occur when critical information is scattered across different departments or disparate systems.

3. Multiple Delivery Methodologies

There are a number of reasons why multiple delivery methodologies have become more prevalent in recent years. First, the nature of work has changed. Projects are now more likely to be distributed across multiple locations and involve a greater degree of collaboration. Second, the pace of change has increased. Projects need to be completed faster and there is less time for planning and reporting the traditional way.

The result of all this is that executives and project managers are under increasing pressure to deliver results. One way to meet this challenge is to adopt a system that can support multiple delivery methodologies.

4. Siloed Teams

In today’s business landscape, the old model of siloed teams with little to no cross-functionality is no longer viable. With the rapid pace of change and the ever-increasing complexity of projects, businesses need a more holistic, collaborative approach to keep up with the competition.

By breaking down silos and encouraging cross-functional collaboration, businesses can tap into the collective knowledge and expertise of their employees. This will lead to improved project execution, increased problem-solving abilities, and overall better business results.

It can be difficult to know when it’s time to switch project management systems, but if you’re experiencing any of the four signs above, you need to make a change. Contact us today at Project Genetics to learn more about our project implementation solutions and how we can help your business make the switch to a better system that will save you time and money in the long run.

Do your projects get bogged down by constant revisions? Do your teams regularly fail to meet project deadlines or beg for extensions? Do projects go over budget more often than you’d like? If you answered yes to any of those questions, it might be time to reevaluate your project workflow. How can you find the thorns in your project’s side? Consider some of the common areas where problems arise and how PMO methodology implementation can solve your problems.

How to Identify the Weak Spots in Your Project Workflow

Where Do Delays Occur Without PMO Methodology?

It’s vital to track your projects: you should know whose court the ball is in at all times. Since projects involve multiple departments, it’s possible that one department, in particular, is causing most of your problems. Track your projects and pay attention to delays. Log those delays by recording when a deliverable was due, whose responsibility it was, and which department failed to meet its deadline. It won’t take you long to spot patterns.

Once you have a clear idea of where delays are coming from, zero in on the department that’s lagging the most. Talk to project leaders in that department to analyze the situation. A common problem with projects is that employees have other responsibilities, so they may not have enough time to prioritize the project. Alternately, there could be communication issues. Perhaps the project’s urgency wasn’t clearly explained. You won’t know until you find out who to ask!

Focus on Back and Forth

Ideally, projects should follow a set path from one department to the next. If you’ve mapped this out in advance, then you already have a measuring stick to use. Compare your ideal workflow with what’s actually happening in the company. Does your project take unexpected detours to other departments that weren’t in the original scope? Does it ping pong back and forth between two departments more than anticipated? Every time your project changes hands, it slows down the entire project.

You have to plan these exchanges in advance and take note of any deviations. Perhaps one department is being too strict and insisting on unnecessary revisions. You can minimize back and forth with a PMO approach. Having a single project management office facilitates communication between different departments and speeds up project transfers. Instead of one department passively receiving instructions from another, you can actively assign tasks across departments by using the PMO as a middleman.

Individual Vs. Group Responsibilities

Another way to examine your project hiccups is to examine whether you’re dealing with individual issues or group failures. On smaller project teams, individuals bear more responsibility for making progress. You can dissect a project’s advancement down to the individual level and see which employees are struggling to move the project forward. They might just not be very interested in the project. Perhaps they’re overwhelmed with other work. Maybe they lack confidence in their skills to move the project along.

When a group of people within a department is in charge, communication breakdowns tend to be the cause of your problems. Internal power struggles can also pose a threat to your projects. Sometimes, it’s best to bring in external help. Reach out to Project Genetics if you need a PMO to step in and get your projects back on track.

The act of planning and executing projects is itself a skill. However, many managers fail to see the utility of having a designated project leadership team or project management office. Without any central authority for projects, departments often end up competing against one another, prioritizing their interests over the project’s greater goals. This can lead to dysfunctional project teams that fail to finish their projects. Project consulting can solve these problems and set you up for future project success.

How Project Consulting Can Bridge the Gap Between Different Departments

Filling the PMO Void

Businesses are gradually starting to see the need for designated project staff. The Chief Project Officer role exists now, something that was unthinkable a few years ago. In fact, some experts predict that the CPO will become more important than the COO as companies shift their focus to projects over regular operations. We’re already seeing this trend develop as more companies have put project management offices (PMOs) into place. Some are department-only PMOs, while others are enterprise-wide.

However, even when a company does have a PMO, they tend to be inexperienced. The number of PMOs has risen considerably since 2017, which means that most of them have fewer than 5 years of experience managing projects. If your PMO is failing to move projects forward, or you have yet to implement a PMO in your company, consulting can help you fill that void in the meantime. We can even teach you how to best build a PMO.

A Neutral Perspective

One of the reasons departments fail to work well together on projects is that each department has its own interests. When the IT department needs to work with finance, each side is likely to value their own priorities over those of the other. IT wants better infrastructure and more features, while finance wants to keep the costs as low as possible. Each side has valid arguments, and without a neutral arbiter, decisions and compromises are hard to make.

A project consultant is more likely to be listened to by both sides since they have no vested interest in either department. By listening neutrally to what both sides have to say, a consultant can find a healthy middle ground and look for ways to compromise. This ultimately leaves both departments more satisfied with the final decision and encourages better interactions going forward. Just like courts rely on neutral judges, your projects should have a neutral person in charge.

Fewer Conflicts, More Collaboration

No workplace is completely free of internal power struggles. Personal conflicts between workers in the same department or even heads of different departments vying for positions in the company can destroy projects. An outsider can spot these tensions quickly and resolve them. A consultant can also tear down the barriers that silo teams and limit communication. In the end, your teams will collaborate instead of competing.

To get a project consultant for your company’s endeavors, contact Project Genetics. Our experts in project management can help you meet your deadlines and pave the way for smoother projects in the future.

Software releases are some of the most stressful dates on any calendar. New and existing customers alike can be severely affected by delays, or worse yet, bugs upon release. Software developers find themselves under immense pressure as deadlines loom large. Although there are unique aspects to software development, projects of all kinds are similar in nature. With proper technical project management, release days can be a cause for celebration rather than a source of stress.

4 Tips for Improving Your Release Process

1. Adopt an Agile Development Methodology

Agile development isn’t just the buzzword of the day: it’s the real deal. Agile software development makes it easier to implement changes into software and respond to sudden modifications. Through frequent communication and concurrent processes, an Agile approach gets work done faster and minimizes bureaucratic bottlenecks in your company.

However, Agile is such a different methodology that the learning curve can scare companies off. The prospect of switching systems terrifies many managers. It’s important to bring in experienced Agile coaches who can teach your staff by letting them live the Agile experience.

2. Keep Documents Updated

Documentation is vital for technical projects. Change logs, test results, feature requests, and the company budget all pull projects in different directions. If you don’t keep track of these details throughout the project, redundancies and mistakes are more likely to occur. Fixing these problems later slows down releases.

A technical project manager needs to keep documentation up to date and make sure that employees have access to the latest information. Consider assigning the job to someone who can oversee documents across departments, unify the writing style and format, and push notifications out to workers.

3. Consider Technical Project Management Software

Software can help create software. Project management software can make managing technical projects much easier. Switching to software-based project management can cut down on unnecessary meetings that sap valuable time that could be spent developing. Software also helps you keep track of who is responsible for various tasks within a given project. Tracking that data can help you find roadblocks such as underperforming departments or excessive back and forth between departments.  

Cloud-based project management tools will also make it easier to manage projects remotely. Since you can access everything from any device, work-from-home situations and hybrid offices can seamlessly handle projects despite the distance. If you’re not sure what kind of software is best suited for your technical projects, reach out to Project Genetics to learn more about your options.

4. Don’t Rely on Crunch Time

Crunch time has become so commonplace in software development that many companies just assume that if a deadline gets too close for comfort, they can crunch their way out of it. While that might work, it’s not a sustainable solution. Crunch time costs more, burns out workers, and produces more errors.

A smoother approach to technical projects is best. If you want to reach your release dates and put out the best product possible, contact Project Genetics. We can help you optimize your project management and have the latest version out right on time.  

CRM, or customer relationship management, is one of the best approaches to boosting sales. Rather than focusing solely on luring in new clients, CRM encourages your company to target existing clients with personalized attention and messaging. Repeat business is easier to get than new business, which is why CRM has become such a popular method of increasing sales. However, successful CRM calls for new tools that facilitate interactions with customers. CRM implementation takes some time, but it’s worth the wait.

How Long Does CRM Implementation Usually Take?

Factors to Consider

The exact time it’ll take for your company to deploy a CRM system depends on several variables. From a technical perspective, a cloud-based CRM software suite could be up and running in as little as a month, given enough resources. However, your CRM software needs to be tailored to your company and the products or services you offer. Customizing your CRM system may add a few weeks to deployment. Data migration is another variable to consider.

Ideally, you’d upload data from existing systems to make your CRM system productive from the day you launch. If you leave old data in the dark, expect a longer wait to see a significant return on your investment. This is where the experience of your team comes into play. Do you have experienced IT personnel who can handle a large data migration? Do you have CRM experts? If not, consider bringing in outside help.

Starting From Scratch

If you’ve never used any sort of CRM tool before and you’re looking to add it to your business, you can get up and running faster. If you’re a small company or a startup, you might be able to use your CRM tools in as little as a month or two. Larger enterprises may need a few more weeks given the breadth of their client base and diversity of products or services. However, even large companies can get moving quickly.

Cloud-based CRM tools scale very easily. From a system perspective, there isn’t much of a difference between a CRM user with 10 clients or one with 10,000. Data transfer to the new system becomes the main challenge for large enterprises. Finally, you have to consider employee training needs. A long CRM project could take up to three or four months to complete if there is a lot of data to manage and many people to train.

Upgrading Existing Systems

How long does it take for companies that already use CRM in their workflow? Upgrading a CRM system to a more versatile one is usually an easier process than starting from scratch. System setup time is similar, but your staff can adopt a new platform faster since they’re familiar with CRM tools. Data transfer across systems is also faster since data is already organized.

Whether you’re looking to start fresh with CRM or you’ve got an aging system in need of an upgrade, CRM is always a worthwhile investment. If you need help implementing CRM in your company, contact Project Genetics to learn how we can get your CRM system up and running.