At some point, most companies will look to set up a project team. This is a way of improving the business by being ready to react to changes and make the most of new opportunities.
Yet, the idea of setting up a completely new team like this might sounds like a lot of effort. Isn’t is going to be very time-consuming and maybe even expensive to do it well? These fears can be enough to put you off the idea of doing this before you even start.
Thankfully, there are some easy steps that you can follow in order to get a great project team with no hassles or wasted time.
Choose the Right Staff
Naturally, the starting point for any team is with the staff in it. If you get a strong project team in place then this will go a long way towards getting the success that you crave.
Will you bring in new people to do this? Or will you move some of your existing team members over from the business area? For a lot of companies, the ideal solution is to get a mixture of newcomers and existing business experts.
So, what makes a good project worker? Normally, this will be someone who is organised, flexible and able to adapt. These roles require a good mixture of skills and a positive personality, even when under pressure.
Get Them Trained
As we just saw, there is a mixture of skills needed for any project role. Unless you are hiring highly experienced people, it is likely that they need to get trained in some of these areas.
A sensible starting point is with PRINCE2 training, as this will give them a grounding in the basics of running a project. They will learn the techniques and tools needed to take any sort of project through to a successful conclusion.
After this, their future training needs will largely depend upon the type of projects you have lined up. Some may need high level Word or Excel skills while others may involve SQL or some other programming language.
Sort out the Basics
Putting any new team in place involves sorting out a range of issues. This runs from finding some office space for them to giving them system access and agreeing their working hours.
Project roles tend to be pretty flexible in nature, to be honest. This means that it may be possible to offer flexible working hours or even to let the team work from home at times. If this is going to be the case then good, clear communication channels need to be put in place.
These are all issues that need to be sorted out before the team can get to work. The more time that you put into doing this well the smoother the transition will be.
Put a Structure in Place
Every project needs to be run in the right way in order for it to be a success. This means knowing who does what and who reports to whom.
The likes of meeting frequencies, reporting structures and other matters all need to be sorted out early on. If you do this well then you will have a great basis for going forward with. This will also allow you to move forwards without any misunderstandings or people feeling left out.
By setting up your new project team wisely you will get a team that is ready to start doing business right away. Do it wrong, though, and it could make like a lot more difficult for you in the future.
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