The setting up of a brand new project team is sure to be an exciting time for everyone concerned. There are going to be a lot of high hopes for this new team producing terrific results that really help the company to progress.
Yet, there are also some obstacles that can stop the team from performing as well as everyone hopes that it will. Knowing what those obstacles are and how to overcome them is vital if you are going to get this team fully up and running smoothly.
The following are some of the main issues to look out for, together with some ideas on how to make sure that they don’t throw your projects off track before they even get fully up and running.
A Lack of Skills
The first big issue most new project teams face is a lack of relevant skills. If the workers have all been brought together from a variety of roles and backgrounds then it is likely that they each have different gaps in their knowledge to fill. Even a business expert who moves sideways in the same company can struggle badly when they realise that they don’t have project knowledge.
Therefore, the first crucial step is to bring them all up to speed so that they can all contribute effectively to the work needing done. The sooner that this is done the quicker that they be able to contribute to your success.
There are typically a few different skills that business analysts and project managers need in order to perform to a high level. To get started with, you need to send them on courses that show the techniques needed for the methodology to be used, such as PRINCE2 Foundation .
Poor Teamwork
Even with the right skills on board, there are still some potential problems that could see any projects hit troubled waters. Among them, there is the risk of the team not pulling together in the same direction.
This is a problem that can occur in any type of new team that is brought together. With projects it can be particularly troublesome, as you really need everyone to work together perfectly to pull together all of the different strands.
One smart way of doing this is by letting them all see the overall goal that you are all working to. Instead of just giving them each a small piece of work to focus on, you can let them see how their tasks fit into the grand scheme of things, and how important they each are to the project’s success.
A Lack of Leadership
Starting a new team from scratch is always a risky business. The new staff that come in need to be guided in the early days, as they look to build up their confidence levels as quickly as possible.
Project work can seem extremely daunting at first for newcomers. If they are used to a highly structured business role with fixed routines then the flexibility that is available in this sort of role can make it difficult for them to get to grips with.
This is when strong team leadership is needed, to help everyone get settled into their new roles in the best way possible. A good project manager will lead their business analysts through these early days and let them see exactly how to make the most of their new skills.
Starting up a new project team is always going to be hard work. However, by following these fairly simple tips you can have the whole team working well a lot quicker than you might have thought.