How We Deliver Diverse Projects Successfully
Prime 8 thrives on project diversity. From streamlining multi-million dollar channel programs to giving Corporate VPs real-time visibility into subsidiary insights to upskilling thousands of global field personnel in record time, every project is unique. Each one demands different skills and experience yet our consistent approach is what allows us to achieve results that last long after we’re gone.
Our consultants consistently deliver quality — not only because we accept nothing less, but also because our experience in diverse projects enriches our problem-solving abilities, functional skills, and creativity. We grow stronger with every project and our success today gives us the roadmap to the outcomes our clients will demand tomorrow.
How We Do It
Our secret to success isn’t a secret at all: We don’t overcomplicate things. We stick to the basics and ensure the most fundamental elements don’t go overlooked.
Here are the best practices we live and work by:
Prioritize Communication
Good communication is fundamental to a successful project. This includes documenting and socializing the scope and timeline of the project and its objectives. We get buy-in from project stakeholders to ensure everyone understands and agrees on the assignment. We put everything in writing to create reliable project references. Sound easy? With practice, it can be. The simplest things can have the biggest impact.
Maintain Checks and Balances
Prime 8 consultants build quality control into the process. For example, before we start working on a project, we’ll summarize to the client exactly what we understand we’re doing and delivering. This gives them a chance to clarify their vision, project goals and create a common understanding when they give us the green light to move forward.
These checks and balances, especially early on in the project, make it possible to deliver the best outcomes. If you miss this step, stakeholders might not know what the project entails. They might have other ideas or definitions of what a successful project outcome will look like. Getting everyone into initial alignment avoids hassles and pitfalls throughout the project.
Stay Responsive and Proactive
As soon as we have a client agreement in place, we’re off to the races. We’re building a project team and scheduling project kickoff calls with the client.
We include an agenda in every meeting invite. We don’t want anyone to be unaware of what we’re planning to discuss and why we’re having the meeting.
We’ll also develop a project brief or creative brief for the first meeting, which includes who we are, who is contributing to the project, how to get in touch with us, and what we’ve agreed we’re doing for the project. This leave-behind document helps to instill trust and excitement in the process.
Remain Agile
Hiccups happen in projects. But when they occur in our projects, they’re usually not a surprise and we usually have a proactive plan for managing through it. Our approach is always to own up to whatever the issue is and solve it. We approach our stakeholders with the issue along with potential solutions. Then, we address it quickly and efficiently.
We take a leadership role in remaining agile and addressing issues as they arise. By placing the onus on ourselves and being proactive in solving problems, we can better keep projects on track.
A Prime 8 Success Story
To see our process in action, let’s revisit how we handled projects during Covid.
At the onset of the pandemic, like many other organizations, our team went remote. However, many companies and their employees weren’t prepared to take their workforce virtual. Employees were used to going into an office, turning on their PC or laptop, and using it at the office.
It was a process to change an employee’s mindset from work being a place they went to something they could do from their living room or home office. It was also a process to ensure technology was set up to allow access to the documents, portals and tools needed to work from home. Executives and managers with our clients found themselves suddenly leading remote teams.
Prime 8 consultants managing in-flight projects with our clients facilitated the transition to remote work by identifying and communicating the risks and potential issues in a simple action log. This was an emotional time for many workers, so the goal was to avoid compounding these issues and address project issues thoughtfully and proactively.
Project managers collaborated with technical staff to ensure permissions, tools and remote access allowed work to continue without interruption.
At the same time, we had to be strong people leaders to navigate an emotionally charged environment. With employees fearing Covid, job loss, their own health and that of their families, increased family responsibilities, and other factors, our project managers demonstrated an extensive portfolio of leadership skills in guiding the project forward in a short period of time.
One of the pillars of success during this period was leaning on project management fundamentals. Regular check ins and simple action logs helped project team members stay focused on the work at hand. This also helped to drive down fear and risk, as employees could work from home and allay their fears about job loss or contracting Covid at work.
What Sets Us Apart
Prime 8 sets itself apart from other consultancy firms through our approach to change management and ambiguity. A project simply cannot achieve success or serve its intended audience without first getting clarity and buy-in from stakeholders and knowing how the outcome will impact the end-users.
We work to uncover the layers of ambiguity in every project and thoughtfully create our approach to change. This not only helps clients to set the right expectations, but also ensures an optimal outcome for all involved.
Have a tough project? Get in touch today to explore how we can help.
