Tips for Working on Large Initiatives

Consulting on large initiatives requires patience, focus and the ability to juggle many simultaneous tasks. As a result, many best practices are validated during these large projects. They serve as guideposts to keep things steady and on track. I recently completed an Intranet redesign for an international banking client. This project was long and multi-faceted, with multiple technical releases and an enormous corporate team.

During the first phase of the project, I conducted several weeks of usability testing with internal clients and employees. The purpose of the testing was to understand Intranet use: how users interacted with the existing site, how they found information, what they liked and disliked, and their habits in using the site. At the end of the testing, I presented a results summary to an executive committee of decision-makers. Ironically, these executives were among those who used the Intranet the least. They depended on administrative assistants and other team members for tasks that typically require Intranet use, such as meeting planning, expense reporting, and research. Yet, this group was tasked with making decisions about redesigning the Intranet tool and budgeting for proposed solutions.

The executives imagined that redesigning the Intranet would place an undue burden on the organization to develop content to fill new space. Actually, the true burden would be to create workflows and processes that enable users to find and manage content better, improve currency of content and create a cultural shift toward the use of new online tools for daily task management and communication.

If you have ever been on a large-scale organizational initiative, the consulting tips I have to share are useful reminders for each new project and have been key to my own project and consulting success.

1. Spend time understanding company culture
“While all corporations may share certain elements of a common business culture, each corporation has its own unique pattern of shared values that help individual members respond appropriately to the specific challenges of the workplace and the marketplace.” (Daniel J. O’Connor & Karen Sella, FutureSense, Inc) This is especially important to remember from client-to-client and from project-to-project. Many of us engage in only 1-2 large-scale projects per year. We can get so entrenched in the culture of one organization that it can be difficult to shift gears and begin working for another, without carrying over assumptions and habits gained from other environments.

At the beginning of an engagement, spend some time asking questions of the project team to understand the best vehicles for communication; (Does the team prefer email communication or another method? Group blogs or IM? Daily status reports?). Learn the unspoken rules and protocol for planning meetings (Are certain hours ‘sacred’? Must a project sponsor be present for specific meetings? What is the preferred method for requesting meetings – is scheduling directly into a client’s Outlook calendar a no-no?).

Finding ways to learn about the corporate culture early on in an engagement can ensure smooth sailing as the project progresses and can go a long way towards inspiring confidence in clients. In the case of my banking client, regular meetings with an executive committee and a core understanding of the nature and culture of information-sharing within the organization made a key difference in the overall success of the consulting relationship.

2. Understand interdependencies
In conjunction with the need to understand and respect company culture, is the need to understand interdependencies between internal departments and customers and to anticipate when communication will be needed between them. Solicit feedback from unlikely places – perhaps well down the food chain of command. Often, there is little opportunity within large organizations or on large projects for employees on different levels to communicate with and understand each other. Consultants can serve a key role by providing insight within and between groups to communicate project goals, needs and opportunities. My banking client may have chosen a very different path for the Intranet project without understanding the very basic truths about how employees were using the tool, what they wanted and needed from it, and how it would and did impact communication, information and cultural habits.

3. Do not underestimate value of face-time
In this age of technology and virtual space, consulting on even the largest engagements is possible without any face time with the client. While this may make great financial sense – travel budgets and office space are limited – occasional face time can mean the difference between success and failure – or at the least between this contract and the next one.

Face time is important for establishing a common vernacular, a common language for use within the team and project. It can provide an accurate temperature-read on project progress and client reaction and acceptance. But even more, face time is about building trust – being able to form a relationship with one another and communicate confidence to each other. In the case of my banking project, most meetings and project tasks were conducted virtually, outside of bank offices, or by email, phone or IM. Regular, in-person executive presentations provided an opportunity for executives to ask questions, gave them groundwork for decision-making and inspired trust between us.

4. Set up a common workspace
“By assembling the relevant content for a project, workspace members have a powerful framework for organizing their collaborative efforts.” (Oracle) This may seem the most obvious of tips – but perhaps the most critical for project communication on a large scale. Teams on large initiatives often work in different locations, within different countries or time zones and even in different native languages. A common workspace (Intranet, Extranet or other) should contain, at minimum: a team calendar with meeting information and contact details; a space to store and upload meeting notes and summaries; folders or storage for documentation with version control and a space for announcements or critical team alerts. My banking client had such a system already in place. Other clients have built out a space within an existing Intranet or Extranet.

5. Set hard deadlines for hard decisions
On large projects, clients and consultants can spin forever on the ‘what-ifs’. Setting realistic and reasonable deadlines and sticking to them is truly the difference between overall project success and failure. One of the greatest services a consultant can provide is to assist clients in prioritizing needs, assigning them to a phase or a release and managing the changes along the way. As new suggestions or ideas arise, helping to evaluate them, assigning them to a future phase or adjusting the project track to accommodate them is often exactly what we have been hired to do. It’s also one that would be difficult to impossible without understanding the culture and interdependencies, establishing a trust relationship, and facilitating communication and information-sharing.

The Intranet project for my banking client lasted over two years and was a solid company success. Today, the employees continue to improve the tools and processes they use to do their jobs and the company is enjoying the fruits of a gradual cultural shift – to one where employees feel more connected to each other and more aware of company change – a true success for any consultant.