Project me

It’s making projects better
Leon Hughes, project manager, Taylor Wimpey

Juggling family and work is a challenge at the best of times, but COVID-19 has forced us to come together and focus on how we can all support each other. I have found that my role has actually become a little easier. I am now chairing project meetings via video call, and team members who often couldn’t make it into head office are now able to attend. As a result, our projects and actions are benefiting greatly. Going forward, rather than schedule meetings in an office, we will continue to use our current format, which cuts down on travel and pollution, creates more flexibility and has shown those who had ‘old school’ beliefs that we need to embrace the technology available to us and use it to our advantage.

Remember that work is not everything
Mark Reeson, project management consultant

Ensure you set your office hours so that you can remain productive, but also ensure you step away from your work to take breaks. Learn to manage your personal tasks around your work and communicate your working schedule to your friends and family. Remember, work is not everything, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is also key, so look after yourself during these troubled times. Try not to over-do the work, be aware of the hazards of multi-tasking and focus on being productive around what really matters. Remember, this will all be over before we know it and then it will be a great time for a celebration.

Embrace the digital – and have fun!
Gennadii Miroshnikov, technology manager, London Business School

The main focus for me was how to help our project teams and the whole organisation become pandemic-resilient. Embracing digital technology and enabling its wider adoption was key. A starting point was to check what systems, apps and tools were already being used by teams and how they felt about them. The resulting list included not only the names of the systems recommended by other teams, but also their lessons learned, tips and best practices for roll-out. The next step was to form a team of digital champions, early adopters and enthusiasts who volunteered to share their knowledge. Every day we held short sessions as a ‘lunch and learn’, as well as more detailed sessions by request. Recording short webinars for those who could not attend online sessions also turned out to be useful. Focusing on already utilised systems allowed us to speed up the process of mass adoption significantly, as the systems were already familiar to some teams, and some volunteers were ready to share their experience. Another small tip was not to forget about fun and to find time for informal communication with your colleagues. Friday’s evening quiz in WhatsApp, Jackbox over Zoom or a lunchtime 15-minute workout over Skype, Slack or MS Teams with your colleagues are great ways to keep your team engaged and in good spirits.

How to deal with video-bombers
Claire Dellar, founder, Transformists

Whether it’s the dog barking at the postman, the cat sat on your keyboard or the kids who have to tell you right now, interruptions are coronavirus facts of life. As a leader, your reaction can improve the stress levels of the whole team. My tips for handling video-bombers are, first, suspend the discussion, say hello to the child, and introduce yourself to them. Second, ask them about their day and what they have been up to. Third, once they feel included they’ll probably quickly settle down or leave. The important thing is to signal to the parent that they should not be embarrassed or stressed.

Create positive habits
Kevin Morgan, senior projects planner, Collins Project Delivery

Instead of getting up early to commute, I’m getting up early to use my commuting time to expand my knowledge and develop myself. Not only does this help improve my career, but it also keeps me in a regular routine and keeps me focused for my daily tasks. Trying to maintain a routine allows positive habits in what is an unusual time. It’s easy to fall into working longer hours and not taking regular breaks, getting absorbed into what I’m doing with fewer ‘interruptions’, but scheduling in breaks keeps me fresh and prevents burn-out. I have also found it useful to touch base with colleagues at least once a day. This allows the human connection while also keeping us up-to-date with developments, but again, scheduling this in is important to prevent interruption.

Care for your team
Alex Phillips, HR director, CPMS

With anxieties running high, it has never been more important to provide strong leadership and direction for employees. We have found ourselves taking an unscheduled crash course in remote leadership, ensuring that employees are engaged, supported, and motivated. This kind of disruption affects people in different ways, whether that is operationally, mentally or emotionally, and so we have implemented initiatives to care for our team and ensure our family culture is maintained. These include a weekly company-wide conference call with our managing director, in which he provides company updates and positivity; a weekly newsletter celebrating employee birthdays and promoting positive wellbeing solutions and the in-house virtual peer training to support personal development and welcome new starters; and virtual quiz nights.

Try to keep work and home separate
Chelsea Evans, associate project manager – apprentice, HS2

Motivation, IT and Skype meetings are the main challenges I have faced while working from home. While not having to commute every morning has meant an extra hour in bed, I learnt that travelling to and working in the office kept me motivated. At home I have a designated workspace set up to minimise strain and ensure that I am not distracted. I started taking regular breaks from my screen to help stay productive. Shutting down my laptop and clearing my ‘desk’ at the end of the day helped keep work and home separate. Despite the unprecedented circumstances, we have not experienced a reduction in productivity; there seem to be more meetings put in the diary now. My calendar has an hour blocked out each day for me to take a walk or make lunch, and meetings are scheduled with enough time to make a cup of tea beforehand.

Managing stakeholders is a priority
Emile Fakhoury, principal project manager, Exterran

Managing stakeholders has become my major challenge in this remote-working environment, as it increases the complexity of the project and removes physical interactions and the ability to manage emotions and behavioural aspects. Adding to this challenge, if you have kids at home, home-schooling will add more to the load. I always modularise discussions with stakeholders. Increasing the frequency of calls to twice per week, or daily, after agreeing to a regular rhythm is essential to controlling the project’s progress and managing your stakeholders. Appreciate everyone’s time zone and location, be mindful always of cultural barriers and remember to provide an opportunity for each stakeholder to participate and get involved on each call.

One-to-ones are essential
Jerome Trefalt, project manager, Tetronics

Time management is critical, as most of us are working from home while trying to deliver home learning to children. It becomes normal to see kids appearing in a virtual meeting. Some team members would prefer to start their working day earlier so they can achieve quality working time. Trying to schedule meetings when team members have misaligned working hours is nearly impossible. Instead of team meetings, I prioritise one-to-ones, which sometimes include the department lead. I had a one-to-one meeting with the entire project team on Monday to review and close last week’s work and plan for the week ahead. I also have short one-to-ones throughout the week to ensure the flow of information and communication goes smoothly within the team, and I encourage the team to have their own such meetings.

A new normal is a result of routine
Ednah Nzombe, project manager, Mott MacDonald

Working from home is not a new phenomenon for me. A few years ago, I was self-employed, and my home was my office. If you want to keep going and keep sane, have a routine with quick satisfying wins. Simply start by making your bed as soon as you wake up. This is a task achieved, and you will thank yourself for having a neat bedroom later. Brush your teeth, comb your hair, take a shower – you will feel rejuvenated. Take a few breaks to get some fresh air, even by the front door. Have the wind in your face and let the sun embrace your skin. This will take some tension away. Why not add in a few squats or jumping jacks to get that healthy, fast-beating heart rate? If you practise these simple tasks, they become part of you and no longer a routine. This is how I have created a new normal to keep going and keep sane.

Say thank you every day
Greg Philp, projects and programme manager, Leidos

Face-time is invaluable. Instead of sending an email, I’ve been video calling. You cover more material, secure buy-in and build stronger relationships. Only four per cent of our communication is the words we use. Tonality and inflection you can pick up from an audio call, but the depth of understanding and personal connection that you get from video calling is vital in creating ‘togetherness’ in geographically disparate teams. You can quickly see who is engaged or otherwise, and you can immediately see the relief on peoples’ faces when they get a bit of respite and personal engagement! I’ve been trying every day to say thank you; a specific message to sincerely thank someone for their input, explaining its importance and what it means to me. The science is marvellous – you receive thanks/recognition, and endorphins are released in your brain. People want to replicate that feeling and so they are motivated to perform well – it’s cyclical.

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