Maintaining the inspiration level on a project lasting upwards of a year requires a deft approach. Of course, the productivity of your team plays a massive role in ensuring a successful outcome. Keeping everyone engaged remains the goal, especially if team members come and go throughout the project timeline.
With IT project success in mind, here are some tips on boosting the engagement level on any long-term initiative. Leverage these useful insights to keep things running as effectively and efficiently as possible. After all, any successful long-term effort looks great on everyone’s résumé.
Reward the Team Throughout the Project
Any longer project contains multiple milestones up until its completion. Use these opportunities to give your team some form of reward after reaching a milestone. Consider awarding a gift-card or even some extra PTO to show how you appreciate all their hard work.
Additionally, highlight the top performers during team status meetings. This provides you another way to show your team their importance in completing a critical project.
Regularly Communicate Your Vision for the Project
In a long project, the team sometimes loses sight of the ultimate end goal. This isn’t really surprising, considering how tech pros tend to focus on their short-term work. As such, regularly remind them of the ultimate vision for the project. Once again, team meetings are great for this purpose. They help keep everyone inspired and engaged.
Provide Your Team the Freedom to be Problem Solvers
When technology professionals are given the autonomy to solve their own problems, their morale improves. So give your team the freedom to handle any issues that occur during a long project. This approach also helps them gain the valuable experience that serves your company well over time.
Use the Right Metrics to Track Progress
The use of effective metrics ensures the project manager is able to accurately track the progress of project. It helps things run smoothly by setting reasonable timelines when planning sprints. Ultimately, preventing unwarranted overtime needs to be the goal. All those extra hours lowers team morale and subsequently, their overall productivity level.
In short, accurately tracking progress makes it easier to estimate future efforts. Work with your project managers to ensure the right metrics are being used.
Looking to Build a Strong Team?
If you need help building a great IT team at your organization, connect with The CERES Group. As one of the top technical staffing agencies in Boston, we provide great candidates able to contribute to your success. Schedule a meeting with us at your earliest convenience.
