4 signs that you are not ready to implement a project management solution

Today the market offers a wide range of project management solutions. With their help, companies have the opportunity to significantly improve the efficiency of processes, get a clear understanding of who is doing what work, save time and avoid stress in a team. In the end, it is fashionable. But there are a lot of scenarios in which the company, in fact, is not ready to implement a project management solution. In this article, we will discuss a few examples of such scenarios, and talk about what needs to change in your company so that the implementation of the solution brings tangible results.

Scenario # 1. The team has few employees

With the development of the Internet, there are more and more companies that employ only a few people. Today, when it is possible to automate and / or outsource even serious and large-scale business processes, it is no longer necessary to have a giant crowded office. The company receives real value from a project management solution, when all project information is regularly included in that decision. And in a situation where only a few people work in the office, and they have the opportunity to quickly and personally discuss all the necessary issues, the time spent on entering data into the system may outweigh the benefits.

What should change?

There are 2 scenarios related to the described situation, in which the company will benefit from the implementation of a project management solution. The first scenario is obvious: the company is growing, there are more employees and there is a real need to effectively manage projects, and to make the work and the results of each team member transparent for others. The second scenario is especially relevant if the company has no office at all, and all the work is done remotely. In such a situation, the company will really benefit from the implementation of a project management solution. A nice bonus here is the fact that many solutions have a free subscription for very small teams.

Scenario # 2. The person deciding on the implementation of insufficient authority

Not so rare is the situation when a manager in a company does everything in his power to most effectively implement a solution ... only he lacks power. He is just one of a group of decision makers. Or, he may even be the head of this or that department, but in order for the solution to really benefit the company, it must be implemented everywhere. And the heads of other departments are opposed or simply not interested. Examples can cite a great many. What they have in common is that the employee does not have enough authority to ensure that the entire organization uses the solution.

What should change?

The leader in favor of implementing a solution needs to prepare a sufficient number of arguments for presentation to senior management (or heads of other departments), during the dialogue on the need to implement a solution. If the decision is approved by management, insufficient authority will no longer be an obstacle. In this case, it will simply be lowered from the top down. It would also be a good idea to have a meeting with Customer Success as a solution provider manager who can help develop indicators to assess the current state of the processes and predict how they can be improved.

Scenario # 3. Change Management Issues

For a person’s behavior to change, he must want to change. You will not be able to make changes in the organization (and believe that the implementation of a project management solution requires a significant paradigm shift) if you don’t have a substantial reason, according to most team members, for participating in these changes. Otherwise, you will spend a lot of time and money trying to implement a solution, and the results will be zero. Remember that the motivation of different team members can be very different. For management, for example, transparency of processes may be a key factor, and for employees from the sales department, the opportunity not to attend endless meetings and have more time to call their customers.

What should change?

The first thing that should be done is to find out where the employees of different departments can benefit from the implementation of your solution and address them with the appropriate arguments. Collect enough data and present the specific and measurable benefits that each department will receive from using your product. Do not expect quick results - change management always involves a lot of preparatory work and communication at all levels. When you feel that the majority of employees are already on your side, hold a general organizational meeting to discuss the implementation of the solution. Listen carefully to the arguments of all parties. The more opinions you take into account, the more motivated employees will be to use the decision and regularly enter information into it.

Scenario # 4. The management is not ready for resource costs at the initial stage of solution implementation.

Along with the decision to implement the project management tool, there are usually certain expectations about how it will help in achieving the stated goals. Before this happens, companies are facing additional costs (in addition to the cost of the solution itself). These costs include management time and each team member. Employees will have to familiarize themselves with the functionality of the solution, understand and accept the rules for its use established by the management. Also, sometimes you need a lot of technical resources to implement your product. Without these steps, your service cannot be effectively accepted at a new company in principle, and only their successful passage can guarantee that the expected results will be achieved.

But some managers believe that they can skip all these stages, and immediately find themselves at the point where the decision will begin to bring benefits. I have bad news for you: this will not happen.

What should change?

Management must be prepared to invest the required resources at the initial stage. Despite the fact that the number of solutions on the market is quite high, there are 3 types of resources that are relevant for almost any of them:

The time of management and staff who will use the solution
Costs of implementation services provided by its developer
* optional - the costs of developing integrations with other solutions, if required

As you can see, most of the features described in the article are fairly obvious. But they definitely need to be remembered if you are thinking about implementing a project management solution. Only in this case, the product will bring tangible results for your organization.