When it comes to the success of any business plan or strategy, organization and planning are essential factors. In this context, carrying out project management that defines a schedule of stages and deadlines, as well as an execution plan consistent with the reality of the team that will carry it out, certainly makes all the difference.
Another aspect involved in this process is the communication between the team, essential to maintain a simple, transparent, and constant flow to keep deliveries on the pre-defined date. Not to mention that, based on this structure, managers can assess performance indicators, which are essential to align the individual and collective work of employees in favor of business objectives.
Importance of Time Management
Time is a limited resource. Those who manage teams know how valuable it is and, if not put to good use, it can compromise established goals, employee performance, and customer satisfaction.
This is precisely where the importance of having well-established time management lies. Time management makes it possible to better plan the allocation of resources and think about incentive strategies, and be closer to the team, encouraging them to be more productive and assertive in their daily tasks.
Another advantage of investing in time management is the possibility of opening up space to think about new solutions, analyze markets, be creative, anticipate tasks, conduct training, and obtain insights that bring innovation and better decision-making for better results.
Communication and Time Management in Projects
Within the scope of project management, time management is one of the most important processes, as it seeks to adapt activities in the project’s scope in an intelligent way, in order to fulfill the scheduled deliveries and complete all tasks within the stipulated period or even before. This requires managers to keep their teams aligned, engaged, productive, and ready to carry out what has been delegated.
For this, it is important to create communication strategies that aim at more than the direct fulfillment of individual deadlines, but that help in the creation and maintenance of the general flow of a project, which involves each employee and constant progress towards its conclusion.
4 Steps to Effective Project Time Management
With good time management, managers become more productive. Without the feeling of being overwhelmed, they can motivate the team and stimulate its performance. With a more organized routine, it is possible to plan better and think about incentive programs, in addition to being closer to employees, understanding their difficulties, and helping to resolve them.
Thinking about helping companies in this process, we list 4 steps to have more assertive and efficient project time management:
1. Have a Well-defined Plan
The first step to effective time management is to create a well-defined project plan that positively impacts all phases of the project, from start to finish. Otherwise, if there is no organization, unnecessary time is wasted discussing what to do, how to do it, and when to do it, which in turn compromises deadlines and results. With planning, it is possible to conduct productive and calculated processes, avoiding rework and motivating the professionals involved.
This plan must contain basic project information, including the tasks that need to be completed, those responsible for each of them, and the delivery dates, as well as the team division and overall strategic goals.
2. Get Involved and Communicate with the Team Assertively
Among the biggest challenges related to the administration of project management is the lack of communication. Therefore, another key step in maintaining the punctuality of stakeholders is to find ways to involve employees with the proposed tasks. This includes the ability to analyze the communication tools and methods preferred by professionals, as well as those that can be most effective in each situation.
For example, while certain projects may include working with organizations structured to allow in-person conversations and quick decision-making, others may be remote and require detailed planning, containing times, steps, and other aspects that guide a particular activity. It is up to managers to recognize the preferences and characteristics of the company and its employees, in order to use the most assertive resources that meet the project’s needs.
3. Stay Flexible, but Stay Tuned
People working on a project need to adapt to changing priorities and solving problems as they arise, without losing sight of the original project or other commitments, which also take time.
One of the keys to this is to communicate effectively and concisely with stakeholders, that is, clearly informing each employee what the organization expects from them. This allows for the kind of urgent decision-making that is often needed to get a late project back to normal. From this conversation, it is important to understand how the professional reacts to stressful situations and adapt processes if possible.
On the other hand, it is important to keep space for flexibility, which requires project managers to be confident in encouraging the team to follow a plan or process even in high-stress situations.
4. Develop a Proper Work Breakdown Structure
Project management requires not only managing time-related to meeting important deadlines but also managing the team to do the same. This involves breaking large tasks into smaller tasks that are easier to understand and work with, defining project deliverables, and establishing the framework for managing them through to completion.
Project managers should rely heavily on work breakdown structures during the planning phase in order to minimize time lost in completing deliverables. In addition to helping to alleviate the stress that accompanies large-scale deliveries, a well-designed work breakdown structure can also help the manager and his team effectively measure the progress of actions, identifying opportunities to gain time and to have better results.
Creating a work management structure allows a company to maintain motivated, engaged, and productive teams, which creates an organizational climate that is prone to achieving goals and, consequently, increasing profitability over time through successful project delivery.