Organizing Project Management Step 5: Communication

In organizing project management, good communication is critical to a successful project. To be a good project manager, you must be in constant communication with everyone involved in the project. This includes your organizing team, the client, any vendors or other service professionals.

Here are some tips to help you effectively communicate throughout your project.

Have a Plan
Create a plan for communicating. This can include; who is in charge of communicating, who needs to be communicated with, how often you will communicate, how you will communicate (phone, email, text), etc.

Check in Daily
Make sure you take few minutes at the end of each day to assess the situation and let the client and all team members know where the project is, any changes that have been made, and what is planned for the next day. Make sure to call or email anyone who wasn’t present that day, but is involved in the project.

Listen
Communication goes both ways. Be sure to listen to what your client and your team members are saying and address any suggestions, concerns or issues that may arise.

Manage and Share Information
Make notes and update the plan as you go. This includes plan modifications, but also the gratifying crossing off of activities that are complete. Provide copies of the updated plan to everyone on a daily basis.

Post It
It is very helpful to post the plan on a wall in the space you are working. This way, all team members can refer to it as they progress. Also, by posting the plan and crossing off the activities that have been completed, the client can visually see the progress and get the feeling that things are getting done (even if it looks worse before it gets better).

You can also take posting to the next level and post the plan for each space on the wall of its room. It also helps to hang a sign in the doorway of each room, to indicate what that room is. Like, John’s bedroom, or play room. This especially helps if you are doing a move and need to direct the movers as to where to put boxes.

With good communication, your project will run smoothly and efficiently and the client will feel confident that you are managing the project well.

Stay tuned for Organizing Project Management Step 6: Supervising. Coming soon!