Merging Two Client Services Teams into One - Coursework Example

Project Progress Report with Recommendations for the Project of Merging Two Separate Client Services Teams into One Background to the Project The project that is discussed in this report is about the merging of two teams at my place of work. I work in a multinational organization which provides a wide range of services to corporate clients. The organization has several offices spread in different regions of the world. The offices serve as the focal points for the operations of the organization in the specific areas in which it operates. Our clients are mainly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) who operate in diverse industries in different regions of the world. In addition to this, we have a good number of big companies that look for our services. Most of the big companies that we serve usually ask us to help them develop the right strategies that can help them maintain their market shares in different industries or get into new and emerging markets. In the last three weeks, the senior management team at our local office realized that the revenue from our main clients (the big companies) was declining rapidly. Figures indicated that we had lost over 25% of our revenue from the big multinational corporations. Investigations indicated that most of the multinationals we were serving were reducing their budgets for consultancy services. This means that the companies were deciding to spend less on seeking advisory and consultancy services from us. This was affecting profitability as well as the workflow of the company. As a service company, we were required to respond to this challenge immediately. The management team developed a comprehensive project to address this challenge. Importantly, the project entailed merging the two teams that were working with the two major multinational clients. For practical purposes, the teams were labeled as Team Orange and Team Green. Team Orange was made up of 7 individuals. All the individuals in the team were involved in client services. Their main work was to handle the needs of the client who was labeled Orange. Similarly, all the six members of Team Green were involved in handling the affairs of the multinational client who was labeled Green. The scope of the project was detailed. The management team decided that the two teams should merge into one large team that would be composed of 13 people. This meant that the two teams, which were sitting at separate locations, would relocate to a central location. The large team would then have one team leader who would be in charge of all the operations of the team. For this to be achieved, it was decided that it was necessary for the 13 members to go through various bonding activities over a period of about one month. The bonding activities were supposed to help them to develop interpersonal relationships that are highly important within the context of a team. The second thing that was required to be accomplished was merging the two accounts of the two clients into one. The new account was labeled Account White. All the tasks that were being handled from Client Orange and Client Green were required to be merged into one big account that would be labeled as Account White. Assessment of the current status of the project Currently, the project is way behind schedule. According to the original plan that was developed for the project, it was expected that all the activities that make up the project would be carried out within a period of six weeks. This time frame was chosen after a long and careful examination of the scope of work that was required to be carried out. The project management team also believed that it was necessary to ensure that the process of implementing the project would not interfere with the other activities that were taking place within the entire organization. Therefore, after a long period of consideration, the project management team settled on a period of six weeks as the most appropriate time frame that would allow them to achieve all the core objectives of the project. However, current assessment shows that only 50% of the tasks of the project have been carried out yet five weeks have already elapsed since the project was officially launched. For example, out of the four team bonding activities that the members of the new team were supposed to attend, only two have been carried out. The process of merging the assignments of the two teams is still far behind schedule. Reports indicate that the clients are not fully conversant with the process of merging the two teams at the organization. This means that the clients are still not comfortable when they are required to meet new members from the organization who were originally not dealing with them. There are several reasons that have contributed to the delays in the process of implementing the project at the organization. The first problem is related to unexpected staff turnover. At the time when the project management team developed the project, it was assumed that all the employees of the two teams would remain within the organization throughout the period of the project. However, two weeks into the project, two members of Team Orange made the announcement that they were quitting the company. The sudden exit of the two employees caused major problems to the project. On one hand, it was necessary to replace the two employees. However, the newcomers would require a long period of time before they get fully conversant with the work that the two were doing in relation to the project. The second problem that has made the entire project to delay is related to problems in terms of a poor relationship between the local office and the head office of the company. Although the local office maintains a degree of freedom when handling the work of clients, it is required at times to report to the main office when it is undertaking major projects. In this case, the main office required constant updates about the way the project was being undertaken. In addition to this, it has been necessary for the project team to seek approval from the main office before carrying out some key activities of the project. This has caused delays because the main office has been taking long to approve some steps of the project. Critical analysis of the project leadership There are many ways in which the project leadership has shown strengths that have contributed to the specific achievements of the project so far. One of the positive attributes that the project management has shown so far is related to the ability to define the vision of the project and lead the entire team towards the accomplishment of the vision and goal that has been defined. It can be seen that even in theory, the ability of a leader to define a clear goal for the entire project and inspire all the people who are participating in the project to achieve that goal is an important attribute that usually defines the success of a project (Hickson & Owen, 2015, p. 294; Petty, 2009, p. 9). The project manager for this particular project has managed to create a sense of vision and inspiration within the entire team. This has been an important force that has enabled the team to work together towards the accomplishment of the objective so far. The second main strength of the project leader that has been seen so far is his ability to create a highly participative and collaborative environment within the individuals who are taking part in the process of implementing the project. Gido and Clements (2014, p. 324) note that a project leader who uses a collaborative style of leadership in which individuals are allowed to contribute to the manner in which decisions are made are likely to succeed in their projects. In this case, the project manager has maintained a democratic style under which individuals make contributions on how the tasks should be handled. On the other hand, the main area in which the leadership of the project has failed so far is related to negotiating and making compromises. In theory, the ability to negotiate and make decisions that compromise competing interests is identified as one of the key attributes that make a project successful (Parker & Craig, 2008, p. 170). The same authors also point out that this ability is a necessity within a project environment in which many objectives have to be accomplished within a very short period of time. However, it is clear that the project leader of this project has failed to make compromises and effectively negotiate about important attributes of the project. This has been seen on several occasions. For example, when the two employees of Team Orange made a decision to quit, the project leader failed to negotiate for a compromise between the team members and the management of the organization. Secondly, the main office has been taking a very long time to respond to the request that the project management team has been forwarding to them in relation to the technical aspects of the project. Ideally, the main office was required to respond to requests about the project within 5 working days. However, they have been taking long to approve specific actions and this is one of the reasons that the implementation of the entire project has delayed. The project leader has so far failed to effectively negotiate with the main office to let the project management team progress without requiring approval to carry out every single task of the project. Effectiveness of the project process There are several ways in which the people and processes currently in place to see the project through to completion have proven to be highly effective. One of the ways is in relation to the manner in which the activities of the project have been carried out in a highly effective manner. In general, projects are supposed to be carried out in a cycle that is made up of various activities, the most important ones being initiating, planning, execution and closure (Kanda, 2011, p. 8). It can be seen that this project was designed to be carried out within this framework. The various activities of the project correspond to specific phases of an ideal project. In addition to this, the various processes that were designed for the project were intended to be carried out during specific phases of the project. This approach has been effective in helping the project management team to track down all the processes of the project and determine the overall performance of the project. In addition to this, all the activities were scheduled to be carried out within a specific time frame. Specific individuals are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that specific objectives which are related to different stages of the project are achieved. This approach has so far helped the management team to maintain complete control over the project. Thus, this being an organizational project, it was designed to be implemented within the framework of an ideal project. As well, the current project is based on the need to achieve the three key objectives that are related to time, cost and scope. In theory, time, cost and scope are regarded as the three constraints that characterize projects (Taylor, 2008, p. 3). Their importance lies in the fact that any change that is implemented on one of the attributes leads to changes in the other two. The people and processes currently working on the project of merging the two teams need to focus on balancing these three constraints. On one hand, the activities of the project have been scheduled to be carried out within a specific period of time, which is six weeks. However, it has already been pointed out that delays have occurred. Therefore, there still remain very many activities that have to be carried out within the remaining one week of the project. This means that the life of the project may have to be extended to cover for the lost time. Thus, the processes and people currently working on ensuring that the project is implemented within the required time frame have failed on this score. In contrast, the project is expected to result in a merging of the two teams to form one large team that is made up of 13 individuals and that is handling work from the two clients who have been treated as distinct in the past. It is highly likely that this aspect of the project will be accomplished. However, delays in implementation are likely to affect the scope of the work and, to an extent, the total amount of resources that will be consumed by the time the project is fully implemented. Recommendations 1. The project management team should review the rules of engagement between it and the management team at the main office of the company. As things stand now, the project management team is being slowed down considerably because the main office delays to approve some of the key activities that the project team needs to carry out as part of the project. Given that the project management team is already behind schedule, further delays cannot be afforded. This is why the leadership should seek permission to simply carry out all the pending activities without having to seek approval from the main office for every single activity. 2. The project management team should seek to replace the two individuals who belonged to Team Orange but left. The immediate departure of the two employees disrupted the progress of implementing the project. This was the case because the two employees were directly responsible for engagement activities with the client. Thus, their departure meant that the workload for the remaining members of the team increased considerably. So far, the two have not been replaced because the management thinks that it is necessary to wait for the two teams to be fully merged before new recruitment is carried out. Therefore, the project leadership ought to press the management of the organization to replace the two individuals. 3. The project management team ought to reduce the number of team building and bonding activities that were originally scheduled as part of the project. Initially, it was expected that all the members of the two teams would attend four team building and bonding events. The events were scheduled in such a manner that they coincided with the times when the team was supposed to handle important tasks for the two clients. However, time constraints have caused the project to lag behind in implementation. This means that the management team is working to recover lost time. Hence, it will be necessary to eliminate the remaining two bonding activities so that the members of the team can concentrate on the tasks at hand. 4. The project management team should officially inform the two clients that the process of merging the two teams has been in progress. The project management team should then inform the representatives of the clients that they will be meeting new members of the team in the course of their work. This course of action is important for two reasons. First, it will reduce the levels of disruption that are currently being experienced with regard to handling the two clients. Secondly, it will help the members of the new team to work effectively with the clients. 5. It is recommended that the project manager considers negotiating for an increment in the benefits that are given to the members of the new team. The merging of the new teams means that the team members will be faced with more responsibilities than they were facing when working in separate teams. This is likely to generate pressure among the team members for a salary increase. It is therefore necessary for the project management team to suggest to the management of the organization to consider increasing the amount of benefits that will be given to the members of the new team. References Gido, J., & Clements, J. P. (2014). Successful project management. Mason: Cengage. Hickson, R.J., & Owen, T. L. (2015). Project management for mining: Handbook for delivering project success. Englewood: SME. Kanda, A. (2011). Project management: A life cycle approach. New Delhi: PHI Learning. Parker, D., & Craig, M. A. (2008). Managing projects, managing people. Sydney: Macmillan Education. Petty, A. (2009). Leadership & the project manager: Developing the skills that fuel high performance. Retrieved from . Taylor, J. (2008). Project scheduling and cost control: Planning, monitoring and controlling the baseline. London: J. Ross Publishing. Read More