5 Steps to Welcome New Team Members to the Ongoing Project
When you start a project, you need to consider what human resources are required to get it done. But what if some project staff decide to leave during a project? You can’t really plan for it, so how do you deal with this problem? Here are five steps for securing new team players quickly and smoothly.
#1. Connect with the client
If you plan to bring new people, you can’t ignore the client. Connect with them before making any decisions about new team members, and let them know what’s happening and why. It’s the client who has the final word – they decide whether there is a point in onboarding new human resources for your project as it often means moving them off another existing project and automatically increases the risk of losing all progress.
#2. Give your new resources as much information as possible
Once the client has agreed to bring new players to the team, give your new human resources as much information as possible. Give them status reports and meeting notes, all relevant project documentation and deliverables, and let them immerse in this information for a week.
If possible, onboard new team players for one or two weeks while the out-going team members are still on the project so there is time for knowledge sharing and mentoring.
#3. Introduce new resources to the client
Once your new resources have some knowledge of the project, they should meet the customer. Ask the new staff members introduce themselves, present their backgrounds and qualifications, and provide some insight on where the project is going, how they’ll be performing on the project and help it succeed.
#4. Let the new staff do their jobs
Let the new resources perform their regular duties on the project for a certain period of time (if it’s a long project, let them perform for one month). Then connect with the client again and keep them informed on how things are going.
#5. Evaluate progress with the client
Customer satisfaction is one of the most important parts of project management. After one month with the new team members, have a meeting or a call with the client to find out what they think about the new staff. The project manager should also give their own evaluation – the customer will definitely want to hear the project manager’s perspective.
