Better Communications for Better Results

There have been many studies completed since the 1990’s on Project statistics, delving into success rates and failure reasons. One result often mentioned is the failure due to a breakdown or lack of communications. A survey by research company Spikes Cavell pegs that failure rate at 57%! Another survey reports that 60% of failed projects are under a year in duration. Clearly, with the majority of our engagements around 6-months, our success rate at Trindent is bucking the trend. What are we doing differently?

An element of our success comes from setting a vision for what a successful engagement will look like at completion and communicating it to all stakeholder groups. What defines success for a project that a client will be signing-off on? What defines success for Trindent and for the consultants engaged on the project? Defining what form success will take helps to align all groups on the end goal. Consider the following:

• In moments of doubt, or when a choice needs to be made, sharing a common vision will support making the right decision.
• Breakdown in communications can also translate into conflicting information being shared with a client. Establishing the vision up front will help to keep all project team members on the same page.
• Communicating the vision also reinforces the criteria for success, making it easier to ask the client if the implementation was successful and met their expectations.

Communicating a project vision is just the first step in efficient project communication. Successful implementations are also driven by passionate teams. In a future article, we will address how Trindent uses communication to create passionate consultants.

By: Ross Magnaldo