Efficiency & Motivation

How a professional project management system increase productivity, engagement, and motivation in project teams?

There are numerous studies showing that many employees working in organizations currently feel demotivated and overworked. It is certainly true that just being overworked often leads to a decrease in motivation. Of course, an employer cannot create working conditions where all employees are simultaneously “happy,” but they can do a lot to improve job satisfaction. In this article, we will focus on identifying areas where improving performance can significantly increase engagement and motivation in project teams. Below are a few examples of problems and suggestions on how they can be largely resolved by implementing a dedicated IT system supporting project and project portfolio management.

Problem 1: Employees do not see the broader context of their work

One study conducted in Western corporations indicated that at least 58% of employees are unable to name the three most important strategic goals of the company’s operations. When it comes to project teams, they often carry out projects for which they do not see the broader business context or purpose. Yet, it is well known that people are willing to put in much more effort and engagement when they clearly understand the meaning of what they are doing. The dedicated project and portfolio management tool, FlexiProject, addresses this need by offering a built-in module that links the company’s strategic goals with projects and potential project ideas. When a project team sees that they are participating in the execution of the company’s strategy and that their work is important to this strategy, it significantly increases the likelihood that they will strive harder because they know they are part of something important.

Problem 2: Rework or frequent changes to already completed work

A common issue for project teams is starting a project without creating a solid plan. When the business goals, expected scope, or deliverables of the project are not well defined, misunderstandings often arise during its execution. For example, the team may be halfway through the project when the sponsor says that their vision of the project’s outcomes differs from what they are currently seeing. Nothing demotivates more than realizing that much of the work done is unnecessary and must be redone simply because insufficient effort was made at the beginning to define the project properly. FlexiProject has a built-in Project Card system that ensures the project is well defined before it is launched. The filled-in Project Card is systemically approved. Any changes to the Project Card are controlled and require proper authorizations. The system allows returning to any historical Project Card when necessary. This structured approach, enforced by the system, brings order, and as is well known, employees work more efficiently in an organized, rather than a chaotic, company.

Problem 3: Information exchange within the project team

Frustrating situations sometimes occur when the execution of one task depends on the completion of a previous task. This results in cases where a dedicated person wastes time waiting for the earlier task to be completed before starting their own and is unaware that the previous task has been completed, as they have not received that information. The FlexiProject system clearly shows the dependencies between tasks, their status, and allows sending an email to the task owner that they can now begin work on their task because the previous task has just been completed.

Problem 4: Poor communication between the project team and company management

Sometimes, project teams feel demotivated because they believe their work is not sufficiently important due to the lack of attention from company management or the board. To address this, FlexiProject has developed the “Automated Project Reviews” functionality, which provides an excellent platform for automated and effective communication between project teams and company management.

Problem 5: Demotivating overload of project teams' work

Often, project team members have to work overtime to deliver the expected results. The reasons for this situation may vary, but it is often the result of poor planning in resource allocation for projects. Project managers usually want the best employees in their teams, which means that different projects compete for the same top talent. If such highly skilled individuals are involved in too many projects without proper control and awareness, they are certainly at risk of being demotivated in the long term. To minimize such situations, FlexiProject includes a project resource module that shows the overall engagement of a given employee across all the projects they are involved in. With this awareness, it is possible to plan the distribution of human resources much more efficiently.

Above, I have outlined five of what I believe to be the most significant project management problems that can be largely solved by implementing the dedicated project management system FlexiProject, which comprehensively supports project team operations and provides solutions for effective communication.