How Managers Can Manage Projects Efficiently With Small Teams
As compared to larger teams, small teams face more challenges in delivering projects on time. Lack of resources and tools makes it difficult for smaller teams to complete the project in the given deadline without affecting quality. Here, the project manager tips of smaller teams has to balance work quality, budgets, and deadlines. In this blog, we are going to discuss the key project management tips for the managers of small teams.
Seven Project Management Tips to Help Managers Deliver Projects On Time
When it comes to working on multiple projects in smaller teams, tasks can quickly become stressful that resulting in delivery delays, and at times, team burnout. The following proven project management tips will help managers to avoid such situations.
1. Confirm Capacity of the Team
A small agency or consultancy finds an opportunity to grow their business in every new project. Therefore, they usually do not prefer to reject any new projects. But then, if the small team is already occupied in ongoing projects, it is necessary for the manager to consider the team’s schedule. Otherwise, the manager takes the risks related to increased stress, missed deadlines, and reduced performance. Here, a team task management tool and other project management software can help project managers.
2. Set Clear Expectations
Irrespective of the project’s size, it is necessary for managers to set expectations early. But, at times, managers of small teams tend to ignore it. They may overpromise delivery schedules and overlook their team’s task schedules.
Managers need to set expectations during the initiation phase of the project’s lifecycle. They can do so by defining goals, establishing scope, and making a proper schedule for every task for all team members. The project management software can help managers set clear objectives.
3. Make Schedule based on Milestones
Be it a small or large team, you should split the project into phases and establish a milestone-based schedule. It can help you manage projects better in terms of client expectations and risks. As a result, you can improve the success rate of projects even with a smaller team. Also, milestones can keep your team members motivated to achieve them.
As a manager, you can start with making a project roadmap and divide it into phases to set milestones. Once your team members agree upon these milestones, they will certainly try hard to achieve them.
Also Read- Step-by-step Guide to Create an Effective Project Schedule
4. Establish Seamless Communication
As a manager, you need to set up a seamless communication process. It is crucial for better collaboration and improved operations. When every team member is on the same page, it is easy for managers to make informed decisions and employees to execute tasks. These days, most project management software have built-in communication tools like instant chat and document sharing. As a manager, you can share the project timeline with clients and store all necessary information in one place with ease using the task management tool.
5. Use Collaboration Tools
A team task management tool is one of the robust collaboration tools. Every collaboration or project management tool is designed to keep all the project-related information in one place. Usually, important information is spread across emails, chat messages, and meeting notes in most projects, and therefore, your team members have to spend productive time finding such information from multiple sources. A robust team collaboration software can assist your team to get rid of this problem while saving the member’s time and effort.
Features like real-time file sharing, checklists or schedules, and feedback in the project management software can enhance collaboration in small and big teams alike. Even if your smaller team consists of remote employees, collaboration tools can benefit them.
6. Track Progress of Teams
When teams finish tasks on time, the company can achieve productivity and efficiency. As a project manager of a small term, you can keep track of the task’s progress to provide the necessary support when the project lags behind the deadline. Project timelines, task checklists, and regular status updates enable the project manager to track progress in real-time.
7. Balance Workloads
As a manager, you need to manage the resources of your small team. It is necessary to maintain a balance between tasks and resources while ensuring the most suitable employees are available when for every project. With this, you can maintain a work-life balance. When it comes to a small team, you need to cope with the limitation of resources, and therefore, determining the capacity and allocating resources based on this capacity is essential. You can talk to the team to rebalance workloads with workload management tool along with taking the help of a team task management tool.
Concluding Lines
Effective project management requires proper scheduling of work and the right allocation of resources. Hope these proven tips will help you achieve these objectives. In a nutshell, you can make the workflow simple and monitor tasks by using the right task management tool and these tips.
TaskOPad is an ideal project management software for startups and SMBs. Even small teams can easily manage multiple tasks using this robust tool and enhance productivity over the period. Do you want to schedule a free demo of TaskOPad? Simply send us an email at info@taskopad.com and we will arrange a demo at your convenient time.
