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Building the Perfect Team: 5 Tips to Make Sure You Have Your Automation Project on the Right Track
When it comes to implementing a successful AP automation project, there are so many factors that need to be in check. The project needs to be well-planned and executed, with a clear vision and strategy. Even the smallest aspect of an automation project can have a major impact on its success rate. For example, if you plan to implement a new technology for your document management solution, then there is always the risk that it may not work for your organisation so mitigating this risk is paramount. That being said, even the most minute detail of your automated workflow can have a major impact on how successful the project is. Therefore, when it comes to building the optimal team for your automation project, you’ll want to check out these tips:
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Make it cross-functional
For all your project’s success, you will want to make sure to build a cross-functional team. These team members should be from different areas within your business not just the primary area of immediate automation for example, including someone from Purchasing or Stock Control in the AP Automation project or marketing, quality control, and finance. This will help to bring in fresh or alternative perspectives on both data and process and help to resolve any issues that may arise within your organisation. Additionally, a cross-functional team can bring in another important element – diversity. Having a diverse team can help to avoid communication gaps, as well as avoid any issues relating to team members having different expectations or different skill sets. A diverse team can help to avoid any potential friction, which can result in a poor experience for your end users. Consider for example who the Project Sponsor will be (typically a board member or very senior manager), who will the PM be? Who will the functional/process steering team consist of etc?
Create a transparent environment for team members
When forming a new team, the first thing you’ll want to do is make steps, processes and functions to ensure a culture of transparency. Create a space in your team’s function where everyone can be open and honest with each other. Transparency can help to avoid “silos” within your team, and avoid issues relating to members not communicating with each other due to a lack of trust or "empire". One of the best ways to nurture a transparent and open environment for team members is to have regular, single-focus meetings. Encourage team members to bring any issues that they may be facing within the organisation so that you can resolve them together.
Show your team the process
The best way to make sure that team members are clear on the project’s strategy and vision is to show them what the process will look like. You can create a series of diagrams and flow diagrams, which can help team members to visualize the process/es, and also understand how the project will look from start to finish (I.e. the steps from scoping, documentation, UAT, refinement etc - the sprints within the phase). It is important to make sure that your team members understand exactly how the project will work, and what will happen in each step of the project. This can help to avoid any confusion or misunderstandings from within the team. It can also help to avoid any “silos”, or divisions within the team, which can delay the project’s progress as well as provide clear boundaries and confines of working, reporting structures and challenge resolution processes.
Communicate with your team frequently
Communicate, communicate, communicate. Talk often, talk openly. During the project’s initiation, communication can help to resolve any issues that may arise or that may become apparent as you progress, being clear in channels of communication and ensuring openness and transparency removes the burden of perfection and introduces the concept of transparent ownership and responsibility. During this time, you may want to have one-on-one discussions with team members, or even assign them to do some troubleshooting on their side of the project. It is important to address any issues as soon as they are found so they do not get bigger and create problems for the rest of the project. This can help to avoid any potential delays in the project’s timeline, as well as make sure that each team member is aware of their parts in the project.
Create an automation roadmap
While you want to make sure that your team members are clear on the project’s strategy and vision, you may also want to create an automation roadmap. It can help to set a journey plan for your team members, and also for your entire organisation, facilitating buy-in across the board especially if aligned with your strategic organisational goals. Once this roadmap is set, it can help to steer your entire organisation to an automation project strategy, which can result in a huge impact on your business. An automation roadmap can help to set a timeline for your project, and it can help to make sure that each team member’s tasks are completed within the timeline set. It can also help to avoid any issues with a “time crunch”, and make sure that you have time to train your team members and make sure that they understand how the project will work.
Final Words
Automation projects can have huge benefits for your company in terms of cost savings and time efficiency. But, you also need to make sure that you have a clear plan in place, as well as a cross-functional team with diverse skills, who are open and honest with each other. It can be challenging to build a successful team, but it can be done with the right planning.
In the next post, we will look at understanding the borders of your automation project in more detail. In the meantime, feel free to drop me a line at shaun@anota.co.uk with any comments, feedback or questions.
