Did You Successfully Pass the Torch? - Part II
The transition or the passing of the torch from one point of responsibility to the other for the client relationship is really all about making sure all the key data points about the project, the team, and the client are on the table for the new team. As the project manager, it is your job to make the determination of what is important for them to know and in some cases actually resolve some open items from the project. Many top project managers highlighted some important areas that should be considered part of the debrief of the next team. They are:
• Walkthrough of the key issues, concerns, and risks that impacted the project or the relationship.
• Detailed debrief of any conflicts with the client during the project.
• Run down of the key player at the client, their biography, and observations about their personality.
• Debrief of the items that we brought out during the project lessons learned meeting.
• Detail an key decisions that either will or may impact the ongoing servicing and/or operation.
• Detailed debrief of any conflicts with the client during the project.
• Run down of the key player at the client, their biography, and observations about their personality.
• Debrief of the items that we brought out during the project lessons learned meeting.
• Detail an key decisions that either will or may impact the ongoing servicing and/or operation.
These are just a couple of items that will provide value to the new team that is taking over the client relationship. The internal transition should take place before the project is officially over. This way the new team can be up to speed by the completion date. There should also be an official handoff with the client so it is clear that they will now need to go to another contact point for their future needs. If you did a good job with building your relationship, you know that you will still hear and be in contact with your client as the relationship will officially transition for you to a purely personal one.
Relationship management is one of those duties’s that’s not always called out as a specific requirement of the role of project manager. In many cases, it is assumed that you will play this role in building the relationship you need to be successful for the project. For me, I believe it is so important that relationship building and management is worthy of being called out on its own. There is a great deal of power in being able to build, nurture, and maintain a trusted relationship for you and your project team. It is clear that a relationship requires work and attention, and there is a fine line that you as a project manager must walk in that your primary responsibility is still making sure to keep focus on the successful delivery of the project. Top project managers are able to build a network of relationships that they carry with them from project to project and in some cases from organization to organization. You will be surprised by the opportunities that are presented and that you will be able to take advantage of that are directly related to the relationships that you are able to successfully build and maintain over the years.
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