The projects I work on only have one project manager. I get excited when someone brings up what we PMs do.
Substack served me a ppiece about intergenerational communications. Thank you, Jonathan Small. In the workplace. emails, texts, Slack, A.I. and phones are used by different groups in different ways and can leave a team lost.
Here is where PMs where mentioned
“I guess you don’t work with any project managers. The answer is to set communication norms and expectations. Determine as a team, or org what tech you use to communicate, how quickly you expect a response and how detailed.”
Those expectations can be part of the communication plan. As a PM, I try to work with what’s already working. I prefer emails, but texts and DMs allow for quick answers. I adapt to what the teams need.
Those expectations can be part of the communication plan. As a PM, I try to work with what’s already working. I prefer emails, but texts and DMs allow for quick answers. I adapt to what the teams need.
Then again, as that excerpt above implies, they teams might very well need someone to lay out the standard. Corner office types don’t always see what is happening on the factory floor where the real work gets done. The PM lives where are the work is happening.
Chapter 13 of my AVPM handbook lays out legally defensible expectations for how communication will happen during an installation window. It’s meant for subcontractors to understand what is required of them at the beginning of the work, throughout each day, and the communications expectation every day. I further lay out what must be delivered at the end of the job for them to receive their pay.
Definitively subcontractors are not part of the company culture. The company itself may be struggling with new communication tools with round-the-world work zones, all before we get into intergenerational styles. A Mission Statement is not enough to keep the project team working together. We need to know to check in and when they are shamefully late.
As PM, I know to give clear action items to specific owner with a due date. If the team is haphazard in communicating the fulfillment of these deliverables, the next step is to be more specific. THIS will be email; THOSE will be Slack and THESE must be PDF.
Then I follow up on any responses that don’t meet the spec. Yes, it’s a lot of work. That’s what PMs do.
How are workplace communications working? Let me know in the comments
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