You already know how to take the stress out of year-end (5-ways-to-make-year-end-less-stressful), but even experienced Project Teams sometimes overlook crucial details. If these items aren’t on your radar right now, you might be setting your team up for problems.
1 – Ensuring that multi-year projects continue uninterrupted. We talked about the myth that companies can seamlessly move a project from one year to the next (5-project-myths-that-won’t-die), and while there are exceptions, the myth still generally holds true: most organizations aren’t prepared to carry things over from one year to the next. To make sure your project doesn’t turn into a pumpkin on December 31st, act now. Take the time to reconfirm the details with Accounting, Purchasing, HR, and anyone else involved in transitioning your project’s resources into next year.
2 – Gathering approvals on Q1 contracts and expenditures. If your organization follows the classic schedule of approving the calendar-year budget in March, now is the time to put your ducks in a row for anything that needs to happen in January and February. Have a critical contract that expires after the first of the year? Consider asking the vendor about an early renewal. Will invoices be arriving in January? Find out now what the procedure is to get these paid on time. The beginning of the year will be a busy time for all departments, so it’s better to prepare now than try to get in line later.
3 – Planning for labor and material scarcities. A number of industries have annual shutdown periods that coincide with the winter holiday season, which will put your Project Team in a particularly bad spot if you’re hoping to tie up loose ends at the same time. Head off potential problems now by asking vendors if they have plant closures or work stoppages scheduled. This will give you time to address any potential issues.
Also check out our “NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS” “5 WAYS TO MAKE YEAR-END LESS STRESSFUL” and “Project Team Resolutions for the New Year“ blog post.
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