Your project is finally finished and it’s time to unveil it to the masses. But wait a minute—have you planned an open house that will highlight the project’s positive points and be good marketing for your Project Team? If you’re ready for more than just another ho-hum open house, check out these hints to help make yours fun, interesting, and successful.
Be present. It sounds obvious, but Project Teams are sometimes so busy that open house events aren’t a priority. When users and stakeholders have an opportunity to interact with your team, they end up learning much more about what you do and how you do it. Make the most of it by involving as many team members as possible.
Introduce your team. This can be accomplished in a couple of ways: station members in the areas most aligned with their efforts or areas of expertise, or post photos and team member profiles in strategic spots.
Craft good signage. Your team will be able to focus on telling users about the most important aspects of your project when posters or other signage are displayed to take care of lower level features. Keep information clear and invite people to ask questions.
Talk about milestones, not just the final product. Sometimes it’s easy to overlook all the challenges along the way once a project is complete. End users and stakeholders, however, are often interested to learn about obstacles your team faced, as well as significant or unique successes you achieved.
Offer interesting or uncommon statistics. Others may not be familiar with your project’s details, such as average labor prices vs. what you were able to negotiate; typical efficiency improvements measured on similar projects (and perhaps how you plan to beat them); or the size, weight, or rarity of a particular piece of equipment.
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