Project teams field a lot of questions from many different stakeholder groups. These inquiries are generally a good thing. They are good opportunities to clear up confusion and maintain stakeholder confidence by ensuring everyone has accurate and timely information. They are also valuable touchpoints for engaging with project participants and nurturing their commitment to seeing the initiative through to a successful completion.
However, some project questions can be a little awkward. Maybe it’s because you don’t have a good answer when you should, or the question reveals a process gap that you need to fix.
To help you avoid the awkward zone, we gathered some tips to put your team ahead of the most common questions.
Where should we send our project updates and requests?
Though it’s a valid question, it indicates your team hasn’t effectively communicated the processes for receiving information from the field or routing incoming requests. Remember that different functional areas might not naturally share information with other stakeholders. There could be multiple project timelines floating around. If executives aren’t sure whether the project reports they receive are accurate or if the latest update is just someone spitballing, more awkward questions will come your way. Sidestep this unwanted situation by centralizing project data coordination and holding regular control meetings with all stakeholder groups to maintain alignment around a single schedule and continuously monitor the initiative’s health.
How do this project’s supply and service prices compare to previous initiatives?
Sponsors are typically more interested in how costs are trending rather than in line-item pricing details, and this question could point to gaps in your funding request. As part of your due diligence process, review past projects to understand how current vendor quotes compare. This type of data ages out eventually, but you should be able to show where pricing falls today versus recent projects that used similar services or supplies.
Why was this project milestone delayed?
No one wants delays in a key project activity, but timelines do occasionally slip. That isn’t why this question is awkward, though. It becomes embarrassing if no one knows why a milestone didn’t hit its target date. Having the right processes in place allows you to see delays coming and provide advance notice to stakeholders so they understand why the schedule will shift and which other activities may also be affected.
Why do we need to hire temporary personnel for this project?
Contract personnel can be an essential resource for your team. To address skepticism from sponsors and stakeholders about the need for staffing support, emphasize their role in handling specific tasks—procurement, contract administration, craft labor, etc.—when requesting personnel allocations rather than simply asking for more people. If contractors will be used to cover for internal employees who are on vacation, or if they’ll provide specialized expertise that you don’t possess in-house, highlight that as well. You can then show how using temporary workers will enable your team to focus on higher-value or strategic work or maintain progress despite increased workloads during busy periods.
Why don’t we receive regular timeline/progress/budget updates?
Communication is a core element in project success, and your stakeholders need to feel they’re in the loop. Establish a cadence for publishing progress, timeline, and budget updates to address potential communication and engagement gaps before they happen. As the project nears completion, you may find it helpful to increase your communications cadence so nothing slips through the cracks at the last minute. In addition, it’s good practice to maintain a single repository where any stakeholder can access the project’s updates and reports and review other documentation and communications related to the initiative.
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