How to Set Your Team Up to Succeed by "Taking the Team Approach"
(The following article is a reproduction from the August, 1997 issue of Area Development Magazine)
A judicious application of the team approach in which members are carefully selected for their ability and integrity, and then trusted to act in the company's best interests can do much to ensure the success of the project.
By Michael Kenig, Vice Chairman, Holder Construction Company, Atlanta
In the construction industry, there are two delivery methods: a traditional approach and a team approach. The former, which maintains a clear separation between the design and construction phases, restricts the ability of the process to benefit from a collaboration of design and construction expertise. The latter, which assembles the entire team to work collaboratively at the outset of the project, allows the process to be driven by value-based decision making.
The biggest difference between the two is that the team-approach selection process is based primarily on qualifications as well as answering the question, "Which firms, through their involvement in the process, can add the most value to my project?" It is not based on competitive pricing of the project, though competitive pricing is ultimately obtained by competitively bidding all components of the project. By overlapping the design and construction phases, the team approach often facilitates a shortening of the overall project-delivery time line.
Often the decision of which approach to employ is overlooked entirely, as people move on to assigning the responsibilities and risks without first deciding whether or not to use a collaborative approach. It is important to determine your approach early. Indeed, your project's chance for success has a direct correlation to which of the two approaches you choose. Only after you have made this decision can you move forward and ensure that each team member also understands the process you intend to use.
It should be recognized that the team approach does not mean less risk; the risk is still there. If anything, this approach puts those risks in the forefront, assuring that they will not be overlooked.
GETTING STARTED: CHOOSING YOUR TEAM
The team approach requires a great deal of involvement on the part of the facility owner. The in-house staff must be assessed (assuming that you have one). Are staff members already overloaded? Do they have experience with this process? Be honest, and don't let commitment to your staff cloud your better judgement; the owner's role is too critical to the process. If necessary, consider contracting out for the additional resources you may need for the duration of the project.
Whether or not you contract out, various criteria must be applied when assembling your team. For independent companies to work together successfully, they must each work well as a team internally. In making your selections, make sure that the companies, as well as the individuals within those partnering organizations, possess certain qualities. These include experienced team players, the ability to put company/personal agendas after the best interests of the project, the ability to listen well and respond quickly to change (flexibility is essential), and worthiness of the trust you are placing in them. You want firms and people with a reputation for doing what they say they will do. Make it a rule to check references.
As you prepare an RFP (request for proposal), begin thinking about what the makeup of your team should be and how to bring the members together. If possible, develop a process to short-list firms based on their qualifications, then issue your RFP to your short-listed firms. Upon receiving the responses to your RFP, closely examine each firm's qualifications, noting specifically how they relate to your project.
Next, identify the key people in the firm, study the firm's approach to your type of project, and determine how they key people will apply this approach to your project. As you assess individuals, it is important to recognize that not everyone is a team player; many individuals are very talented, but only work well when they are in the traditional process and able to be more independent. Bear in mind as well what you are seeking from your team, and, if possible, short-list again as you move into the interview process. After the interviews, be ready to make your final selection based on applying the results of your findings to the original question, "Who, through their involvement, will add the most value to my project?"
MAKING VALUE-BASED DECISIONS
If you consider fees as part of your selection criteria, be careful, your consultants probably have the greatest ability to affect the overall costs of your project! The firm that can add the most value to your project may not be the least expensive; it is essential to keep the bigger picture in mind. Your consultant's fees are relatively small compared to the overall project costs. If you do solicit fees, be sure you provide the form of agreement and a clear definition of what is included and not included in the fee.
For all consulting services, a guaranteed maximum cost approach to the fee best facilitates the team approach. A fixed fee or lump-sum approach is problematic for two reasons: First, when you hire a consultant, you are buying the professional's time. When you use a fixed-fee approach, the incentive you are creating with your consultant is, in effect, "The less time you spend on the project, the more money you make." Second, rarely is the scope of services defined enough to accurately determine an exact fee amount at the time you are assembling your team. A percentage-based fee is also problematic because the incentive you are giving your consultants in that situation is, "The more expensive the project, the more money you make." A guaranteed-maximum approach for consulting services limits your exposure, ensures that you only pay for the services you actually get, and allows all team members to stay focused on what is in the best interest of the project. This guaranteed maximum approach applies to design services as well as construction manager's preconstruction services.
Making "value-based" decisions as opposed to "cost-based" ones takes practice especially for people who have spend their careers mastering the traditional process. The good news is that, on a personal level, we all exercise value-based judgments every day. Whether it is buying tires for our cars or choosing between a name-brand and generic product, we all consider more than cost as we make our decisions. When you try the team approach, you may not get it right the first time. However, each attempt will meet with greater and greater success.
CREATING A WINNING TEAM
In committing to the team approach, you commit to a process that requires careful administration and communication. Only you can define what "value" is to your organization relative to a specific project. You must decide which balance of cost, schedule, quality, and risk is right for each project, and then share those objectives with the rest of the team members. They key to any team's working together successfully is making sure your goals are clearly understood by all team members and having everyone's responsibilities clearly specified. Carefully defined goals and responsibilities become the foundation on which the project mission is established.
Moreover, defining the mission helps all team members understand and commit to the common goal of achieving what is ultimately in the best interest of the project. Establishing these ground rules helps everyone adhere to the mission and generates a synergy among team members. There is no room for ambiguity about roles and responsibilities. Once the team members are on board, a partnering session to assure that all members possess a clear understanding of the mission and their role can be helpful before moving forward. If at any point in the project it appears that the goals are becoming vague, using a partnering session to revitalize and refocus the team can be beneficial as well.
Trust is the unifying thread that weaves through the fabric of the team approach. All the members of the team are experienced professionals who add value to the process and they should be treated as such. Owners must trust their team members, and the team must trust the owner. Without mutual respect, there is no foundation to establish and communicate the mission.
Moreover, trust creates an environment in which partners can share information and, when things aren't perfect, it enables the refining of the process through feedback and honesty. It is the major pillar supporting the structure and the collaborative environment of the project. Trust is necessary to manage conflicts directly and resolve issues in a timely and effective manner. The burden of maintaining trust lies within each organization and requires a never-ending effort by each company's leadership in order to consistently maintain integrity throughout the entire process.
Remember that you hired the team members because they are the experts. Count on their expertise and allow them to execute the plan. |