There no ‘I’ in Project Team, your renovation’s project team, that is. This blog post explores why finding the right team members for you, and for your renovation project is so important.
One of the critical pieces in the renovation success puzzle is putting together the right project team consisting of the very best team members for YOU and for YOUR project.
Every single project is unique, so each needs to be looked at and assessed on its own merits. One of the most important things to assess is the ‘rightness’ of the project team members you choose. You need to understand the role your project team will play and their importance to its ultimate success. Acknowledge that the designer for example recommended by their friend (who built a new modern house) for your own renovation (of a character workers cottage) project might not be the might not be a good fit for the project.
You need to ask the right question of your potential team members to understand if they are best for you and your type of project. It important to tailor your team to suit your project.
What are your needs?
It important that you understand what your needs are, and factor them into your renovation planning strategy.
Think about what type of project do you want to do – is it a renovation, a new modern build the scope of work you want, and the complexity of your project.
Asking the right questions your potential team members will help you decide who is best for your team. There will inevitably be specific issues or challenges that dictate a particular experience type, personality or skill set is needed, to ensure your project is successful.
Choosing the best candidate
In order to pick the best team members for your project, you need to take into account:
Take into consideration:
-
-
- Their EXPERIENCE
- Their SPECIALTIES
- What SCOPE OF SERVICES do they offer – are they flexible?
- WORK Example – Look at examples of their work
- What PERSONALITY type are they – What is your ‘gut feel’ this is an important factor that is often ignored- you’ll be working fairly closely with them throughout your project.
- Do they understand and are open to your VISION
- Are they willing to work COLLABORATIVELY
-
Follow your gut – I’m a big believer in the first impression – Take the professional for example who doesn’t take or return calls right at the start when you are trying to get a quote -i – this could be a red flag – how will they act when they actually have your money?
Make allowances
Now that you understand that you need a project team. You need to make allowances for some professional fees as part of your budget planning. We explore who your project team members might be in our next post [link – whose on my project team]
I’ve said it before, and no doubt you’ll hear it again! but its so important to the success of your project that you know there are so many different ways of tackling almost every aspect of your renovation project, and this piece of advice is critical to choosing the right team your project.
Rest assured – Having the right team on board with your project, will save you money, time and loads of stress.
There ain’t no ‘Easy Way’
Don’t take the easy road with this one – doing your research, asking the questions and making n informed choice will be worth the effort.
Did you know that people spend more time researching their next car then they do planning their renovation – True story! Especially when you consider renovating will be a bigger monetary outlay and will put you at more risk of budget overruns!
Your hip bone’s connected to your…
A renovation is a holistic process. And by this I mean, what you do in one area will affect another. Do you remember the song ‘the hip bone’s connected to the thigh bone…’? Well, it’s just like that.
So selecting team members who are compatible, complementary to each other, and collaborative in their thinking is really important.
One thing to keep in mind, If you have chosen your designer with all this in mind- it can be worth considering engaging some critical professions ie Engineers, Town Planners, Building Certifier etc that they regularly work with and have a working relationship and a rapport with. Other less critical professionals can be hand-picked.
Rise to the challenge – you won’t regret it
As every project is unique and comes with its own challenges and issues, getting the right team together is critical.
So take my advice, do your research, ask the right questions and make an informed decision – you won’t regret it.
In our next POST, we explore “Who might be on your Project Team”
