How Builders Can Improve Their Project Management Skills
Seek education or coaching, learn how to set client expectations and create processes for common tasks, pros suggest
There’s the design side of the construction and landscaping business that involves the overall look and the materials used in a project. And then there’s the logistics part, where you make it all happen in a timely and efficient manner. How do you improve your skills for that second part of your business so your projects run smoothly?
We recently spoke with remodeling and design pros to get their tips for successful project management, as well as to find out how they improved their skills. Read on to find what they said.
We recently spoke with remodeling and design pros to get their tips for successful project management, as well as to find out how they improved their skills. Read on to find what they said.
Explain How a Project Will Run and Share Regular Updates
One must-do for smooth project management is setting appropriate expectations with the customer. If you don’t, it can cause all kinds of problems later. “Being able to establish expectations with a customer about how the project is going to unfold — that comes with foresight based on past experience,” says Tim Glass of Alderwood Landscape Architecture and Construction in Bellevue, Washington.
For Glass, it’s key to share with clients details about construction sequencing, which homeowners may not be familiar with, especially if they’ve never done an outdoor project. He explains early on that the crew may need to create an access road to bring materials into the backyard, and that they’ll set up a staging area where they place materials and equipment. He tells clients a project will get messy and involve dirt and mud, and that things will look worse before they look good. He also lays out the project timeline and mentions factors such as bad weather that could slow that timeline down.
For Marie Cairns of CairnsCraft Design & Remodel in San Diego, there are five must-haves for effective project management: an accurate schedule, planning ahead on materials, effectively handling client communication, paying attention to details so you anticipate problems, and being present on the job site. It’s a lot to manage, and she has found that construction project management software is very helpful for managing all the moving parts.
To effectively manage client expectations, she likes to lay out a project schedule through her construction project management software and share it with her clients. “Every job pretty much has the same sequence,” she says. “We work very hard in the planning phases of the project,” to come up with a realistic schedule. Cairns also uses project management software to provide daily progress updates for homeowners.
There are multiple programs pros can use to keep clients informed on a project, including Houzz Pro, designed specifically for remodeling pros. Through Houzz Pro, builders can share a project timeline and update homeowners with a daily log. “I use the daily logs feature and I use the project timeline,” says general contractor Francisco Gomez-Palacio Jr., who works with Houzz Pro at Integrated Home Improvement in Dallas. “It’s extremely helpful and I share it with the client.”
Learn more about project management tools available with Houzz Pro
One must-do for smooth project management is setting appropriate expectations with the customer. If you don’t, it can cause all kinds of problems later. “Being able to establish expectations with a customer about how the project is going to unfold — that comes with foresight based on past experience,” says Tim Glass of Alderwood Landscape Architecture and Construction in Bellevue, Washington.
For Glass, it’s key to share with clients details about construction sequencing, which homeowners may not be familiar with, especially if they’ve never done an outdoor project. He explains early on that the crew may need to create an access road to bring materials into the backyard, and that they’ll set up a staging area where they place materials and equipment. He tells clients a project will get messy and involve dirt and mud, and that things will look worse before they look good. He also lays out the project timeline and mentions factors such as bad weather that could slow that timeline down.
For Marie Cairns of CairnsCraft Design & Remodel in San Diego, there are five must-haves for effective project management: an accurate schedule, planning ahead on materials, effectively handling client communication, paying attention to details so you anticipate problems, and being present on the job site. It’s a lot to manage, and she has found that construction project management software is very helpful for managing all the moving parts.
To effectively manage client expectations, she likes to lay out a project schedule through her construction project management software and share it with her clients. “Every job pretty much has the same sequence,” she says. “We work very hard in the planning phases of the project,” to come up with a realistic schedule. Cairns also uses project management software to provide daily progress updates for homeowners.
There are multiple programs pros can use to keep clients informed on a project, including Houzz Pro, designed specifically for remodeling pros. Through Houzz Pro, builders can share a project timeline and update homeowners with a daily log. “I use the daily logs feature and I use the project timeline,” says general contractor Francisco Gomez-Palacio Jr., who works with Houzz Pro at Integrated Home Improvement in Dallas. “It’s extremely helpful and I share it with the client.”
Learn more about project management tools available with Houzz Pro
Create a Process for Sharing Project Information With Your Teams
Glass relies on two project coordinators to oversee the day-to-day project management of each job; each project coordinator manages four crews. With multiple people involved in each project, it’s critical that everyone stay up to date on what’s happening on the job. Glass’s teams communicate these details through in-person meetings at the project site and with phone calls, texts and emails.
As lead designer at design-build firm Copper Sky Renovations in Atlanta, Micaela Quinton uses construction project management software to communicate with the construction managers at her company, as well as with the firm’s clients.
She’s also built specific tools for project managing her own team’s work. One is a project checklist with 50 individual tasks that need to be done on every project, which Quinton’s design partners use as a work guide. One line item is “Did you ask your client if they have any [audio-visual] needs?” Quinton says. “We don’t manage the AV, but it is integrated into the electrical scope,” so the designer needs to ask about this early so the electrical elements of the project can be appropriately planned and executed.
Quinton and the other designers regularly review together the checklist to make sure their projects are on track and to identify any gaps.
Glass relies on two project coordinators to oversee the day-to-day project management of each job; each project coordinator manages four crews. With multiple people involved in each project, it’s critical that everyone stay up to date on what’s happening on the job. Glass’s teams communicate these details through in-person meetings at the project site and with phone calls, texts and emails.
As lead designer at design-build firm Copper Sky Renovations in Atlanta, Micaela Quinton uses construction project management software to communicate with the construction managers at her company, as well as with the firm’s clients.
She’s also built specific tools for project managing her own team’s work. One is a project checklist with 50 individual tasks that need to be done on every project, which Quinton’s design partners use as a work guide. One line item is “Did you ask your client if they have any [audio-visual] needs?” Quinton says. “We don’t manage the AV, but it is integrated into the electrical scope,” so the designer needs to ask about this early so the electrical elements of the project can be appropriately planned and executed.
Quinton and the other designers regularly review together the checklist to make sure their projects are on track and to identify any gaps.
Find an Organization System That Works for Your Projects and Tasks
For her own work, Quinton has developed strategies to help her manage the collection of tasks that she does to contribute to a project’s completion. Some techniques are simply good time-management practices that reflect the specific demands of her job.
“I keep a lot of lists,” Quinton says. “I use my calendar a lot. I look ahead at my week and what are my deadlines. I slot time periods between meetings to get things done.”
For design work, Quinton needs more than a couple of 30-minute or hourlong chunks to get into the flow. “I really need to work in long periods of time. I need enough time to get into the project and develop it,” she says. So she protects chunks of time on her calendar for that deep kind of work.
For her own work, Quinton has developed strategies to help her manage the collection of tasks that she does to contribute to a project’s completion. Some techniques are simply good time-management practices that reflect the specific demands of her job.
“I keep a lot of lists,” Quinton says. “I use my calendar a lot. I look ahead at my week and what are my deadlines. I slot time periods between meetings to get things done.”
For design work, Quinton needs more than a couple of 30-minute or hourlong chunks to get into the flow. “I really need to work in long periods of time. I need enough time to get into the project and develop it,” she says. So she protects chunks of time on her calendar for that deep kind of work.
Your turn: What strategies do you use for smooth project management? Please share in the Comments.
More for Pros on Houzz
Read more stories for pros
Learn about Houzz Pro software
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
More for Pros on Houzz
Read more stories for pros
Learn about Houzz Pro software
Talk with your peers in the Pro-to-Pro discussions
Join the Houzz Trade Program
A number of pros we spoke with said reading, working with a coach or hiring a business consultant had helped them get better at project management so they could run a more efficient business. “Five or six years ago I was getting really frustrated with the project management side of [the business],” says Charli Junker of Your Space Our Design in St. John’s, Newfoundland, and Labrador, Canada. “Things tend to go off the rails pretty quickly if you don’t have policies and procedures in place.”
Then Junker attended a talk by Kimberley Seldon, who offers business coaching for interior designers. “It was one of the more life-changing things that I went to,” Junker says. “At the end she was selling her books, so I bought them.”
Implementing tactics from Seldon’s books helped Junker reduce some of the emotional stress and interpersonal challenges of running a design business. The most important technique she learned was to “follow policies and procedures whether or not you’re the only person that works there,” Junker says. She advises fellow designers to share their process with clients, and only work with people who “respect your policies, procedures and guidelines.”
For instance, one of Junker’s policies is working only with certain vendors. “If the client wants to go to other vendors, they are responsible for [selecting the products], payments, installs and budget,” Junker says. She also works only with her own contractor. “This ensures quality control and that the plans are executed properly. If the client wants to work with their own contractor, all info is relayed through a client.”
As another example, if your policy is not answering homeowner texts after 6 p.m. or on weekends, make the client aware of that policy and then stick with it. Otherwise, it’s too easy to make exceptions for various clients that can end up leaving you feeling exhausted. “I think a lot of entrepreneurs suffer from it. You’re emotionally invested in the business,” Junker says. “I’ve learned to people-please less and follow the steps.
“It’s just easier if you’re following a set of standards for each project, and treat every project the same.”
Download our handout Prevent Scope Creep With SMART Goals