1400 North 14th Street, 12th Floor

Arlington, VA 22209

t: 703-387-3048

www.leanconstruction.org

1.0 Why EffectiveTeams

Assumptions

2.0 Who FactorsandCriteria

3.0 How

Process

Invitation

Meeting

Decision

FollowUp

References/Sources

Team Partner Selection

“IFYOUDONOTKNOWHOW

TOASKTHERIGHTQUESTION,

YOUDISCOVERNOTHING”| W. Edwards Deming |

A collaborative presentation from over a dozen experienced Lean IPD practitioners.

© 2015 Lean Construction Institute

TEAMPARTNERSELECTION | 2

1.0 Why

Lean/IPDprojectteamsproducebetterresultswhentheyworkwithabroadspectrumofspecialistsandbuildersearlyinthedesignprocess.Thisbroadenstheteamknowledge,amplifiestheabilitytoidentifyriskandmitigationstrategies,anddeliversbetterconstructabilityoutcomes.Whenaprojectteamworkswithavarietyofspecialists,theteamwillalsohaveanearlyunderstandingofcosts–thusempoweringtheowner/operatorwithimprovedValuedecision-makingcapability.

Thesuccessofanyprojectislinkedtotheabilityandsynergyofateamandhowquicklyitcanreachhigh perfor-mance.Whodoyouselect?Whendoyoumaketheselection?Howdoyoumaketheselection?

Thetypicalprocessofselectingteammembersisbrokenandladenwithwastedeffort.HundredsofpagesinanRFPresponseareneverread;theVicePresidentofBusinessDevelopmentneverdeliversonhispromises;oronlytheleastexpensiveinitialpricesareselected.

WhenassemblingLean/IPDprojectteams,itiscrucialtouseadifferentapproachandselectteammemberswhowilldelivertherightprojectforthebestcost–asdeterminedbyassessingthedeliveredcostagainstthebidorfirstcost.

EffectiveLean/IPDteams:

• Useconceptualestimating(specificallyTarget Value Design).• Collaboratewell.• Haveeffectiveteamchemistry.• Innovate.• Arecomfortableinalearningenvironment.

TheRFPandassessmentprocessshouldthereforeseektodeterminetheseeffectiveteamtraits.

Assumptions:

• Applicationcanbeopentoanyteammember,fromdesignertoGC/CMtotradepartnerstoconsultants,etc.• Applicationisintendedforoneteamforaspecificproject,butwiththeintentofformingalong-termhealthy

relationship.

^

TEAMPARTNERSELECTION | 3

Whatmakesahighperformingteammember?Thefol-lowing assumes thepotential partners havemet somelevel of pre-qualification to ensure technical capabilityandfinancialsoundness.

FactorsandCriteria:• Ability to affect the final project Conditions of

Satisfaction: The intent of the factors listed belowshouldbeconsideredinthelightof“howthisteammembercanaffectthefinaloverallprojectoutcome,notjustthemember’s”legacyresponsibilities.”• Name on the truck or the person: (Company

alignmentisgood;personalalignmentisbetter).• The company culture and values should align

withtheteamandtheirgoals.• The proposed teammembers should have the

supportofthecompanyleadership.• Theimportanceshouldlieontheconnectionof

theteamtotheproposedindividualsfromthosecompanies.

• The selection should ensure that the proposedteammembersarealignedwithteamvaluesandculturethatsupporttheteamgoals.

Note–Thiscanbemanagedasatwo-phasedapproachofqualifyingthecompanyandtheninterviewingindivid-ualsfortherightfit.

• Chemistry:(Morecomfortwithpersonalityfitisbet-ter;dotheyfillastrengthgap?)• Dotheproposedteammembershaveanatural

chemistrywiththecurrentteam?• Theselectionprocessshouldilluminateindividu-

als’naturalstrengthsandweaknesses.• This issimilartotheinterviewprocessofhiring

anemployeeforyourcompany.Dotheproposedteammembersfitin,andhowwilltheyfunctioninthisteamenvironment?

• Innovation: (More innovativenature is good,moreevidenceofinnovationisevenbetter.)• Dotheproposedteammemberschallengethem-

selves,theircompany,and/ortheindustrytotrynewthings?

• Where have they innovated within their ownorganization?

• Wherehavetheyinnovatedonrecentprojects?

• LearningandContinuousImprovement:(Morelearn-ing attitude is good;more examples of continuousimprovementisbetter.)• Are the proposed team members humble

enough toadmit there is always room to learnandimprove,yetconfidentintheirskillsetsandknowledge?

• Cantheproposedteammembersprovideexam-plesoftheirhumilityandconfidence?

2.0 Who

^

TEAMPARTNERSELECTION | 4

• Commercial Terms: (Clear and concise documen-tationoftermsisgood;comfortwithanIntegratedFormofAgreement(IFOA)isbetter.)

• Whilethisshouldnotbeamajorfocusforselec-tion, it is prudent to understand a company’stermsfordoingbusinessandtheirendorsementoftheteam’scontractualarrangement.

• Have these itemsonhandduring the selectionprocess:

• Profit–especially if thedeliverymethodwillinvolveIFOA,thecompanyneedstostatewhatprofit theywould bewilling to place at risk.This is typically and initially based as a per-centageofthecompany’sworkresponsibility.Overhead–whatamountkeepsthelightsoninthehomeoffice?Thisisalsotypicallybasedonapercentageofthecompany’swork.

• PersonnelRates–whatisthebillablerateforsalaried personnel and the rates for directlabor+burdensDefinethedifferencebetweenDirectCostandIndirectCost.

Note – More information can be requested, butunderstand that you should attempt to establish aleveloftrustandtransparency--evenatthisearlieststage.Ifapotentialteammemberperceivesthatyouare“casebuilding,”thentheteamisalreadypointedin the wrong direction. Trust is developed whentransparencygoesbothways.

When using an IFOA the terms are full open-bookaccounting. It is imperative that all teammembersare open and willing to share the details of theircostsandhowtheygetassignedtoaproject.Whileitisunderstoodthatfirmshavedifferentaccountingmethods,thissharingisnecessarytoinsurenocostsaredoubledup.

• Desired Skillset: (Stronger andmore effective skillsarebetter.)• Conceptualestimating–cantheproposedteam

memberseffectivelyforecastthedirectionoftheproject cost and clearly relay that informationtotheteam?CantheyenvisiontheprojectthatanswerstheConditions of Satisfactionandillus-tratethosecosts?

• SpeakupandSpeakout–cantheteammembersfunctioninagroupandchallengeeachotherinarespectfulandnon-disruptivemanner?

• Forecasting–cantheteammembersunderstandthe anticipated effort to accomplish the teamgoalsand forecast thetimeandcosts thatsup-portthataccurately?

• Transparent–aretheproposedteammemberscomfortable sharingallof theirdetail that sup-portstheirestimatingandforecasts?

• Self-Awareness–cantheyrecognizewhenadditionalresourcesarenecessaryandaskforhelp

• Technical Skills – are the proposed teammembershighlycapableincoreworkproductresponsibilities?

2.0 Who

^

TEAMPARTNERSELECTION | 5

TheInvitation:

• Therequestforproposal(RFP)shouldsetthestagefor the typeofenvironmentyouareattempting tocreate.Itshouldalsofocusonthekeyaspects.Istheask lengthy, wordy, and loaded with legalese thatattemptstopaintamemberintoafinancialcorner,orisitefficientanddirect?Doesitexplainthenatureoftheproject,explainwhytheteammemberisbeingasked to the table, and highlightwhat the team isspecificallylookingforinanewteammember?

• Itishelpfultoincludethemeetingagenda.• Some teams have been successful in using the A3

formatforboththeRFPandtheexpectedresponse.They also request résumés for all proposed teammembers.

• Allowrespondersenoughtimetodeveloparesponse.ForanA3response,two–threeweekshasprovenenoughtoframeanddeveloptheresponse.TheRFPshouldbebuilttosuiteachproject.

• Note – As soon as a need is known, reach out topotential team members and give them time toensure appropriate team members can be madeavailableforupcomingprojects.

TheMeeting:• The actual meeting is best framed as a conversa-

tion interview, and not a prepared presentation.Thinkabouthowyouwouldinteractwithapotentialemployee.

• Facilitation – the meeting led by the right personhelpsensuresuccessfuloutcomes.

• Interviewersshould• Understand and reach consensus on the selection

criteria.• Asktheteamwhathasmadeagoodteammember

inthepast,andwhatquestionscan illuminatethattraitintheproposedpartner.

• Assignthosequestionstoindividualstoensurethatthosetraitssurfaceduringtheinterview.

• Addressquestionstospecificproposedteammem-bers,andholdthemaccountabletorespondtotheinterviewer. Try to avoid theproposed teammem-bers from passing the question to their desiredresponder.

3.0 HowWhatistheprocesstogettherightteammembersattherighttimeforaproject?

Self-Selection:• The team grows organically. For example, the Client

selectsTeamMemberA,theClientandTeamMemberAselectTeamMemberB,theClientandTeamMembersAandBselectTeamMemberC,andsoon.

• Thistypeofteamassimilationhelpsensuretrustandvalue-basedselections,andaidsinfasterteamsynergy.

Risk Based Selection: (not mutually exclusive with SelfSelection):• Whatarethegreatestrisksand/ordecisionsfacingthis

specificproject?Whichexpertscanbestmitigatethatriskorinformthosedecisions?

• Mappingoutthedecisionsandtheirplacementontheprojecttimeline should informwhen the teammem-bersareselectedandonboarded.

• This keeps the early project development spend incheckandforcestheteamtounderstandtherisksanddecisionsthatneedtobeaddressed.

^

TEAMPARTNERSELECTION | 6

TheRoom:• If possible, use a round table; itwill best facilitate

directconversations.• Strategically and sporadically place empty seats

aroundthetabletoforcetheproposedteammem-bers to spread out among the current team. Thisseating arrangement avoids the “Us versus Them”scenarioandfacilitatesbetterconversations.

• Allow enough time for conversation. Have a dedi-cated person manage the clock. Interviews lastingfrom45to90minuteshaveproventobeappropriate.

• Allow enough time between interviews to discussanddocumentthefindings.

Note–teamshaveexperimentedwithdifferenttypesofinterviewstyles–includingproblemresolutioninateamatmosphere and work site visits. The goal is to allowenough time to analyze and understand the proposedteammemberandassesshisorherability toproblemsolve,mitigaterisk,andaddvalue.

Whocomestothemeeting:• For the team,anyonewhohasa stake in theproj-

ectandconsiderstheselectionofthisteammembercriticaltotheirperformance,oranyonewhohasspe-cific knowledge of the deliverables this participantwillprovide.

• For the proposed team member, the attendeesshouldincludetheleadpersonnelwhowillbedoingthe work (designer, estimator, project manager,supervisor,etc.),andsomeonethatcanspeakforthecompanyandmakeacommitmentonthecompany’sbehalf.

• Themeeting should not include business develop-mentpeopleandsuperfluousexecutives.

TheDecision:• Make the decision quickly. Successful teams have

hadtheinterviewsoveradayortwodayperiodandmadethedecisionattheconclusionofthemeetings.Thisestablishesanatmosphereofanaction-orientedteamfocusedonresultsandadvancement.Themoretime that expires between the interview and thedecision,themoredetailsfadeandmemoriesfail.

Note–thisisanopportunitytodisplayandestablishthedesiredcultureoftrust.

• Tool:teamshavebeensuccessfulusingChoosing by Advantages to organize, gain consensus,make thedecision,anddocumenttheprocessandinformation.

TheFollow-Up:• Aquickretrospective withthesuccessfulnewteam

membershasprovenbeneficial.• Whyweretheychosen?• Wherecouldtheyimprovetheirprocess?• Whatweretheconcernsof theteam,andhow

cantheybeaddressed?• Whatabouttheprocessfromthepointofview

oftheintervieweecouldbeimproved?• Whatconcernsdoes thenewest teammember

have,andhowcantheybeaddressed?• Dive deep with unsuccessful invitees providing a

transparentglimpseintohowandwhyotherswereselected.Askquestionssimilartothoseabove.

• It is valuable to the invitees tohearback fromtheinterviewcommittee.Thisisanopportunitytolearn.Takeinterviewnotesandsharethedecision-makingoutcome to help those who did not win improve.Becandidandfair.Itisalsovaluableforthewinningpartnerstounderstandwhytheywereselected.Thiscanhelpestablishexpectations.

3.0 How

Return to Learning Laboratory >>

^