Marshall Hester
By: Marshall Hester – Bayshore Solutions Business Development Team
All of us at some point in our business lives are “the new kid in the class” when we start to work fresh for an organization. So it was for me when I joined Bayshore Solutions.
My newbie experience was a true eye-opener to a company with a project management process different from anything else I’ve encountered in my 30-year career.
Many moons ago Bayshore Solutions’ leadership decided that project management is best accomplished by encasing tasks within a unified Bayshore project team. The logic behind the decision was to centralize tasks, speed up communication, insure accountability and maintain quality control – all to the benefit of the customer.
When Bayshore Solutions accepts a project the work is assigned to one of three delivery teams within the company. Each team is led by a vice president and is comprised of project managers, designers, developers, digital marketing account managers and a business development director. Each Bayshore team member is a senior level professional with years of experience (Bayshore does not outsource any project tasks). Team members occupy work stations adjacent to each other and are connected to each other and the rest of the company with instant messaging.
I belong to Bayshore Team 2. Each and every morning Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. our team VP oversees a team production meeting where project work is analyzed, plotted and assigned. Production goals are a big part of these daily sessions so that all team members are updated on project budgets and deadlines. (Speaking of deadlines, Bayshore Solutions operates with core values of integrity and commitment-to-win and staff will work overtime and on weekends when needed to deliver what we say we will.)
I mentioned earlier that Bayshore’s services delivery process is designed to benefit the customer. To elaborate:
- The project tasks are shepherded by the team. Tasks are never farmed out to unaligned departments where the big idea behind the project, not to mention the devil in the details, might be lost.
- Bayshore employees are evaluated based on team performance, thus incentivizing team members to assist and critique one another in producing highest quality end results.
- Customers can know the status of their project down to specific task with one phone call or email to the project manager.
- At a minimum, Bayshore project managers provide detailed bi-weekly project updates to customers.
For contrast, imagine the traditional workplace flow chart (that I’ll name Agency X). The majority of the arrows move up and down. At a minimum, even with scattered sideways pointers, the organizational structure is vertically aligned. The overall project process, including authority, communication, accountability and quality control, is an up and down affair. A project enters the agency somewhere near the top of the chart. Tasks are segmented and parceled out toward the middle, but actually performed near the bottom. Then the pieces of the finished product must be pushed up from the bottom, assembled in the middle and shipped out from back at the top.
Bayshore Solutions’ customers are not endangered by the inherent pitfalls of Agency X’ process. Projects enter Bayshore then are completed and delivered via a unified team.
When evaluating a digital partner, knowing how the work gets done is a key indicator. The team approach is the cornerstone of Bayshore Solutions’ unique value we bring to our customers.
“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.” –Andrew Carnegie
To connect your business with the benefits of your own dedicated digital team, Contact Bayshore Solutions today!
Marshall Hester is Director of Business Development at Bayshore Solutions- a Digital Marketing, Web Development and Internet Marketing Strategy company.