Day 2 Calls: Making sure projects go as planned
August 15, 2022
Let’s imagine a scenario…
The project has been awarded, and a project kick-off meeting is scheduled. The kick-off meeting starts with all key team members...the EMC project manager, the labor partner project manager and the site team lead on a call.
As the meeting progresses, all the information being shared seems to make sense to everyone. Both project managers are comfortable with what has been described.
With only a few questions from the site team lead, all seems ready to go with a crystal-clear understanding of the site, site conditions, planned installation activities and overall project objectives.
And then Day 1 begins. The team arrives at the site and over the course of the day they discover things are not exactly as expected.
Was it new scope that should have been discussed more fully?
Is it a new fixture type being installed?
Could it be a new team that hasn’t worked together before or on this type of installation?
Who knows, but the project has started…and it’s not the start anyone wanted.
Ever happen to you?
Day 2 Calls
Shortly after we formed the Labor Partner Development team, we started a new process called Day 2 Calls. Simply stated, a Day 2 Call is a planned call based on the project manager’s review of the partner assigned and the following factors:
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New labor partner
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New scope for an existing partner
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High degree of project complexity
If any of these three conditions exist, then the project is tagged for a possible Day 2 Call.
Why Day 2?
As is the case in the “fictitious” example above, when a project kick-off meeting takes place, the team members on the call are all very confident about what has been communicated and what that means for the project.
It usually takes a day of activity to notice things that may seem different from the way in which they were discussed during the kick-off call. Setting up a call on the second day allows the team on site to get boots on the ground, start work, look around and determine what, if any, new challenges exist.
Soon You Can Request Day 2 Calls
Today, the Day 2 Call is set up and facilitated by the EMC project manager.
In the next few weeks, we will launch a new element to this Day 2 Call tool, inviting you to request a Day 2 Call based on things you know about the team deployed for a project.
Three conditions you might look for would be:
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New team lead for the project assigned
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New team for the project assigned
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New or complex scope for any of your teams
The process will take the form of an email with a list of the project starts that you have the following week. If any of those projects meet criteria for a Day 2 Call, we invite you to reach out to the project manager to set one up.
You know your teams, and you know the projects that have been assigned. You are in a very good position to raise your hand and ask for a collaboration call on Day 2.
Other Collaboration Tools
This expanded use of Day 2 Calls is part of an ongoing effort to make our partnerships work as effectively as possible. Other resources we hope you find useful include the following:
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In the October 2021 Newsletter we published a blog called “Things Happen,” which highlighted the value of expanding and making use of the full team when something goes wrong.
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In the April 2022 Newsletter we published a blog called “Communicating, Collaborating, Building Trust and Shared Success,” which pointed to some of the things we have done to increase the number of ways in which we are communicating to deliver greater value as a team.
We continue to work to provide tools and reinforce the idea of ongoing collaboration between all team members. Please consider taking advantage of a Day 2 Call when you see the need.
If you have any questions about Day 2 Calls or your role in them, please reach out to me to discuss.
John Loheit is EMC's Director of Labor Partner Development. In this role he oversees the Labor Partner Network and Field Quality Assurance. He has been in the lighting industry for 16 years and holds a bachelor’s degree from Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN.
