Almost every company periodically faces the need to implement cross-functional projects that go beyond the main activities of most of their participants. At the same time, it is necessary not only to allocate resources and organize a team but also to properly prepare, adapt and motivate participants to perform new tasks.
For Coca-Cola HBC Russia, one of the most complex and responsible projects in recent years has been supporting the FIFA World Cup 2018. A year later, we summed up the final results of this work and highlighted the key principles that will help lay the foundation for the successful implementation of major projects.
1.The right combination of resources
The World Cup was fundamentally different from other sporting events in scale and geography. For example, at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi, it was necessary to cover only two clusters - the Coastal and Gorny clusters. In the case of the World Cup, there were already 11 cities and 12 stadiums, each of which required the presence of our products.
We understood that we could not do without the available internal resources.
Therefore, it was decided to form one permanent project team, which took over the coordination and organization of the process throughout the entire period of work. We included 35 employees who passed the competitive selection process.
In addition, we created a large temporary team of more than 250 people to work directly at the stadiums. It included both internal and external specialists. Employees of Coca-Cola HBC Russia were given the opportunity to be selected as supervisors and managers of sports facilities, and as merchandisers, we attracted external candidates, primarily students and graduates.
This combination allowed us to distribute the load and get enough resources to work at thousands of events in 11 cities.
2. Gradual immersion
The company started preparing for the World Cup in 2016. At first glance, it seems that there was a lot of time, but the Championship itself was preceded by several other events that helped the project team to adapt to new challenges, try their hand at a new role and assess their strengths.
In 2017, the team ensured the presence of our products at the Confederations Cup, which is also held under the auspices of FIFA. The competition was held at four different venues. After that, the Coca-Cola System in Russia organized the World Cup Tour, which started in September 2017 and ended a week before the championship. The Cup's route covered 51 countries on six continents and became the longest in history. In Russia alone, it included twenty-four cities.
As a result, by the beginning of the World Cup, the team had accumulated significant experience in interaction and coordination over long distances, which was very useful at the time of the World Cup.
3. Reasonable approach to loads
Important projects are generally associated with 24/7 work for staff. Sometimes this approach works at short notice, but it is not suitable for long-term initiatives and projects. Otherwise, the quality of the work will decline already at the preparation stage. And no additional motivation will bring back an active and engaged employee.
As part of our support for the World Cup, we tried to avoid this and pushed the project participants to form master plans with the supervising manager as thoughtfully and accurately as possible. They also strongly recommended not to hold meetings and other events at too early or too late. As a result, most of the staff, despite the high workloads, maintained a high level of energy until the end of the project.
4. Clear perspective
In order for people not to be lost in the midst of new challenges, but to be able to show creativity and initiative to the best of their ability, they must have a good understanding of their own role in the process and the ultimate goal of the work. And it is not only about what the company is striving for within the project, but also about what the project will give to a specific employee.
This understanding is a key factor in maintaining motivation for a long time, especially in the face of heavy workloads and other difficulties.
Therefore, part of the adaptation of staff to the support of the World Cup was the process of forming an individual career development plan for each participant of the project team.
The guys understood what would happen to their careers after the end of the project, what new positions they would take up and what new tasks they would have to solve. Most of them were promoted within the company and remained highly motivated both throughout the project and after its completion.
5. Continuous support of the HR Department
The project turned out to be difficult both in terms of workload and emotion. Our experience of supporting the World Championships has shown that there should always be an HR team with the ability to support in difficult moments.
We selected an HR manager for the project team in mid-2017, in the midst of the Confederations Cup. Every Friday, at a certain time, the HR Open hour was held: employees could turn to HR with absolutely any question without prior appointment. As a result, the team members did not feel that they were left with one-on-one tasks. People felt that their efforts were appreciated, and the company was always close by and ready to help.
And, perhaps, one of the main lessons for us was that when implementing large-scale initiatives HR-manager should be selected not after the formation of the team, but at the very beginning, after the project manager. This will help not only to pass through crisis moments without losses but also to plan the work more carefully and accurately in advance.