How a top three global technology company developed a collaborative, high-performance data center construction project culture

JMJ worked alongside project teams across multiple locations to impact measurable results with project schedule, budget and culture

500%

Engagement ROI

Challenge

In the fast-paced global technology sector, infrastructure projects to construct new data centers often have extremely lean build schedules which put project teams under pressure to deliver on time and on budget. Meeting these demands while creating a one team workplace culture can be complicated.

One of the world’s leading technology firms wanted to overcome these challenges and create a high-performance project environment across multiple European data center construction projects. The company had excellent internal programs in place but was unable to offer its leadership training and workshops to external contractors.

Having partnered with JMJ in a previous role, the managing director asked us to create a tailored engagement to fulfill the organization’s commitment to having high-performance environments that are enjoyable and rewarding for people, while supporting the high expectation on project results. Our goal was to create a culture of ownership, clarity of expectations, collaboration, and support, where different stakeholders operated with a ‘one team’ mentality in service of the overall project success: safety, quality, schedule, and budget.

Solution

In each location, the site teams brought together experienced people from construction backgrounds. While they were all highly proficient in their fields, this was the first time some of them had worked on a data center project. For many, it was also their first experience of working with our client’s very specific and rigorous design, commercial, process, and systems requirements.

Given the pressure project teams were under to complete on time, it was critical for JMJ to be seen as adding value rather than taking away time. We achieved this by:

Adapting and customizing our approach while maintaining focus on the overall High-Performance Project™ strategy and goals
Stepping into the site team’s world by joining their meetings, working alongside them, and adapting our approach on an almost daily basis rather than expecting them to come to us and fit into a rigid model
Providing coaching and support ‘in the moment’ as opportunities arose while they worked through project execution items
Holding meetings and workshops with specific teams across the project to create alignment, clarity of expectations and open communications where big issues were on the table for collaborative resolution discussions
Creating a high-performance culture with the various teams rather than imposing it on them

There is massive value in these HPP timeouts and working through our challenges and ways of working together.

With the joint High-Performance Project™ sessions, we started making real progress on the needed changes. They built bridges between individuals on each side of the fence… this is what HPP sessions are all about.

Results

Our approach gave leaders across the project the opportunity to create the environment they said they wanted but hadn’t been achieving; one where they worked well together, were honest with each other and operated in a spirit of cooperation. We encouraged them to be more proactive and work through challenges together, seeing them as an opportunity for high performance and growth rather than blame and finger pointing

Key takeaways

Formulating your commitment early in the project creates clarity for the entire team, not just senior leaders
The structures you put in place need to support the team through the good and the bad times
Formulate a commitment early on and develop structures and processes in service of that commitment
Develop a structure that sets all parties up to win
It’s not enough to leave a workshop feeling good, you need to practice constantly to incorporate that commitment into the day-to-day
Early phase high-performance work means, as the project ramps up, you are welcoming people into something they already have some understanding/experience of

One team approach

Developed a ‘one team’ approach that overcame complex challenges

Reduced risk and saved time

Reduced risk and saved time by agreeing project deliverables early on

More efficient use of time

Reduced downtime, more efficient use of time, faster problem solving and approvals

Averted disputes and delays

Averted disputes/delays and associated legal, schedule and contractor costs

500%+ Engagement

Delivered an engagement ROI in excess of 500%

500%

Engagement ROI

Who we are

For over three decades, JMJ has been delivering impactful cultural change to help executives, leaders and front-line workers transform safety, sustainability, and business performance. We combine the deep experience of our people with our proprietary Transformation Cloud™ digital platform to deliver breakthrough results, making the impossible possible.

Find out how JMJ can help you achieve a world-class safety culture across multiple languages, cultures and communities.