Your people are the backbone of your company. You've put them in charge of executing projects, delivering for your clients, and just getting things done. But if your teams aren't performing well, it significantly impacts your engineering firm's bottom line.

So how do you know if your project teams are struggling? Here are four signs that they're not performing well and what to do about them:

Processes are disorganized

A lack of clear processes is a very common problem in an engineering firm. After all, every project is unique, right?

Once you get past this point, you'll see there are processes that need to be replicated regardless of the project. Getting this part of your business squared away increases certainty of your business outcomes and increases the performance of your teams and business. Processes can be an issue at any level of the company, and it's not hard to see why managers might struggle with this: They're trying to make sense of everything that's happening around them while simultaneously figuring out how they should be leading their team.

In today's fast-paced business world, there are many ways for a process to get lost or forgotten along the way—and no single person has all the answers. This is particularly true when you have major changes to your team like new hires joining your company or if someone leaves unexpectedly.

So how can you prevent this from happening? The first step is determining what needs documenting and then ensuring everyone knows about it. If you don't already have an established system for recording your critical processes, consider investing in SOP and knowledge management software. These platforms make creating, storing, sharing, and searching for process documents easy for your team.

Silos are hurting collaboration

Silos are another common problem in the A/E/C industry. Silos are caused when team members don't share information. This leads to wasted time, resources, and costly mistakes. The best way to avoid this problem is for your project managers and project engineers to work together as early as possible encouraging collaboration.

Collaboration is vital for success on any project. Engineers need to understand all aspects of the project to provide accurate estimates and a design  meeting project requirements. Project managers also need complete information from engineers and construction managers to properly plan the schedule while staying on budget.

Tearing down silos is essential to improving collaboration. It's much easier for engineers and project managers to work together when they have a common understanding of the problem. Tools like shared calendars, document management systems, and messaging apps are a good start. Additionally, team habits like well-structured meetings and daily check-ins increase communication. With ready tools and habits to communicate and coordinate, your people will collaborate easily and efficiently, eliminating the barrier of silos.

The team isn't communicating well

Related to silos is your team's communication ability. If your team isn't communicating well and openly, it will be much harder for them to work together.

The key here is knowing your team's communications prefererences.  Different people have different needs in communicating. For example, an extrovert who "likes to think out loud" might not realize this is distracting to an introvert who needs to "think things through." If these two co-workers don't understand their differing communication needs, they already have a barrier to their communication.

Knowing how different team members prefer and need different communication styles will help find the right approach to fixing communication problems.

You don't have the talent you need

You need engineers and managers with an eye for detail and the skill set to be great at your company.

But how do you know if the person you've just assigned to a project has these qualities? And if they don't, is there anything you can do about it?

The good news is, yes, you can take steps to ensure you have the talent that you need. There are several things that you can do right away:

• Understand the culture you have right now. You'll be able to spot the "right fit" for your team. For employees those that don't fit, you'll need to do something about it. Frequently, leaders don't know their culture and will leave "fit" to chance.
• When hiring, encourage open communication and feedback from everyone involved. You'll have to relinquish some control over who comes into the company, but the folks closest to the ground floor will know best if the talent they are considering is the right fit for your company.
• Take the time to interview thoroughly. Don't just wing the interview. Get really good at this step in the process and ask questions tailored to the business's needs. This allows potential candidates with relevant experience to shine.
• Finally, and probably most important on this list, invest in employee training and development. Look internal and develop your talent from within. This is far less costly than bringing in outside help and signals to your people you care about their success in your company.

Conclusion

To improve the performance of your project teams, you need to ensure your company has suitable support systems in place. That can mean organizing processes more effectively, so they're more efficient and streamlined. It can also mean breaking down barriers between departments so that there are fewer silos within your organization. Communication and talent development are also keys to improving your company. Get these four things in place for your business and you'll be on your way to project teams performing to the level you need them to.

Your people are the backbone of your firm, and an investment in them will no doubt help your business's bottom line.