Picture the scenario; a project is successfully completed, but as with any project there have been some hiccups along the way. The team move on to the next project which may involve all or some of the same people and for this project the same mistakes are made again. I've seen it happen! Once a project is completed, a team must recognise the importance of looking at the mistakes that were made, the problems that were encountered and the solutions that fixed the issues. When issues are identified and thoroughly examined in an objective way, a team can learn from past mistakes and prevent the same things from happening again thus improving performance. So how is the best way to go about creating a productive lessons learned session?

The first thing to do is to include all members of the project. Just because it appears that one person held up some of the work, it may be that they were in fact reliant on another part of the project. Including all project members means that everyone has a chance to fully share their experiences face to face. Everything is out in the open so employees do not feel other staff members are talking behind their backs. This would only create mistrust and suspicion. One person might admit that there was a hiccup and be able to state the reason along with any solution he or she found. If they felt that they were held up by another part of the project then this can be discussed and will result in better procedures put in place.

I cannot stress enough that these sessions only work properly within a strong team with a supportive working environment. They are not blame sessions or witch hunts. Teams that feel the session is set up to judge them or place blame will not feel like being open about issues that arose during a project and the atmosphere will not be constructive. Stress that the project was completed by a team and therefore the responsibility for anything that went right or wrong is equally held by all team members. Explain that the point of the meeting is not to place any blame or single out individuals, but to purely find ways to improve procedures for next time. Do not accept any team members attempting to place personal blame on a particular person. If a particular person shows continually poor performance then this is an issue for the line manager to discuss with the individual and not his or her colleagues in this meeting.

In order to place staff at their ease, make sure that you include your own successes and mistakes. Although as a project manager you can lead the meeting, you are not above making mistakes and should also be open to suggestions on how people feel the project management can be improved. Be sure to highlight the positives as well as the negatives. If something went very well in one project then it would be prudent to do it in a similar way the next time. Everyone will have done something well and you will place staff at their ease if you let them know that you recognise their successes. People are more willing to talk about their failings if they feel they are also appreciated for what they have done well.

Making the purpose of the meeting clear must also include a summary of the steps you intend to take with the information gathered. Staff members may be reluctant to confide areas for their own improvement if they feel you will compile a report of all their mistakes on a personal basis which you will then send to their managers. In the interest of making staff comfortable enough to talk openly, let them know that a report will be compiled and sent to all project members only and that it will not name any names. The purpose of the document should be a professional and frank account of the lessons learned to prevent them being repeated in future projects. All of them will get a chance to read it so there is no secrecy. This document will be helpful to you when planning future projects as it will allow you to better estimate time and budget as well as any dependencies for tasks.