For SCB, the LEO Consulting team, represented by Oleksiy Prosnytsky and Serhiy Chekhla, implemented Microsoft 365.
We talked to Serhii Kvashuk, co-owner and director of System Capital Building, about the implementation experience and new opportunities that have opened up for the company since using IT tools for project management.
About the beginning of cooperation with LEO Consulting
In 2020, I decided to complete the Construction Project Manager program at the PRO PM school. There were two motivations for this: assessing me as a professional and networking. After the training, my view of project management changed and I needed to implement IT tools for my company.
I still use the tools I received during my studies to this day. Moreover, I teach these tools to my colleagues, partners, and competitors. I believe that the more professional they are, the more successful our industry will be.
About the company
SCB has been operating in the fire safety market since 2008. The company was built bit by bit and previously everything was in one portfolio, then we started to scale and it made more sense to divide the business areas:
- system design (consulting)
- installation of systems
- systems operation
- production (sale) of diamond crowns and drills. This is a new direction, we have launched drill production in Lithuania and sell them in Ukraine.
We have established ourselves as a reliable and professional contractor. We have residential and commercial real estate projects in our portfolio: hotels, business centers, coworking spaces, etc.
Fig.1. Customers of SCB Company
Since 2012, we have been cooperating with the NOVUS-Ukraine, which has about 90 stores.
Figure 2. Information about projects for NOVUS Ukraine
For NOVUS Ukraine, we carry out a range of works, namely:
- consulting;
- designing;
- budgeting;
- installation;
- operation.
In recent years, we have focused and occupied two niches.
First: retail – we work with such customers as NOVUS-Ukraine, Fozzy, Auchan.
The second is logistics – we have built fire protection systems, security systems (video surveillance, structured cable networks), at 5 (five) distribution terminals of Nova Poshta, and other projects, and are also working on a logistics project of one of the graduates of the PRO PM school.
Of course, we are looking for new markets and new customers, but we want to cooperate with those that are developing and not limited to one facility.
For a long time, our company has been operating without a presence in the Internet space, but this will change in the near future. Even without being active in the online environment, but because of my own reputation, I have enough requests to keep my team busy.
About tools: before and after implementation
We used to actively use notebooks, pens, hold meetings, step on a rake, forget something, remind something. As for IT tools, we tried to work in Bitrix, but this tool is more suitable for sales companies. We gave it up. After that, we tested MS Planner. We also tried to improve 1C by adding CRM functionality to it.
All the company’s activities were under my personal management and I kept all the basic information in my head. It was extremely difficult for me to delegate anything to anyone.
Company information is company information, not someone’s personal information.
As a company owner, I was always concerned about data security. Team members worked with their own laptops, stored information on flash drives, and all important information belonged to these people. This caused several inconveniences: there was simply no way to get the necessary files here and now, information could be lost, media could be broken or lost, etc.
After I started studying at the PRO PM school in early 2020, my views and approaches to work changed 180 degrees – I started thinking and working in a completely different way. MS Teams has also helped me a lot. In the Teams environment, I can see how my team is working: I can read the information I need, view calendars, and understand deadlines, project starts and ends, and deviations from schedules.
MS Teams and other related tools have removed my fear of delegation, which has led to process transformation and company scaling. I can still control projects and keep my finger on the pulse, but I have more capacity and power to do so.
Today, everyone works as one living organism, we actively use Teams, Power BI, OneDrive, Project Online for large-scale projects, and Project for the web for small ones. We are on the way to ERP Business Central.
About the implementation
It took us 3 months to implement Microsoft 365.
Fig. 3. Stages of the implementation project
Step 4 came when everyone got used to Teams and started working there more actively – we transferred all mail from Ukrnet to Outlook, implemented calendars and tasking. In fact, with a great desire, Microsoft 365 is not a problem to implement. The problem is when people have no desire for change.
About the team
Our team currently consists of 125 employees. We have no staff turnover. From the date of the company’s foundation to the present day, I have had Natalia, our chief accountant, and Natalia, the head of the procurement department, in my team. If we take the entire team as of today, each employee will have more than five years of employment at SCB. Someone has 8, someone has 9. Over the 16 years of the company’s operation, we had 3 people who “grew up” and left due to various circumstances.
There are 2 secrets why my team is motivated:
The first is my own example. As the head of the company, I set the tone for the team. We have a family atmosphere, clear rules, and they apply to everyone. Even though I am the owner of the company, I play the role of Project Manager and do the same work and processes as other team members. I work 24/7, but I don’t demand it from my employees, but I expect them to work efficiently and effectively from Monday to Friday.
The second is freedom and trust. We never track anyone by time – when they came and when they left. Everyone has to do their job efficiently and on time, as a team.
Project management life hacks:
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- Once a month, I randomly choose a direction and check the availability of documents in the cloud environment and the relevance of documents in accordance with the approved structure. This gives me an understanding that the entire team has access to the project and that everything is being done properly.
- We don’t have a policy of discussing work issues in personal chats. There is a separate channel or dialog for each project and each important issue, and it is very important that all communication takes place there, because this is the history of the project and it should be available to everyone.
- We use a checklist to close projects – we scan all the documents, check whether all the project data is saved in the cloud. And only after the information is organized can the project be closed and the celebratory buffet served.
- Do not forget about discipline and control of the rules of communication or information management – no verbal agreements and no files on the desktops of employees’ laptops.
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New opportunities
Until 2020, we were implementing small and medium-sized projects. After we implemented IT tools, we felt able and confident to manage large projects as well. That’s why we are now focusing on more complex and large-scale projects. For example, we are now being offered to participate in “large-scale” projects (a plant with a total area of 200,000.00 square meters, logistics 180,000.00 square meters).
Frankly speaking, our company has made a quantum leap. We are the only ones in our field of activity who use such a package of IT tools.
Plans for the future
We are working to move to ERP Business Central. It takes 5 years for large companies to switch, so I hope that we will do it in 3-5 years. For us, this is a project for growth, because ERP is very difficult to implement.
It’s hard to talk about strategy in times of war. However, it is important and necessary. I realize that I will not achieve it without professional people.