1️⃣ Rules of Engagement

To establish a solid foundation for enduring client relationships, seamless onboarding is essential. Beyond the logistical steps—such as integrating new clients into our CRM system, executing non-disclosure agreements, and finalising contracts—it's crucial to set clear expectations for our collaborative journey.

With this in mind, one of the first documents we crafted was REBORRN’s Rules of Engagement:

We might introduce this document earlier, during initial discussions, to clarify our approach right when we outline our services.

👉 Read more about our approach and how we came up with this, here.

2️⃣ Kick-off Meeting

Before we start working on a project, we always start by having a proper, one-hour kick-off meeting with the client. In this meeting, we invite the entirety of the project team (from our side and the client’s side).

The topics that we touch upon:

Big Picture:

• What is the one thing we must get right to make this project worthwhile? Understand what is at stake.
• What does success look like for this project? Envision success, and define how impact is measured.
• What could put this project at risk? Discuss key challenges and understand what we can do proactively to avoid them.

Target Audience

• Who is the end-user? Who is consuming our work internally? I.e., Top management, CEO, a specific team centrally.
• Do we have names or links? Understand more about these people.

Getting Context

In our kick-off meetings, we go deep. It’s the moment we hunt down every last piece of the puzzle — the info that's missing from our brief or hiding out there, beyond the digital reach. This isn't a quick chat; it’s the deep-dive session that sets the stage for success.

At this point, we will also ask for any supporting documents. These vary depending on the project but here are some examples:

• Company’s Purpose / Strategy / OKRs / Values, etc.,
• Org. Chart,
• Customer or Employee Surveys,
• Financials,
• Processes,
• Reports,

and whatever else will help us understand 100% our client.

What is important, we only ask for documents that already exist. We will never ask our clients to spend time creating reports or any other materials for us.

Specific timeline

This is when we agree on specific dates for sprints, deadlines, and milestones.

Logistics

• Channels of communication

We prioritise real-time communication for our mixed project teams, including both client and REBORRN members. Therefore, we'll align with our clients' preferred tools, like Slack or Microsoft Teams. If the client lacks a platform, we're ready to extend an invitation to ours or utilise immediate messaging solutions like WhatsApp. Our aim is to steer clear of email, which often hampers the swift and informal dialogue that is crucial for our collaboration.

• Collaboration tool to build a transparent, common backlog

We are adaptable and will seamlessly integrate with our client's preferred tool, whether that's Notion, Asana, Trello, Microsoft Teams, or any other platform. In the absence of a preferred tool, we will extend an invitation to utilise our systems. Regardless of the platform chosen, it will serve as the foundation for creating a comprehensive and detailed backlog, accessible for review by both the client and our team at any time. We usually use a simple Kanban board to visualise this backlog.

We also need a space for our files to “live”. That could be Google Drive or OneDrive.

• Duration of our sprints

We usually prefer weekly ones, but depending on the duration of the project, this may change. Once we decide this, we divide our work respectively)

• Routines

One of the most important elements in our ways of working with our clients is our pre-defined routines. We usually set up:

1. Weekly 30’ check-ins to discuss the backlog, review deliverables and resolve impediments.
2. Retrospectives. These are our strategic tune-ups, scheduled after each project phase or significant milestone. These sessions are a collaborative forum where both sides—client and team—engage in a transparent exchange about what's excelling and what requires fine-tuning, from workflow to deliverables. It's about proactive improvement, not just reflection. By addressing these insights in real-time, we ensure continuous advancement and on-the-spot course correction for stellar outcomes.