Look Back to Move Forward: Post-Mortems for In-House Video Teams

In-house video teams face a unique challenge: delivering impactful content while juggling competing priorities, tight deadlines, and evolving stakeholder expectations. But too many teams miss a critical opportunity to improve their process: the project post-mortem.

When teams rush from one project to the next without reflecting on what worked and what didn't, they pay a significant price:

• Recurring problems become the norm: Communication breakdowns, approval bottlenecks, and timeline crunches repeat project after project.

• Valuable insights disappear: Patterns that could inform better processes go unnoticed.

• Team morale suffers: Without recognition of contributions and wins, motivation drops.

Why Post-Mortems Are Especially Valuable for In-House Teams

Unlike external agencies, in-house teams have a distinct advantage: continuity. You're building long-term relationships with internal partners, not delivering one-off projects. This creates a compound effect where knowledge accumulates over time...as long as you have a system to capture it.

Post-mortems help you build essential institutional knowledge about:

• What makes projects run smoothly versus what creates friction

• The specific needs and preferences of different internal partners

• How to navigate your organization's unique approval processes

• Which approaches yield the best creative outcomes

This knowledge becomes your competitive edge, something no external agency can replicate.

How to Implement Effective Post-Mortems

Timing Is Everything

The perfect window for a post-mortem is 3-5 working days after project completion:

• Not too soon: Emotions need time to settle so discussions remain constructive

• Not too late: Important details start to fade from memory

• Schedule in advance: Block time on calendars before the project even launches

Getting the Right People in the Room

An effective post-mortem includes:

• The core creative and production team

• Key stakeholders who requested the video

• Representatives from departments that influenced the project (legal, HR, brand, etc.)

• A neutral facilitator (when possible)

Structure for Success

Keep the conversation focused on these three key questions:

1. What should we repeat? Identify processes, approaches, and collaborations that worked well.

2. What challenges did we face and overcome? Discuss obstacles and how the team navigated them.

3. What would we do differently? Explore alternative approaches that might yield better results next time.

Making It Actionable

The most important element of any post-mortem is documentation:

• Record all insights, preferably in a standardized format

• Create specific action items with owners and deadlines

• Revisit these insights when planning similar projects

• Track patterns across multiple projects to identify systemic issues

The Hidden Benefits

While identifying improvements is valuable, post-mortems offer additional benefits that are easy to overlook:

• Team recognition: Acknowledging individual contributions builds morale

• Celebrating wins: Taking time to appreciate successes, however small

• Cross-department understanding: Building empathy between teams

• Continuous improvement culture: Demonstrating that learning is valued

Implementing Post-Mortems in Resistant Cultures

If your organization hasn't embraced post-mortems, start small:

• Begin with your immediate team before expanding to stakeholders

• Position them as "project reflections" rather than "post-mortems" if needed

• Share successes to demonstrate their value

• Keep early sessions brief (30 minutes) to minimize resistance

The Bottom Line

Post-mortems aren't about dwelling on the past or assigning blame. They're about making your next project better than your last. They transform individual experiences into collective wisdom that improves every future project.

Your team's next breakthrough might be hiding in the lessons from your last project. Don't leave that potential untapped.

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