Any tips for software development teams who are setting up a new CI/CD pipeline in a DevOps environment? How do you maintain current software delivery speeds while getting automation processes established within the pipeline?

Plan for issues by using multiple steps, and logging out information along the way.

Don't plan on pipeline _always_ working, you'll often run into issues over time as CI systems do internal upgrades, packages evolve, base images are updated, etc...

Ensure you have excellent visability/observability into the pipelines.

Then identify you're longest running steps if you're trying to optimize time.

Plan for evolution.  If your team is not experts at this, plan for change.  Do one project at a time, build expertise and confidence.  Pushing a flawed template out to all your projects at once will just erode trust and slow you down.

Slow is smooth.
Smooth is fast.

See all work as work that benefit the business, get your business involved in your CI/CD pipeline so Automation processes become part of the current software delivery (integrated).  The problem comes when software development teams do work/are busy with things not explained to the business.  If it has no benefit to the business, why are you doing it?