In a project manager's ideal world, vast numbers of people show up and cheerfully complete their duties ahead of schedule and under budget. But in the real world, lean corporations with shrinking project budgets often require fewer team members to complete jobs by multitasking.
Successful project managers have mastered the art of juggling several jobs at once. Some team members, however, who routinely handle multiple responsibilities in a traditional work setting may crumble under the stress of project deadlines and budget constraints. Factor in the possibility of illness, internal wrangling over resources and unpredictable labor markets, and you have a recipe for disaster.
Your challenge as a project manager, particularly in a multitasking environment, is to assemble a team that allows you to seamlessly harness key resources.
We identify resources and resource issues before starting a project, then add different people to the team or change the timing of certain steps if necessary.
Early Birds
Based in Western Springs, Ill., USA, Helen Cooke, PMP, who has experience with United Airlines and McDonalds, chooses and secures resources early—then plans what to do if they don't show up. While defining roles and assigning responsibilities, Cooke looks beyond people's résumés or Curricula Vitae and considers other assignments they can tackle. “Finding out what secondary skills people aren't known for indicates areas where I can utilize them without a lot of training,” she says.
But Cooke admits that choosing multiskilled team members isn't enough. Like most project managers, she has secured resources that ultimately went elsewhere for a better package or were placed on higher profile company projects. “Particularly in a multitasking environment,” she warns, “you literally have to plan for disaster. Imagine a ‘worse case’ scenario and figure out how you'll address it.”
Laying the Groundwork
Motorola Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., USA, eliminates human resource risks by developing a comprehensive set of risk management logs and identifying contingencies. “We identify resources and resource issues before starting a project, then add different people to the team or change the timing of certain steps if necessary,” says Rich Berger, director of human resources core process redesign for Motorola. “We come up with contingencies, but we try to eliminate risks before they become issues. We plan the key stages of our global projects and identify which resources are needed and in what phases. [Our software] identifies areas where resources are potentially overbooked.”
KEY INGREDIENTS
A successful human resource contingency plan is:
■ Flexible enough to encompass most human resource situations
■ Detailed enough that new team members can execute it
■ Distributed to all potential respondents
■ Incorporated into the historical database and used as a learning tool for future projects.
Contingency plans must address:
■ Range of events, such as illness, death, employee transfer or labor disputes (but flexible enough to cover any type of incident)
■ Procedures to be followed, such as when to report an incident, to whom and how to respond.
To determine what procedures to follow, refer to the section of your risk management plan that includes the consequence of losing each resource. Based on the person's responsibilities, you already should know the impact the absence will have on budget or schedule, how long the position can remain unfilled without causing irreparable damage, the time required to replace the resource and the cost to bring a new person on board.
Bruce Rodrigues, PMP, of Bruce Rodrigues and Partners in Johannesburg, South Africa, encourages team involvement when putting together a plan. “There's no substitute for the startup workshop when the core project team starts with a common understanding of the high levels of the work breakdown structure. Teams produce better plans than individuals time and time again.”
In most cases, Rodrigues believes the best contingent resources are existing team members. “Any time you lose a resource, replacing the technical skills are the easy part,” he says. “But you can't replace the relationships, the discussions with the client and the contextual issues relating to that particular assignment that the person has acquired. You usually don't have the luxury of being able to buddy-buddy every single assignment, but you need to be in a position where teams support each other and there is a colleague to cover for an absent person if the situation arises.”
If a wave of work comes down the road and I need to add core employees, I have people trained and anxious to move into those slots.
PRESIDENT AND OWNER, THE HUMAN RESOURCE DEPARTMENT LTD.
If that's not possible, Rodrigues recommends looking beyond knowledge and skills. “Having them is one thing, but you need someone who can apply them. Identify people who can come in, size up the situation and quickly become productive.”
Assembly Required
You are now ready to assemble your plan, which should contain three essential parts: reporting, responding and monitoring.
Reporting. When it comes to detail, more is better. According to guidelines from the Disaster Recovery Institute in St. Louis, Mo., USA, clear reporting, response and follow-up instructions are imperative components in an effective business continuity plan.
MULTITASKING ON A GRAND SCALE
Because Motorola Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., USA, relies heavily on internal resources rather than outside consultants, multi-tasking on one project isn't always the problem. Sometimes multiple projects within the organization compete for the same resources.
“One big advantage at Motorola is that we have a project management office within human resources that has visibility to our major projects,” says Rich Berger, director of human resources core process redesign for Motorola. “That helps because one person may be needed on multiple projects that don't have visibility to each other, but the project management office sees all of those projects and knows that the person is overscheduled.”
For example, Motorola's global performance management application required policy development, production of a computer system and deployment in more than 100 locations worldwide. If an employee assigned to that project was assigned to another one simultaneously, the project management office knew about it. “The project managers could then make informed decisions about the best use of the resource's time and skills,” Berger says.
To ensure that situations are reported in a timely manner, your human resources orientation should cover instructions for reporting absences, including a definition of what to report, whom to report it to and a project directory with emergency notification numbers. If the resource is involved in two or more units, specify which one the person must notify.
As project manager, decide when unit leaders contact you. Do you want to know if an employee is sick? Are you concerned with both critical and noncritical staff? Perhaps you only require details if budget and timelines are in jeopardy. If so, be specific. Do you want to be notified if a resource issue will cause a delay of several hours? Three days? One week?
As an aside, encourage team members to speak up when unable to perform a task or meet a deadline. If the team becomes overwhelmed six months into a project, it's easier to rectify that situation than replace stressed-out employees.
Cooke says people's routine work environment may be to blame. “Sometimes it's hard to tell by the description of their background and skills if they've ever worked on that type of a project in that type of environment so you can't assess what kind of transitional training they need until you bring them on board,” she says. “Staff coming from a research and development environment may have difficulty going into a bureaucratic organization that's very rigid and very procedural.” And don't ignore rumors. If you hear that the construction crew might walk off the job because of a dispute with the boss, follow up on it.
Notification procedures may already be outlined elsewhere in your project plan, but include them here, as well. Specify under what conditions you will notify other unit leaders and stakeholders. Finally, include a checklist so anyone taking a report can document the date and time people are contacted.
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Responding. Rate reported incidents as minimal, moderate or severe depending on the risk to project deadlines or quality. Much of your decision will be based on the groundwork you did earlier, but allow some flexibility. For example, a programmer with special skills could be critical to the project's success, but a one-week absence for a family emergency during this particular phase may pose only a minimal risk.
Your response can vary from simply documenting the incident (a person is unavailable for three days) to calling a contingent resource from the roster you include in this section to scheduling an emergency meeting with stakeholders. “If it's not a time-sensitive project, you can just delay it,” says Cooke. “Some organizations actually develop a parallel plan in case the first one doesn't come off. They figure out a different angle to achieve the same results when they have a project that absolutely must happen.”
If warranted, use your communication and change order procedures to advise suppliers or personnel whose schedules may be impacted later. Err on the side of caution when uncertain. Tell stakeholders a potential delay exists, and follow up with formal notification if the situation materializes.
Replacing a team member short or long term sometimes is inevitable. Include a section in your plan that contains contact information for the contingent resources that you identified as part of your risk management strategy. You must already have the procedures executed so they can come on board quickly.
Cooke recommends finding out early what skills potential resources lack but want to develop. “You can promise people that you'll help them gain the experience they want if they come work on your project.”
In a multitasking environment, team members often play an important role in several units. Decide ahead of time whether a committee or an individual will make the final call about filling an open position.
Monitoring. Responding to the issue doesn't ensure the crisis is over, so specify who will monitor the situation to see if further action is needed. For example, new people brought on board may need acclimation time and periodic reviews. If responsibilities were shifted to other team members, they might realize they've taken on more than they can handle. “Sometimes these situations backfire,” Cooke says, “because people won't always tell you that they can't do something. They'll just wing it, leading to quality degradation.”
Watch for unsettling patterns and repercussions. If deliveries are consistently delayed because financial personnel aren't processing invoices, find out why. Did team members who lost their unit leader lose their enthusiasm, too? Do people need clarification about the project scope or redefinition if the scope changed?
Update your plan as faces change. If you utilized a contingent resource from your list, add a new name.
Contingent Work Force
Chuck Niles, president and owner of The Human Resource Department Ltd., a project management firm based in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, says the very nature of his company requires contingency planning. “Sometimes we're called in because a company didn't plan well, so demand for our services obviously fluctuates.”
When demand rises, Niles is prepared. “Planning for that scenario—or for any project—is like managing a sports team,” he says. “We have a contingent group that I liken to a bench of ambitious second stringers. They want the opportunity to make the first string. If a wave of work comes down the road and I need to add core employees, I have people trained and anxious to move into those slots. I couldn't operate without a contingent work force.”
Developing a specific, written contingency plan has obvious advantages on any project, especially if team members are performing in multiple roles. Does it require extra time and effort? Yes. Is it worthwhile? Consider it your project insurance. Much like an insurance policy, you hope you never need it. PM
Rita J. Hess is an Enid, Okla., USA-based freelance journalist who has written human resources articles for Workforce Diversity for Engineering and IT Professionals.
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