Chapter 5: Project Human Resource Management

Chapter 5: Project Human Resource Management

Learning Objectives o Explain the importance of good human resource management on projects, especially on information technology projects o Define project human resource management and understand its processes o Assist in team development with training, teambuilding activities, and reward systems

The Importance of HR Management o People determine the success and failure of organizations and projects o Recent statistics about IT workforce: The total number of U.S. IT workers was more than 10.1 million in December 2005, up from 9.9 million in January 2005 IT managers predict they will need to hire an additional 1.2 million workers in the near future Hiring by non-it companies outpaces hiring by IT companies by a ratio of 12:1

Digital Planet Reports o The global high-tech industry generated more than $2.1 trillion in 2001, $2.3 trillion in 2002, and $2.4 trillion in 2003 o The Internet and e-commerce were notable bright spots in the global economy o Global e-commerce went up 79 percent from 2002 to 2003 o China, Poland, and other developing countries are playing an increasing role in the global IT market

Long Hours and Stereotypes of IT Workers Hurt Recruiting o Many people are struggling with how to increase and diversify the IT labor pool. Noted problems include: The fact that many IT professionals work long hours and must constantly stay abreast of changes in the field Undesirable stereotypes that keep certain people away from the career field, like women The need to improve benefits, redefine work hours and incentives, and provide better human resource management

What is Project HR Management? o Project human resource management includes the processes required to make the most effective use of the people involved with a project. Processes include Organizational planning Staff acquisition Team development

Keys to Managing People o Psychologists and management theorists have devoted much research and thought to the field of managing people at work o Important areas related to project management include Motivation (intrinsic and extrinsic) Influence and power Effectiveness

Motivation o To give incentives in the form of higher wages to the best workers. o Rewards based on piece-rates need to relate directly to work produced. Where a computer application is being developed, it is difficult to isolate and quantify work done by an individual, as system development and support is usually a team effort. o Organizations sometimes giving bonuses to project team members at the end of a successful project, especially if staff have volunteered considerable unpaid overtime to get the project completed.

Job Characteristics Model The satisfaction that a job gives is based on five factors: o Skill variety: the number of different skills that the job holder has the opportunity to exercise; o Task identity: the degree to which your work and its results are identifiable as belong to you; o Task significance: the degree to which your job has a influence on others; o Autonomy: the discretion you have about the way that you do the job; o Feedback: the information you get back about the results of your work.

Methods of Improving Motivation To improve motivation the manager might do: o Set specific goals: these goals need to be demanding and acceptable to staff. o Provide feedback: not only do goals have to be set, but staff have to have regular feedback about how they are progressing. o Considering job design: jobs can be altered to make them more interesting and give staff more feeling of responsibility.

Ways to Influence that Help and Hurt Projects o Projects are more likely to succeed when project managers influence with Expertise Work challenge o Projects are more likely to fail when project managers rely too heavily on Authority Money Penalty

Power o Power is the potential ability to influence behavior to get people to do things they would not otherwise do o Types of power include Coercive Legitimate Expert Reward Referent

Improving Effectiveness - Covey s 7 Habits o Project managers can apply Covey s 7 habits to improve effectiveness on projects Be proactive Begin with the end in mind Put first things first Think win/win Seek first to understand, then to be understood Synergize Sharpen the saw

Empathic Listening and Rapport o Good project managers are empathic listeners; they listen with the intent to understand o Before you can communicate with others, you have to have rapport o Mirroring is a technique to help establish rapport o IT professionals often need to develop empathic listening and other people skills to improve relationships with users and other stakeholders

Improving Relationships Between Users and Developers o Some organizations require business people, not IT people, to take the lead in determining and justifying investments in new computer systems o CIOs push their staff to recognize that the needs of the business must drive all technology decisions o Some companies reshape their IT units to look and perform like consulting firms

Organizational Planning o Organizational planning involves identifying, documenting, and assigning project roles, responsibilities, and reporting relationships

Staff Acquisition o Staffing plans and good hiring procedures are important in staff acquisition, as are incentives for recruiting and retention o Some companies give their employees one dollar for every hour a new person they helped hire works o Some organizations allow people to work from home as an incentive o Research shows that people leave their jobs because they don t make a difference, don t get proper recognition, aren t learning anything new, don t like their coworkers, and want to earn more money

Teams and IT Development o Staff in an organization will often belong to a department depending on their technical expertise. o Staff from different technical areas could then be brought together to work on a project. o Once project is completed, team may be disbanded.

Selecting the Right Person for the Job o One of the biggest differences in software development performance is between individuals. o Recruitment Process Create a job specification Create a job holder profile Obtain applicants Examine CVs Interviews References

Instruction in the Best Methods o When new members of the team are recruited, the team leader will need to plan their induction in to the team very carefully. Where a project is already well under way, this might not be easy. o The team leader should be aware of the need to assess continually the training needs of their team members. Training needs profile ought to drawn up for each staff member when considering specific courses. Some training might be provided by commercial training companies.

Stages in Becoming a Team Forming Storming Norming Team-building exercises can help the process of becoming a team Performing Adjourning

Stages in Becoming a Team o Simply throwing people together will not immediately enable them to work together as a team. Group feelings develop over time. It is suggested that teams go through five basic stages: Forming: the members of the groups get to know each other and try to set up some ground rules about behavior. Storming: conflicts arise as various members of the group try to exert leadership and the group s methods of operation are being established. Norming: conflicts are largely settled and a feeling of group identity emerges. Performing: the emphasis is now on the tasks at hand. Adjourning: the group disbands.

Management Team Types o The chair Not necessarily brilliant leaders but they must be good at running meetings, being calm, strong but tolerant. o The plant Someone who is essentially very good at generating ideas and potential solutions to problems. o The monitor-evaluator Good at evaluating ideas and potential solutions and helping to select the best one. o The shaper Rather a worrier, who helps to direct the team s attention to the important issues.

Management Team Types (Cont.) o The team worker Skilled at creating a good working environment by jollying people along. o The resource investigator Adept at finding resources in terms of both physical resources and information. o The completer-finisher Concerned with completing tasks. o The company worker A good team player who is willing to undertake less attractive tasks if they are needed for team success.

To be a Good Team Member o Time your interventions not overwhelm the others in the team o Be flexible o Be restrained o Keep the common goals of the team in mind all the time

Leadership Styles o Directive autocrat Makes decisions alone, close supervision of implementation. o Permissive autocrat Makes decisions alone, subordinates have latitude in implementation. o Directive democrat Makes decisions participatively, close supervision of implementation. o Permissive democrat Makes decisions participatively, subordinates have latitude in implementation.

Stress o Both project manager and team members will be under pressure when it closes to deadline. o Good project manager can reduce the reliance on overtime by the more realistic assessment of effort and elapsed time needed, based on careful recording and analysis of the performance of previous projects. o Good planning and control will help to reduce unexpected problems generating unnecessary crises.

Reward and Recognition Systems o Team-based reward and recognition systems can promote teamwork o Focus on rewarding teams for achieving specific goals o Allow time for team members to mentor and help each other to meet project goals and develop human resources

General Advice on Teams o Focus on meeting project objectives and producing positive results o Fix the problem instead of blaming people o Establish regular, effective meetings o Nurture team members and encourage them to help each other o Acknowledge individual and group accomplishments

Health and Safety o Top management must be committed to the safety policy. o The delegation of responsibilities for safety must be clear. o Job descriptions should include definitions of duties related to safety. o Those to whom responsibilities are delegated must. understand the responsibilities and agree to them. o There should be deployment of a safety officer and the support of experts in particular technical areas. o There should be consultation on safety. o There should be an adequate budgeting for safety costs.

Project Resource Management Involves Much More Than Using Software o Project managers must Treat people with consideration and respect Understand what motivates them Communicate carefully with them o Focus on your goal of enabling project team members to deliver their best work

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