people issues in project management

PEOPLE ISSUES IN

PROJECT

MANAGEMENT

Importance of handling people

issues in project management

When projects fail in an organization, it can be for

lack of project management expertise.

But more usually projects fail because an

organization did not focus sufficiently on the

people aspects of the project – that is, the affect

on people the project brings

When the people risks of a project are given little

or no prominence, it creates resistance, apathy

and a lack of commitment, which have a

significant impact on the events and timelines of

the project plan

Project human resource

management

Project human resource management is multifaceted. It is the ability to lead, direct, and orchestrate the project team, the customers, project partners, contributors, and any other stakeholders to achieve the desired results for the project’s purpose.

Throughout the project, the project manager will have to address project team retention, labor relations, performance appraisals, and, depending on the nature of the project work, health and safety issues


management

As the project progresses, the number of

stakeholders in the project may change. The

project manager and the project team will

need to be aware of the coming flux of

stakeholders and how this change may affect

the dynamics of the project team and the

project work.

An approach to project human resources may

work well in one phase of the project but not in

another due to the stakeholders that have

become involved.


management

Because people drive processes, it makes sense to build competence in people management skills as well as in quantitative and analytical process management.

Project managers may even have to pull together teams of people who do not all work for their company.

Contractors view themselves as colleagues or peers and must be managed differently from your own employees.

People Issues in project

management

Today, companies cannot offer lifetime employment, nor can they guarantee raises, benefits, job definition, or management stability. They cannot repay loyalty with loyalty, or hard work with compensation. Thus, the challenge of motivating employees goes far beyond that of the olden days.

The workforce is increasingly diverse, not only culturally and ethnically, but in other ways as well. It includes, women, older workers, handicapped workers and any other group protected by law from discrimination in hiring.

Also, with the demands for skilled, high-tech workers at all levels, employee searches span the globe and cross cultural barriers.


management

A stressful work environment leads to stressed employees, who in turn contribute to a more stressful environment

Stressed people are more likely to make mistakes and generally perform at less than their optimal level. The more mistakes an individual makes, the worse he feels about his job and himself, and the more likely he is to experience burnout. A high burnout rate means a high turnover rate, and more time for you spent on re-hiring and retraining


management

Staying within time and cost limits goes a long

way toward stress-free project management

within the process and people issues that

come with the job.

Many problems can occur to throw project

processes off schedule, but managing people

issues well can do a great deal towards

keeping things running smoothly.


management

In projects with multiple teams, each might

have a different orientation and goals.

The teams might be physically isolated and

maintain separate offices, creating and

reinforcing separating boundaries that lead to

“us versus them” attitudes. These make for a

portentous project environment and bode ill for

project success.


management

Failures in projects often can be traced to the inability of a team to make the right decisions or perform the right tasks.

These failures often stem from the maladies that teams suffer: internal conflict; time wasted on irrelevant issues; and decisions made haphazardly.

Team members often are more concerned with getting the task done than with doing it right. Many teams never know what their purpose is, so they never know when, or if, they have achieved it.


management

Conflict arises between customers and contractors, project staff and functional groups, and different contractors and departments. It occurs between people on the same team, different teams in the same organization, and teams in different organizations

The primary sources of conflict in projects are schedules, costs, priorities, manpower levels, technical opinions, administrative issues, and interpersonal conflicts, which vary in relative importance depending on the stages of the project life cycle.

Major sources of conflict during the

project life cycle.


management

People are ordinarily reluctant to accept

change, yet in projects change is the norm.

Administrative procedures, group interfaces,

project scope, and resource allocations are

constantly changing.

Expansions and contractions in the labor force

make it difficult to establish obligations and

reporting relationships that will last.

people issues in project management

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