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Human Resources in Project Management - Introduction

August 18, 2008 | Author: PM Hut | Filed under: HR Management, Project Management for Beginners, Team Building

Human Resources in Project Management - Introduction (#1 in the series Human Resources in Project Management)
By Joseph Phillips

It’s a beautiful summer evening. Your backyard is full of friends, family, and neighbors. Giant glowing balls hang from the trees and candles, lanterns, and twinkle lights bathe the lawn in amber. There’s soft Italian music, long tables of food, bottles of wine, and tubs of icy beer, soda, and French water.

Then your cell phone rings. Your date squints one eye at you as if saying, “Don’t you dare answer that phone.” You wink and answer anyway, you have to, you’re the project manager.

Yeah, you’re the unfortunate project manager.

It’s a team member who’s working on one of your projects. You’ve noticed that their work has been slipping lately and now they’re working through the weekend to get caught up. Only, somehow, they can’t get caught up without calling you constantly. They want you, they need you, and they can’t live without you, your guidance, your approval, and your constant attention. In other words, they’re a pain in your neck no chiropractor can remove.

Try to forget your cookout, and move inside where you can barely hear the laughter, the clink of glasses, and the swooning music; you’ve got another fire to put out. What’s a project manager to do?

And you know, as I sure as heck know, that this isn’t the only team member problem you face. It’s bigger than the constant phone calls; sometimes it’s no phone calls, slipping work, incompetence, lack of resources, a team that’s spread too thin, and your lack of human resource training. Okay - not yours, but that other project manager named Sue. Sorry, Sue.

The point is, human resource management is tricky, tricky business. Everything looks fantastic on paper, but when the wheels come off, when your team members quit, when management won’t give you the resources you need, it’s no fun at all. Not for you, not the project team, and not for the stakeholders. It’s not rocket science, though it might feel like it: if you don’t have the resources you need your project won’t succeed.

Joseph Phillips is the author of five books on project management and is a, PMI Project Management Professional, a CompTIA certified Project Professional, and a Certified Technical Trainer. For more information about Project Management Training, please visit Project Seminars.

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