Analysis of Simple Project Plan - Report Example

Simple Project Plan

Simple Project

The plan focuses around delivering an internal training workshop within the organization. This project will involve employees from the marketing department and last only one day. It will be organized in the general conference area of the entity, making use of the multiple resources available in the section. Multiple methods of training will be implemented, including mentorship pairing, online games and competition, as well as team building activities. Despite being internal, it will require trainers from professional employee training institutions.

Financial Viability: Cost-Benefit Analysis

Determining the financial viability of this project will depend on the estimate costs of implementation against the perceived benefits. For this project, it is important to note that the benefits are calculated in the long term while costs are singular and short term. At the same time, there are some non-quantifiable benefits such as the expected increase in employee value and the increase in employee satisfaction. The cost benefit analysis, however, will focus on the quantifiable tangible costs and benefits.

CBA Table

Cost

Amount (£)

Benefits

Est Amount (£)

Hire external trainer

700

Reduced rate of turnover

30000 p.a.

Purchase training materials

1000

Increased market share

60000 p.a.

Purchase food and drink

400

Increased sales revenue

60000 p.a.

Preparation of venue

350

Reduced absenteeism and unproductive hours

10000 p.a.

Stand-in hires for training day

400

Total

2850

160000 p.a.

Difference

157150

Notably, these costs have not been directly compared (the cost of hiring an external trainer is not assessed against the reduced rate of turnover). This is because the costs incurred for the single workshop are not directly linked to the project outcomes. Instead, this project type is expected to influence the internal working patterns of this group of employees in the future and in the long term.

Based on the CBA, the project is financially viable. This is because encountering the single costs will yield multiple benefits in the future at amounts greater than the cost incurred for the day. Comparatively, these numbers have a difference of more than £150,000; which is an obvious benefit. Other benefits are non-quantifiable and would include an increase in employee satisfaction, greater customer engagement, and growth of a team culture within this organization. The expectation is that these latter forms will act as contributing factors to the accomplishment of the quantifiable financial benefits.

Project Plan: Gantt Chart

The rigour of planning determines the efficiency of the implementation of any single project. For this project, the use of the Gantt Chart enables elaborating the steps towards its achievement and the intended schedule.

The chart elaborates the implementation of the plan over a span of ten days. Some of the activities begin immediately upon completion of the previous ones, but most of them especially at the beginning of the project planning have some days in between. This is because, being a minor project, it is expected that the usual productivity of the business will be continuing. Only the preparation of the venue takes more than one day. The final aspect is the hiring of temporary stand-in staff for the actual training date.

It is expected that the actual training takes place on the last day after the hiring takes place. This aspect will involve the existing information on available temps for the marketing department. The assumption is that these individuals are readily available, even within the organization, for such occasions.

Objectives and Milestones

For the purposes of this project, specific objectives will be necessary for the preparation plan and the actual implementation of the project. These objectives are as outlined below:

• To maintain the training budget and schedule within 10% of the originally allocated funds and time
• To identify at least 3 specific areas of marketing employee job descriptions that are largely unperformed and improve attention to them by 70% within this financial year
• To ensure that, by the end of the training, all the employees involved in the session have learned at least 2 strategies through which they can establish improved customer rapport
• To train the employees in attendance on five strategies of customer care by the end of the training session, ensuring understanding of customer needs and how best to respond to them

Evaluation

Survey

The completion of the project required a review or evaluation of the elements of execution. In order to conduct this evaluation, the process used a survey approach. This survey will make use of questionnaires, observation, and a review of documents. Therefore, the project leaders will issue questionnaires to participants in the project and ask for cost indications. At the same time, an observation and review of documents will reveal the individual costs of each step, as well as the overall costs and schedule. These elements will then be presented in the project control chart for comparison.

Project Control Chart

Cost

Schedule

Project steps

Budget (£)

Actual spend £

Variance £

Total £

Anticipated Duration (Days)

Actual duration

Variance

Total

Hire external trainer

700

1000

-300

-300

1

0.5

0.5

0.5

Purchase training materials

1000

800

200

-100

1

1

0

0.5

Purchase food and drink

400

400

0

-100

1

0.5

0.5

1

Preparation of venue

350

300

50

-50

2

1

1

2

Stand-in hires for training day

400

320

80

30

1

2

-1

1

Total

30

1

Under the current budget, the implementation of the project will cost £30 less than the original budget. It will also require a day less of the schedule. As such, the project is financially viable as well as viable in the form of time.

Saving Areas from the Work Project

Implementing this project has implications for the organization, primarily from a financial perspective. It is expected that the training program will be instrumental to accomplishing savings within this organizations.

One of the saving points comes from the reduction in employee turnover, absenteeism, and wasted employee hours. Current indications from the marketing department are that these trends cost the organization, where idle hours translate into diminished productivity and threaten the sales growth. The clearest saving, however, is from the reduction in turnover. The organization hires at least 20 new employees each half year to compensate for the loss of employees that either quit or moved to other organizations. These trends have recently been attributed to low employee motivation and satisfaction, as well as frustration over low job accomplishments. Consequently, the organization perceives that with this training session, it will be possible to counter the issues of frustration due to poor achievement and also improve performance to create the opportunity for rewards. Eventually, this will reduce employee turnover by 50%, which translates into about £30,000 annually. This estimate is based on the assumption that each new employee hire will cost about £1500.

The same is expected to occur where the business will increase the revenues generated while controlling for the costs of sale. With more efficient marketing techniques, the business will reduce its expenditure in the future from increased customer engagement. The potential revenue and market share increases are together estimated at about £120,000 per annum.

Non-Financial Implications

The project has implications beyond the financial perspective. Primarily, the session is expected to improve the value of employees, as well as their overall degree of motivation and organizational commitment. Employees that have specific training in their areas are more likely to develop capacities to align their own objectives with those of the organization, which results in the improvement of the commitment to the organizational objectives. At the same time, the setting of specific objectives within this training session will act as a basis for directionality in the conduct of future business activities. The organization also anticipates a change in work culture. The skills devised within this training session will facilitate the advancement of a customer-centric culture, which transform the overall organizational image and shift the rapport with the current and future client base.