Project Management and Planning - Essay Example

PROJECT MANAGEMENT Project Management Introduction In any project, the workers are the keys to the success of the project. Even with the technological advances as well as innovations taking place currently, the role-played by he project employees can not and will not be underestimated. Employees of any project are instrumental in determination of the project failure or success, definition of the project objectives, he projects organization, coordination of various activities of the project as well as the necessary motoring of the project operations. They attain these objectives by use of their interpersonal and organizational skills including delegation, decision-making, communication as well as negotiation. In order for the project therefore to succeed, there is need for the project firm to recruit the most appropriate workers for every obligation undertaken in the said project. In addition to this, the already recruited workers need to be provided with the necessary skills pertaining each and every operation they will need to undertake. Workers motivation is another major factor to the success of the workers activities. It is a necessary requirement for the organization’s growth irrespective the nature of the project undertaken. The worker’s needs are changing every day and with the traditional techniques of motivation the project might not be successful as required as these would not be sufficient in proving the necessary motivation. Machine, Man, money and materials happen to be the four necessary resource requirements for such projects. Among these, the Manpower is the most essential since it controls the other three resources. The manpower also needs to be utilized in the most appropriate manner. Man would never be in a position to operate like machine since they have physical as well as mental needs. Man works well on creation of good working environment and provision of the necessary skills pertaining the job they are operating. If cases where the organization fails to meet the needs of the workers, including the necessary training there would be less productive results. Haughey (2010) holds that planning any project is crucial to the project success. The project plan would be the first essential thing that the recruitment manager would need to have while starting to undertake the project. Planning the project in time would help in reducing time, financial resources and other operational challenges. Devastation feelings, lack of confidence, low level of skills as well as dark future perspective and financial insecurity are some of he factors which have contributed to the poor personality of the employees in the organization. These factors have contributed labors that lack qualifications and their main goal is the paycheck regardless of the amount as long as it’s providing their basic needs. In order to attain the most appropriate motivational strategy for workforce, I would be necessary to fight right approaches which connects the motivations with the right recognition’s, rewards as well as complements. Recruitment of the right project Team Planning the Recruitment and training Project The Project Objectives Meeting the needs of the entire recruitment and training stakeholders would be ultimate objective of the manager. The initial step would be to find the real project stakeholders. These would include the company needing the competent staff, the business clients who will be receiving the deliverables, the final users of the products and the recruits as well as the trainees who aspire to get the necessary training. Understanding these stakeholders would help in comprehending the needs of every group. After understanding these need one would need to prioritize them. The business organization needs competent staff, the budget is limited, the business clients need satisfaction, there is need to recruit new staff and train them. All these would be the need one will need to consider while ding the project planning. Deliverables of the project After getting the goals identified above, the recruitment and training manager would need to establish a list of the essential things he project would be requiring in order delivering these objectives. These would include specification of how and when every item will be delivered. The dates for the specific deliveries will have to be established. During the phase of scheduling. Carrying out the Project Scheduling This would include establishing a list of the tasks which would be needed to conduct every deliverable identified above. The manager would need to establish the amount of hours and/or days for every task as well as the resources required conducting he operation. Once the amount of effort has been established, one needs to work out the amount of effort required for every operation. This is attained by working out the amount required for every deliverable as well as the most precise delivery data for he it. More accurate delivery dates are employed in updating the deliverables (Haughey, 2010). Software packages are then used at this point to establish the schedule of the project. The Ghatt Chart then comes in to represent the project schedule. All deliverables, operations, activities, duration as well as resources are indicated in the chart. The Ghant Chart Activity No. Days Planning Recruitment Training Presentation Day 2 Day 4 Day 6 Day 8 Key Expected schedule Actual schedule With the aging population, globalization increase as well as the ongoing uncertainties of the world economy, project management teams have the obligation of ensuring that they get and retain the right talent for every operation or project activity. The organizations have little ability in affording high staff turnover in cases they retain the competitive advantage. This becomes crucial for the recruitment team to create recruitment and retention strategies, which would have a demonstrable effect n, the success of the project (Hopkins, 2009). With the massive expansion over the recent years and high competition of recruitment companies and the growth of he industry, there is need to have the most appropriate strategies in this process. The recruitment of candidates for any project operation varies in three categories, either temporary, permanent or contracting. In cases where the activity of the project would be temporary and needing special qualifications and skills, outsourcing would be necessary. Hopkins (2009) indicates that the best project teams run the most successful projects. Defining the most appropriate staff to run any project is one of the major challenges the management of the project organization faces. But following the right procedure to get this staff would be a solution to this challenge. Looking for the right candidate implies searching for candidates with qualities such as flexibility, enthusiasm, knowledge and grooming. The Essential Steps To Hiring the Right Staff. 1. Definition of the roles and obligations This is the initial and most significant step in recruiting the right stuff for the project activity. This is done through establishment of job description template for the project management with the following points: The purpose and obligation of the said roles, the relationship to be employed in reporting and communication between several employees and departments, Experience, skills and necessary qualifications, performance criteria. Rate, salary, benefits, commission as well as the working environment and the special conditions of the said project (Method123, 2010). 2. Searching for the top Candidates The next essential step in recruitment of the most appropriate staff is looking for the top candidates who are suitable for the job. This would be achieved by making an advert which is as specific as possible. It is supposed to list the major responsibilities of the described job, with the challenges to be faced and ought to be sound enticing but should not be over sold. As the adverts are on progress, the recruitment team is supposed to identify the criteria for conducting the interviews considering the nature of the described job as well as the job plan. 3. Interviewing of the Candidates The next essential step according to Method123 (2010) would be to carry out an interview of the short listed candidates. There is need to ensure there is full preparation of the interview process. For every interview, there will be need for; preparation of the necessary questions (this should be done however using the appropriate management template) during the interview process. The interviewer needs to ensure that al parts of the job description are covered during the interview. Again there will be need to employ the project management template. The possible strengths and weaknesses from the applicant’s curriculum vitae should be addressed. The quality of the questions the candidates are posed to be also considered. There is need o be specific, direct being brief to the point while conducting the interview. There would be need to take short notes during the interview. In cases you are interviewing more than three candidates, there will be need to depend on the interview notes more heavily while progressing to the next stage. 4. Testing of the Candidates After the candidates are interview and their qualifications considered they would be formally tested depending on the nature of the role you rare recruiting them for. They can be tested to find their suitability against the job description considering several points such as: i). Perform competency, personality and numerical tests. ii). Let the candidates sent samples of the work the y have done in the past iii). Request the candidates to perform particular operations of the project. For instance, when hiring a software developer, request them to code a sample program to perform a certain operation required by the project. iv). Carry out a second interview with the management team v). Have the candidates to meeting the management team and give the team a chance to ask the candidates some questions. vi). Find out their manner of socialization by taking them out for launch vii). Let them carry out a formal presentation with employment of the project management template. viii) Refer to some three professional references, which are from past employers. ix). Request the candidates to provide some two references for checking of character. 5. Candidates Selection Regarding the conducted interview as well as the results of the tests carried out, the next step would be selection of the most appropriate individuals for the specific operations of the project. In cases you have a number of individuals who are hard to choose from then the following options arises. a) You can hire non-of them and begin recruiting all over again; This is a hard option as there is a lot of work to reach tot this specific point. In spite of this, it would be more appropriate to start all over again than to get the candidate who is not fully qualified for the project activity (Method123, 2010). b) The second option would be to hire two and deliver earlier: This means the job description would be split into two responsibilities to several individuals. It would be challenging and risky option although in most cases there would be the need to deliver the project earlier at the same cost through hiring of 2 individuals who are gifted at two distinct operations at the same time. c) Selection of the most appropriate candidate This lands to most cases. In cases where both candidates happen on an even par, then it would be more appropriate not to pas the section decisions to somebody else. The best thing would be to go with your personal feel to get the person you think would best suit the job and who will be able to complete he job satisfactorily and fit in the project team. As a project manager, your ability to hire the right person will find the success as far as management of the project is concerned (Method123, 2010). The use of the project management template would assist in defining the role scope. Staff Training In such a case where the recruited staff need thorough training, it would be the obligation of the recruiting and training manager to see to it that the necessary skills and knowledge is impacted to the recreates. Conventional training would be needed to cover the necessary skills work related to the kind of wok being done. This would be traditional training regarding the specific activity of the project. The most appropriate approach of developing talent and the real people for job would be different from the traditional training. Most employees do not enjoy this. It relates to the work, and not about the workers themselves. It includes enabling learning and interpersonal skills. After covering the basic work related skills learning and development of the recreates would be done in the next few days. The training manager would need to employ other training managers who have the capabilities of providing the required education and skills. They would need to include pre-training assignments and actively take part in the training session as well as apply the required fresh ideas. The training managers and evaluators would first need to get the required training tips before commencing to carry out the necessary training. They would to understand the necessary skills and the relevant information, which they will need in the training session. This will allow them to model the required behavior, learning and offer the necessary environment that the workers to be trained would need to apply during the training session. They will also be in a position to create the expectations of seeing a different thinking or behavior among the trainees (Heathfield, S. 2009).. The necessary tests and assignment would be provided and the trainees evaluated appropriately. The trainers will need to save some training time in order that they interact with the trainees and evaluate their abilities. This provides significance feedback in terms of involvement, commitment and interest. The average trainers and supervisors would need to be coached on the roles in the training session. This would include supervisors who have worked in such environments, which have maximized transfer of education or training to the real work place. It would be a big mistake to make the assumptions that the trainers understand what is going to happen in the training session automatically (Heathfield, S. 2009).. Every time prior to the training session, the supervisors as well as the trainers need to have meeting with the trainees. This will make them discus with the trainees what they expect or what they hope to get to learn in the coming training session. It will also involve discussion of any concerns the trainees would need to rise regarding the training sessions as well as the training environment. After this the overall recruitment and training manager would then need to find out any key learning points important for he firm to invest in the training session. The manager at this level will also identify any obstacles the employees will expect to undergo as they transfer the training skills they have achieved to the work place (Heathfield, S. 2009). At this level the project manager or rather the training and recruitment manager would have complete the major tasks needed to see to it that the right staff is offered to the firm. This will be followed by presentation of the overall project to the managers for discussion and approval. They will consider if the manager has done the project within the stipulated duration of time and budget. In case any changes are to be then they will be done appropriate and shortly the final project report approved. References Haughey, D. 2010. Project Planning: A Step by Step Guide. (Online). Available at: http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/project-planning-step-by-step.html [Accessed March 18, 2010] Hopkins, K. 2009. Be Certain to Attract the Right Staff. (Online) Available at: http://ezinearticles.com/?Be-Certain-to-Attract-the-Right-Staff&id=1576594 [Accessed March 18, 2010] Heathfield, S. 2009. Ten tips to make Training and Development Work.(Online). Available at: http://humanresources.about.com/od/trainingtransfer/a/training_work_2.htm [Accessed March 18, 2010] Method123. 2010. Hiring Staff with Project Management Template. Available at: http://www.method123.com/articles/2009/11/05/Hiring-Using-Project-Management-Templates/ [Accessed March 18, 2010] Read More