Projects need people. Projects also need materials, plant and equipment, accommodation and logistical support amongst many other things which are under the direct control and indirect influence of people. The latest PMI BoK (6th Edition) now includes all resources under ‘Project Resource Management’ which includes the competent persons that will be responsible for delivering a project. In earlier editions ‘people’ were included under ‘Human Resources Management’ and included Planning (and Estimating), Acquiring, Developing and Managing (and Controlling). This is all done under the mantra of “forming, storming, norming, performing and adjourning” with a reference for the needs of interpersonal skills, conflict management and ‘strong leadership skills’.
When we look at our people as a ‘resource’ this is most impersonal, and by dropping the term ‘human’ are we dehumanizing projects despite our reliance on people for delivering projects? People make projects and their personalities, potential, and performance can be a risk or an opportunity when it comes to project success.
Job Descriptions, Acquisition and Adjourning
When planning and acquiring people, we are told it’s imperative that people’s roles and authorities are adequately defined under a Job Description. The JD is then used by a HR Department as a checklist against a prospective candidate’s CV/resume. This, in turn, allows a QA/QC ‘tick-in-the-box’ against educational qualifications, and years of total and relevant experience, with a clutch of other essential key words. This impersonal approach allows candidates to be pigeonholed within any corporate salary structure and in this way ‘people’ become a ‘resource’ with a specification
“Lies, damn lies and resumes” goes a saying and people on paper are not always the same in real life; probing interviews and reference checks may also be required. If a resource’s CV does not tick all the boxes a default decision of ‘reject’ may be adopted. However, and just as we say “don’t judge a book by its cover” how often does “HR” ask the project team for advice and a potential best fit ‘person’ may be lost? Notwithstanding any selection process a project’s manager will, ultimately, get the jobholder they are given. “Any port in a storm” goes the saying and any-body may be better than no-body as long as the body fits!
All acquired resources will need to comply with corporate or organisational HR policy. Organisations deal with Employment Laws and HR will look at the entire employment life cycle which could well be impersonal. However if people are subsequently treated as inanimate resources and revenue generators and they will behave like an object and the traits of loyalty, duty, comradeship and trust will not be nurtured.
Managing, Measuring and Appraising
The management guru Peter Drucker said; “You can’t manage what you can’t measure” and measuring the realistic performance of the ‘human resource’ is a management dream. ‘Taylorism’ expounded many beliefs on human efficiency but people on projects are not inanimate robotic resources who behave according to rote; at least not in the free world.
A team’s performance can be measured based on the effectiveness and efficiency of what they produce and a team bonded by good morale will perform better than a team of good individuals. However, many a HR professional will inevitably focus on the individual resource and measure performance through the ‘annual appraisal’.
This metric, despite Drucker’s advice, is contrary to the advice of another management guru, W. Edwards Deming, who advocated that staff appraisals can encourage mediocrity and merely humiliated people!
Appraising people is not a science nor is it wholly objective or statistical. For example the seeding of tennis players is statistical but, and as frequently shown in regular tournament upsets, and consistently wrong year upon year! People are inconsistent and human performance is far from appraisable or predictable.
People are a Problem
The British author Douglas Adams in his novel, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, summarised the summary of his summary and concluded that: people are a problem.
The problem with people is that they have personalities as well as opinions about those personalities. People need chemistry to gel and the composition of an effective team boils down to personalities coupled with a commonality of ability, aptitude and, above all, attitude. These commonalities are catalysts for bonding and ideally this amalgam will make for good morale.
People who don’t fit are the proverbial square pegs in round holes. For some squares, training and mentoring may knock off some of the sharp edges and a ‘fit’ can result. But, if people can’t be trained to fit, don’t fit, or merely don’t want to fit we need to do something before personality clashes cause destructive argument and conflict.
Arguing is not conflict and constructive argument can be essential to the formulation and implementation of optimum project solutions. However real conflict must be addressed and resolved in a timely and effective manner. It can only take one or two individuals to stir up trouble and damage morale. And if, or when, a project is in trouble, it’s amazing how quickly morale can quickly dissolve and disappear.
Conclusions
People are people; not a number or a ‘jobholder’ but a person with a position within a project team. The personality of an individual is unlikely to be ascertainable through their CV so interviews and post-employment interaction are essential in ensuring that people fit.
If people fit in the first instance this may be more through good luck than good management, but good management is essential to making sure people work together. Annual appraisals are too late when evaluating project people and confronting ‘human resource’ issues must be done timely manner and with rigorous candour.
It may be easier to deal with people as ‘human resources’, ‘jobholders’ or even an employee number through a corporate veil and avoid the difficulty of ‘personalities’. However, if we dehumanise people such impersonal behaviour will not promote morale and esprit de corps which, while costing nothing, leads to mutual respect and effective project teams with, as far as humanly and humanely possible, successful project performance.
Bio:
UK Chartered Engineer & Chartered Geologist with over thirty-five years’ international experience in multicultural environments on large multidisciplinary infrastructure projects including rail, metro, hydro, airports, tunnels, roads and bridges. Skills include project management, contract administration & procurement, and design & construction management skills as Client, Consultant, and Contractor.