Managing Staffing Change

 

Only 27 percent of project teams remain intact from start to finish, according to a Cutter Consortium study recently published in Projects@Work magazine. Yet some project managers continue to ignore this systemic lack of continuity--whether because they are unrealistically optimistic or because they are encountering strong budgetary pressures.

Planning and managing for staffing change is well worth the additional investment. By structuring around this risk from the beginning, PMs can avoid or lessen many problems later in the project. Since the odds are not favorable, here are a few common-sense suggestions for PMs involved in "the other 73 percent."

Build in time and money to recruit and train.
The project resource plan should explicitly factor in the likelihood that recruiting and training will be necessary throughout the project. Remember that ramp-up time for new team members can be significant. Even highly qualified resources will need some time to get up to speed on project goals, status, roles and issues. Expect that both team leads and the overall project manager will need to devote some time to assisting in this process.

Try to limit turnover.

Even while planning for turnover, there is nothing wrong with trying to limit it. To the extent possible, staff for success from the start--with well-qualified resources in clearly defined and individually appropriate…

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