The Human Element

  ProjectsAtWork  

The culture of risk management can seem a bit foreign to newcomers. Here are three strategies to help team members warm up to it.

"A really good risk identification meeting can be very depressing," says Craig Peterson, PMP, managing consultant at EDS Program Management Consulting in  Herndon, Va. But turn that emotion around by accentuating the opportunity risk management provides to improve results. "Excite and motivate the project team to the benefits and successes possible from the project."

Create a rallying point

Keep your team focused on why risk management is important. At the  Hanford nuclear waste site in Richland, Wash., that meant a graphic representation of the problem in the project office for all to see, says Rick Raymond, vice president of projects for CH2M HILL Hanford Group. Each week, he charted the rising surface level in the tank. It communicated the severity of the situation.

Share victories

Reporting success stories is one surefire way to bolster team interest in risk management. "When an anticipated risk matures, and the risk plan works, make sure everyone knows-the team, management and the customer," Peterson says.

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