Project Management

Eye on the Workforce

by
Workforce management is a key part of project success, but project managers often find it difficult to get trustworthy information on what really works. From interpersonal interactions to big workforce issues we'll look the latest research and proven techniques to find the most effective solutions for your projects.

About this Blog

RSS

Recent Posts

Leading Via a Workforce Skills Readiness Check  

Help Your Team Succeed as AI Reshapes Delivery

Show an Explorer's Courage in Today's Work Environment

Facilitating Team When Given New Tight Budget Part 2

Facilitating Team When Given New Tight Budget

Categories

Artificial Intelligence, Benefits Realization, Career Development, Change Management, Communications Management, Complexity, Decision Making, Employee Engagement, HR Mgmt, Innovation, Leadership, Learning, Manage People, Organizational Culture, Performance Improvement, Recruiting, Resource Management, Risk Management, Robotic Process Automation, Schedule Management, Stakeholder Management, Teams, Worker Selection

Date

Pervasive Change Needs Specific Leadership Skills

Categories: Leadership

linkedin twitter facebook Request to reuse this  

The pervasiveness of change throughout today's enterprises means that special leadership skills are needed in IT organizations - skills in organizational change management. These skills are needed up and down the organization chart. 

 

So the next questions are: Do the vast majority of IT organizations have these skills? Do C-level execs realize they need these skills?


The Institute for Corporate Productivity completed a survey this year and found that

  • Yes, 75.3% of leaders in organizations surveyed realized that "Leadership Development" was important, but
  • Only 24.1% reported that they were effective in achieving that development.

(Here is a summary table for the survey results but you may need to register. )

 

Even in this era of pervasive large change, organizations have not responded to upgrade the skills of project managers and others.

 

I'm starting a series of posts on leadership (with an article later in July) and would like your opinion about the change management leadership specialty.

  • How many of you feel prepared as leaders to coordinate your projects with larger organizational change management initiatives?
  • Is there a working mechanism in your organization to get prepared for change management (e.g. existing training or mentoring)?
  • For that matter does your organization/company even have organizational change management initiatives in play?

 

Let me know by responding.

Posted on: July 07, 2010 12:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Motivating Through Worker Definition of Success

Categories: Leadership

linkedin twitter facebook Request to reuse this  
Continuing with the sporadic series on leadership in the downturn, it's time to look at another good idea for motivating workers when there is a lot of bad news around.
 
Jon Katzenbach studies great motivators in the workplace. He tells us that you should use your knowledge of the individual definition of success of your workers to motivate them. This is good news. When it is difficult to find "external" motivators (such as it is now in this bleak economic environment), you can focus on what each individual values. For example:
  • Working toward a promotion
  • Learning new skills
  • Doing a high-quality job
  • Interacting more with different stakeholders
  • Doing more customer service, financial analysis, programming, and so on.
It's so easy to lump everyone together and make the same comments about how we all have to weather this storm together, but how many workers does this really motivate? Funny thing is, the same managers who use statements like this were never motivated by these statements when they were workers themselves.
 
Refocus your motivational tactics. Your workers will respond with improved performance.
Posted on: March 06, 2009 07:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Leadership for Those Who Remain

Categories: Leadership

linkedin twitter facebook Request to reuse this  
After layoffs you want to maintain high morale and productivity for the remaining workforce, but it is not easy. Their collective head is spinning with all kind of emotions. They are not sure what jobs to do in all cases. What's worse, you may feel the same way.
 
In your project, the workers who are left will be taking their cues from you. Your tone and attention to the adjustment that the workers must face are crucial:
  • Stress the fact that the layoffs were not a reflection of the performance of the workers who were laid off.
  • Be available - and visible - to assist reprioritizing and rebalancing workloads among the new workers.
This article is for small businesses, but the ideas are also good for projects.
Posted on: March 03, 2009 10:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Social Media: Cheap, Quick Training For Today's Projects

Categories: Learning

linkedin twitter facebook Request to reuse this  
Now that we are aggressively cost-cutting and looking for ways to avoid additional expenses, training is an obvious area to reassess. An article by David Wilkins suggests there are three general approaches using social networking and other Web 2.0 technologies.
  • Embedding social media inside online training so that learners can collaborate, discuss, etc. during training
  • Making social media available to all learners so that they can discuss and comment on classes available in the organization
  • Create communities designed to facilitate learning independent of any formal online training
This third option provides an inexpensive way to transfer knowledge and expertise, especially if there are no existing formal courses. Communities are also quick to put together to meet a tight deadline in your project. You still have to make sure it is managed properly in order to get the results you desire, and has been noted in a previous post, your training specialists may not have the expertise. Find an expert in using social networking in learning.
 
 
An update on my last post: Mass layoffs (those that involve at least 50 workers) increased more than 50% in January. The industry with the highest number of unemployment claims? Temporary Help Services. Have you lost temporary help?
Posted on: February 27, 2009 07:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Your Surprising Role in Layoffs

Categories: Leadership

linkedin twitter facebook Request to reuse this  
There are still layoffs to come in many organizations. If you are involved as one who is conducting the meetings with individual employees, or if you have workers who will be laid off , you want to make sure that there are as few legal actions as possible resulting from those layoffs. Harsh, but true.
 
The question is: What is the best thing for you to do to make the best of the situation and not make any errors?
Take special legal training? Not the most important.
Take special management training? There is something more important.
Just be nice? That sounds pretty lame.
 
But it's correct! It turns out that if you treat employees with dignity and respect during the notifications and afterwards, they will be less likely to initiate a lawsuit. Happy, but true.
Posted on: February 24, 2009 10:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
ADVERTISEMENTS

"Very deep. You should send that into Reader's Digest, they've got a page for people like you."

- Douglas Adams

ADVERTISEMENT

Sponsors