Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
We have a change freeze over the year end period so there is limited work we can do in terms of deploying projects but we also struggle from limited resources. Of course, people are going to be off at this time of year but it seems like however much we plan for this we are always short staffed.
How do you manage to keep your projects going when everyone seems to be off? Saving Changes...
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Sudarshan HarshePM III MBA Operations PRINCE2® SIX SIGMA| Fidel SoftechPune, Maharashtra, India
Not only on vacations/holidays but on weekends also we have to manage guard PM for ongoing and quick turnaround projects. 15 days back I have received mail from my US based client, mentioning staff details for this years last vacation.
We have to have back up for this!
On several holiday vacations I have worked as substitute for a PM going on vacation and managed holidays with convenience.
I feel, overtime, comp. off and managing some other benefits, can help you get people to handle tasks on holidays! Saving Changes...
Aryamer BasrahProject Manager| PT Vale Indonesia TbkKab Luwu - Soroako, South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Earlier before the holidays come, we can maximize resources effort either by overtime work or add more resources temporarily so our progress or several activities can be finished earlier than scheduled.
Just before the holiday the PM can provide a nice report and notice that during holiday the project will not progressing much but after the holiday the project will continue to work as normal schedule. Saving Changes...
Kevin GebertDirector of Marketing| IBMS GlobalCo, United States
Typically what I have done is to assume in my planning that
the level of support will be much lower during the holiday season. If you know that it always occurs then build it
into your plan. Saving Changes...
If this is pretty consistent around particular period of time say around major holidays and/or other instances based on your staff preferences.
1) Recognize this staff constraint and plan accordingly (Most of the clients understand or else plan to share that with the staff)
2) Have compensation plans such as PTO/OT pay in place accounted in the budget (from reserves).
3) I would ask my staff regarding their vacation plans, also make sure to update this information every quarter
4) All planned vacation must be recorded on their calendar
5) If push comes to shove re-prioritize your activities/deliverable scheduled for that time period
I don't think there is one solution or a fix to this staff shortage problem but has to be approached in different ways. Also, plan to work OT yourself if you can deliver the product/activity yourself instead of document updates that you might need to do. Saving Changes...
Elizabeth HarrinDirector| RebelsGuideToPM.comLondon, England, United Kingdom
Thanks, everyone for your replies. I agree with the idea of planning to work extra hours yourself (although I don't like it as a solution). There always seems to be a shortfall that I end up picking up to protect the team's scheduled vacation, although of course some of it I can't do myself.
I also think there is a lot to be said for the idea of addressing it in several ways.
Looking forward to hear other solutions. Saving Changes...
How about building alliances! No I'm not leaning towards staffing agencies but forming partnership with firms.
Forming Joint Ventures or partnership on an on-call basis to share unanticipated workload or just to augment your resource needs.
Networking with other companies especially when there are a lot of small firms/independent contractors trying to look for opportunities. This type of solution is not an quick fix but carefully planned and executed which means taking chances with a new entity.
