How much time do you give stakeholders to sign off key documentation?
Jonathan DoylePM Consultant| Adduco Consultancy LtdLondon, United Kingdom
There have been plenty of situations in projects that I have managed and I am sure in some of yours where documents need signing off but approval seems like a distant goal that is difficult to achieve. A scenario being you give the stakeholders a deadline to respond, they don’t and they wait for more time to pass and either: suggest changes to the document when the necessity of a final version of the document is critical or they ask that different stakeholders are invited to sign off the document as well because the document also impacts them.
How do you typically hold these people accountable to stick to a set deadline for sign off of a document? Saving Changes...
When I really need something signed, I tend to email or call the signator, and ask if I can come by. While there, I let them know that I need this signed in order to proceed, and ask them to look it over, so we can discuss anything that troubles them. Then I ask them to sign it. If they are hesitant, I don''t press, but instead, I ask when they''ll be able to finish their review and sign.
When I return to my desk, I send them an email, which states that they have the document authorizing (name of what it authorizes), and that per our conversation, I''ll be looking for the signed document to be on my desk by (date they agreed to).
I also state the the date is important, but assure them that I''m available PRIOR to the agreed upon date to discuss the authorization.
If the date comes and goes without the singed paper, I send an email the very next day, indicating that the date has slipped, asking if it would be helpful for me to come by today. I CC my manager on this. That way, if no action occurs, I can escalate. Saving Changes...
Just the other day I was reading that such problems are to be dealt with by the sponsor (the management).
To think of it from stakeholders perspective, he might be looking for an assurance from a higher authority. Saving Changes...
Howard LaiPMP, CEng, CPEng, NER, IntPE(Aust), RPEQ, MIET, CSSBB, CISA, ISO9001 LA| QHBrisbane, Queensland, Australia
It is a typical question for project managers, especially in large scale organisation. Some documents involves many stakeholders, some are located in different regions. In this case, we may set a virtual meeting to gather most stakeholders to sign-off. Saving Changes...
Jonathan DoylePM Consultant| Adduco Consultancy LtdLondon, United Kingdom
Thank you all for your posts. They are really interesting and certainly insightful to the challenges that you have faced and continue to to tackle head-on. Saving Changes...
