Project Management Strategies for Recruiting & Staffing

Transcription

1 Project Management Strategies for Recruiting & Staffing Presented by: Jeremy Eskenazi, SPHR, Managing Principal, Riviera Advisors, Inc. SHRM Talent & Staffing Management Conference 2011, San Diego, California (This document is a companion to the live presentation and includes all of the comprehensive speakers notes) What will we discuss today Great recruiting and sourcing does not have to be expensive Planning and preparation is key to great low-cost recruiting Planning for sourcing Active vs. Passive candidates Doing it yourself: o Employee Referrals o Current Candidates, Past Candidates, and References o Active candidate searching using job boards o Using social networking, blogs, groups, and Googling for candidates Getting low cost help: o Resume mining services o Recruitment research o Non-traditional external search and Unbundled services Customer Service vs. Of Service way of working The concepts of contracting Wrap up Page 1 of 7

2 Project Management 101 The four Basic Elements of all projects that must be managed well and simultaneously: 1. Scope project size, goals, and requirements 2. Time task durations, dependencies, and critical paths 3. Costs financial resources needed, along with contingencies 4. Resources people (both on the team and those in support roles, materials (both internal and external) Most literature on project management speaks of the need to manage and balance three elements: people, time, and money. However, the first element is the most important and it is the first and last task for a successful project manager. First and foremost you have to manage the project scope. The project scope is the definition of what the project is supposed to accomplish and the budget (of time and resources) that has been created to achieve these objectives. It is absolutely imperative that any change to the scope of the project have a matching change in budget, either time or resources. If the project scope is to build a sourcing channel for a particular recruiting campaign, within one month and using minimal costs, the project manager is expected to do that. However, if the scope is changed to rolling out a new sourcing channel globally, across all markets and technologies,, the project manager must obtain an appropriate change in time and budgeted resources. If the budget is not adjusted, the smart project manager will avoid the change in scope. Usually, scope changes occur in the form of "scope creep". Scope creep is the piling up of small changes that by themselves are manageable, but in aggregate are significant. For example, the project calls for working with the vendor in enhancing a small portion of the functionality of the present ATS (Applicant Tracking System). The project spec is to add one foreign language capability for limited use in one country. That's a pretty minor change. Later the spec is added to by requiring the addition of one more country language from a BU that feels it s critical. But soon the movement begins to snowball, and every country serviced by Recruiting wants their own partitioned database in their own language. By now, the minor change has become a major addition. Make sure any requested change, no matter how small, is accompanied by approval for a change in budget or schedule or both. You cannot effectively manage the resources, time and money in a project unless you actively manage the project scope. Page 2 of 7

3 Project Management 101 (Continued) When you have the project scope clearly identified and associated to the timeline and budget, you can begin to manage the project resources. These include the people, and resources needed to complete the project. SOURCE: (BUSINESS: The Ultimate Resource, F. John Reh, Management Consultant, 2009) For Project The three main focuses of project managers: 1. Time 2. Budget 3. Quality Planning is everything and ongoing. Project managers must feel and transmit a sense of urgency to their team members. Simply put, project success means completing all project deliverables on time, within budget, and to a level of quality that is acceptable to sponsors and stakeholders. The project manager must keep the team s attention focused on achieving these broad goals. On one thing all PM texts and authorities agree: The single most important activity that project managers engage in is planning detailed, systematic, team-involved plans are the only foundation for project success. And when real-world events conspire to change the plan, project managers must make a new one to reflect the changes. So planning and re-planning must be a way of life for project managers. Because projects are finite endeavors with limited time, money, and other resources available, they must be kept moving toward completion. Since most team members have lots of other priorities, it s up to the project manager to keep their attention on project deliverables and deadlines. Regular status checks, meetings, and reminders are essential Page 3 of 7

4 ful projects use a proven life-cycle: 1. Visualize and communicate in vivid detail all project deliverables and activities 2. Deliverables must evolve gradually, in successive approximations 3. Manage expectations We know what works. Models such as the international standard model and others can help ensure that professional standards and best practices are built into our project plans. Not only do these models typically support quality, they help to minimize rework. So when time or budget pressures seem to encourage taking short cuts, it s up to the project manager to identify and defend the best project life cycle for the job. In short, the project manager and project team must early on create a tangible picture of the finished deliverables in the minds of everyone involved so that all effort is focused in the same direction. Avoid vague descriptions at all costs; spell it out, picture it, prototype it, and make sure everyone agrees to it. It simply costs too much and risks too much time spent in rework to jump in with both feet and begin building all project deliverables. Build a little at a time, obtain incremental reviews and approvals, and maintain a controlled evolution. Set expectation levels and maintain open channels of communication with all sponsors, stakeholders and team members 1. Projects require clear approvals and sign-off by sponsors 2. Project success is correlated with thorough analyses of the need for project deliverables 3. Project managers must be assertive in their role Page 4 of 7

5 Clear approval points, accompanied by formal sign-off by sponsors, and other key stakeholders, should be demarcation points in the evolution of project deliverables. It s this simple: anyone who has the power to reject or to demand revision of deliverables after they are complete must be required to examine and approve them as they are being built. Research has shown that when a project results in deliverables that are designed to meet a thoroughly documented need, then there is a greater likelihood of project success. So managers should insist that there is a documented business need for the project before they agree to consume organizational resources in completing it. In work with project managers we often hear this complaint: We always seem to have time to do the project over; I just wish we had taken the time to do it right in the first place! Projects must have available enough time to do it right the first time. And project managers must fight for this time by demonstrating to sponsors and top managers why it s necessary and how time spent will result in quality deliverables. 1. Project manager responsibility must be matched by equivalent authority 2. Project sponsors and stakeholders must be active participants, not passive customers 3. Projects typically must be sold, and resold! It s not enough to be held responsible for project outcomes; project managers must ask for and obtain enough authority to execute their responsibilities. Specifically, managers must have the authority to acquire and coordinate resources, request and receive sponsor cooperation, and make appropriate, binding decisions which have an impact on the success of the project. Most project sponsors and stakeholders rightfully demand the authority to approve project deliverables, either wholly or in part. Along with this authority comes the responsibility to be an active participant in the early stages of the project (helping to define deliverables), to complete reviews of interim deliverables in a timely fashion (keeping the project moving), and to help expedite the project manager s Page 5 of 7

6 access to members of the target audience, and essential documentation. There are times when the project manager must function as salesperson to maintain the commitment of stakeholders and sponsors. With project plans in hand, project managers may need to periodically remind people about the business need that is being met and that their contributions are essential to help meet this need. 1. Acquire the best people 2. Keep the garbage out of their way 3. Project Managers must set and support priorities with top management By acquiring the best people the most skilled, the most experienced, the best qualified the project manager can often compensate for too little time or money or other project constraints. Project managers should serve as an advocate for these valuable team members, helping to protect them from outside interruptions and helping them acquire the tools and working conditions necessary to apply their talents. In today s leaner, self-managing organizations, it is not uncommon for project team members to be expected to play active roles on many project teams at the same time. Ultimately, there comes a time when resources are stretched to their limits and there are simply too many projects to be completed successfully. In response, some organizations have established a Project Office comprised of top managers from all departments to act as a clearinghouse for projects and project requests. The Project Office reviews the organization s overall mission and strategies, establishes criteria for project selection and funding, monitors resource workloads, and determines which projects are of high enough priority to be approved. In this way top management provides the leadership necessary to prevent multiproject log jams. SOURCE: The web-published article by Michael Greer is an excerpt from Chapter 6: Planning and Managing Human Performance Technology Projects, Handbook of Human Performance Technology, San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1999 Page 6 of 7

7 About Jeremy Eskenazi, SPHR Jeremy Eskenazi founded Riviera Advisors in 2001 and draws on more than 20 years of experience and expertise in helping companies assess and enhance their talent management systems and processes. Prior to Riviera, Jeremy served as Vice President, Talent Acquisition for idealab!, the world's premier technology business incubator. Jeremy led a global team in the development and delivery of recruiting and staffing, college relations, and executive search services to idealab's network of more than 30 companies. Prior to idealab!, Jeremy served as Director, Talent Acquisition for Amazon.com Holdings in Seattle. He led all talent acquisition and recruiting activities for this high-growth global organization. Jeremy also assumed worldwide human resources responsibilities while acting as Vice President, Strategic Growth. Earlier in his career, Jeremy led the global staffing function for all of Universal Studios and the Universal Music Group businesses as Corporate Director, Workforce Planning & Strategic Staffing. He and his staff provided leadership for worldwide staffing, workforce planning, internal sourcing, college and community organization relations and recruitment, and executive recruitment activities. He also served as Director, Professional Staffing within the Universal Studios Recreation Group, where he developed and led Professional Staffing during a period of exponential growth. This included executive and creative staffing for the Group's Universal Studios Hollywood and Florida theme parks, Universal Creative unit, as well as the Universal Orlando Resort in Florida and Universal Studios Japan expansion project teams. Jeremy was also an original founder of one of the nation's premier boutique retained executive search firms. His early experience comes from Heublein, Inc., The Knott's Organization, and Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Jeremy earned a Bachelor of Science from California State Polytechnic University, and holds certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) from the Human Resource Certification Institute. Jeremy has served as Co-President, At-Large for the International Association of Corporate and Professional Recruitment (IACPR). He is an active member of the Society for Human Resources Management and recently served on the national Staffing Management special expertise panel and currently serves on the Workforce Planning Standards Taskforce. Jeremy is a professional member of the prestigious National Speakers Association (NSA), and the Institute of Management Consultants USA (IMC-USA). A native of Southern California, Jeremy is a member of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association. Jeremy may be contacted at Jeremy@RivieraAdvisors.com or via telephone at (800) Riviera Advisors is based in Long Beach, California, USA Page 7 of 7