What makes HR projects succeed? | IMPROVING HR
Any discussion of HR project performance can provide ample fuel for pessimism. Thankfully, there’s no need to despair: HR PROJECTS CAN SUCCEED!
Not only that, but there are 3 key factors that underpin success of project management in the HR function.
But before we get to them, let’s get the biggest issue out of the way because, while it shouldn’t need to be said… It needs to be said!
The most important factor in successful HR project management is…
Treat HR Projects as if they are projects!
Nothing else matters until that is accepted, endorsed and lived in the real world. It is the first step in adopting a project management mindset; the first commitment to our new-found discipline.
So, once that’s in place, what else do we need to make things work?
Understanding the landscape
Business landscape
The HR function focuses upon the key levers of competitive advantage: People, Teams, Organization & Culture.
So, it follows that successful HR projects deliver new products or services that fit the business landscape - both in terms of outcomes and change impact.
Successful HR projects frame their deliverables, activities and decisions within the business landscape. These are not HR projects “done unto” the business, they are business projects delivered by HR.
People, Organization & Culture landscape
So, HR projects start out with a business framing of expectations. But the road is littered with projects that were formed on the whim of executives chasing the latest flavor-of-the-month best practice, or career-advancing pet goal. In fact, I would go so far as to say that, arguably, HR has been following best-practice publications drawing upon Jack Welch’s tenure as CEO of GE for over 25 years.
As with any successful consulting interaction, the most important thing is to understand scope, and define expectations before we begin. We must bring professional rigor to these early discussions, and avoid blindly chasing the presenting symptom.
As a consequence, when we are asked to implement a people practice, we must have an OPINION on what’s been done elsewhere, both within our company and in the wider world of practice - what’s worked and, importantly, what hasn’t.
If we don’t know enough to have an opinion, we must be prepared to put in the research work to form one.
After all, just because it COULD be done, doesn’t mean it SHOULD be done.
HR landscape
And yet, we must be careful as we research what has happened elsewhere, because one of the major self-sabotage refrains can show up: “That won’t work here…”
This is the voice of the status quo, the defense of the risk-averse, the culture writ large.
So, while we can appreciate that not every project is well-founded, and may have an opinion that the project should not happen, we cannot afford to knee-jerk our response, which is largely due to a risk aversion response in the HR function.
Successful HR projects take this into account by understanding, and addressing their own internal stakeholder management as well as that beyond the function.
For example, let’s say we’re planning a project to change governance of the compensation cycle:
Should it be led by the Compensation function? If so, to what extent do we need to involve HR Business Partners? Representing which areas of the business? And how much should HRIS specialists be involved? How might any changes affect those HR colleagues currently engaged in processing payroll changes?
In the space of a short paragraph of questions, I’ve given food for at least a few hours worth of meetings and discussion. Yet, I haven’t even touched on the wider output of the project and how it will affect employees, managers and senior leaders.
Every question I asked concerns the HR landscape. And successful HR projects anticipate such questions, prepare to address the answers, and monitor developments throughout their life-cycle.
Commitment to strong governance
We have seen how successful HR projects pay close attention to the landscape in which the project will deliver.
They are business projects delivered by HR.
They take account of what has and hasn’t been tried in the internal and external world of practice.
And they anticipate the impact upon, and potential resistance from internal HR stakeholders.
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While these three factors are essential to success, they only come alive when there is a commitment to strong project governance.
Simply put, governance is how decisions get made in the project:
Strong project governance means making decisions at the necessary level, with appropriate involvement of impacted stakeholders
When we observe successful HR projects, we see a pattern of “decision-made, move-on” - and a track record of seldom needing to revisit decisions, because they were well made in the first place.
Choosing the right Project Manager
Given the landscapes in which we operate, and the governance we choose, the single-most important factor in successful HR projects is who we choose to manage the project.
Yes, that’s right - despite all the prevailing winds, it all comes down to an individual.
Or maybe that should be because of the prevailing winds, it all comes down to an individual.
And I’ll let you in on a little secret: the primary screening criteria is NOT a project management certification.
The primary screening criteria for HR Project Managers is CREDIBILITY
Why credibility?
Well, you've heard me say it before: HR projects are different.
Why? Well, it can ultimately be summarized in the term “self-sabotage”. An HR Project Manager is going to spend a large proportion of their time managing both HR team members AND HR stakeholders. In fact, this will be the case more than managing stakeholders external to HR.
If your HR Project Manager doesn’t have credibility within your HR function, they are already starting way behind the curve.
And it’s a huge risk to assume that a non-credible Project Manager will be able to earn credibility through delivering the project. Possible? Yes. Probable? Only maybe. And even less so if it’s a particularly thorny project.
Given the choice, it is much better to teach a credible HR professional how to manage projects, than to teach a credible Project Manager about HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Summary
So, why care about project management?
We know that we need to focus, because there’s a ton of stuff to do, and we need to get out of our own way. We also know that we’re not very good at it.
Yet HR projects are different, largely because we deal in intangibles, spend a lot of time avoiding risk, and we’re usually the last to heed our own best advice.
When we look at why HR projects fail, we find issues of capability, capacity and discipline of intent. Put together these result in a very unhealthy norm of self-sabotage in HR projects.
Luckily, though, we’ve been able to identify core factors that make HR projects succeed.
By understanding the complex landscape in which the project will operate, and committing to strong governance, we’ve seen that business projects delivered by HR are much more likely to succeed.
And that, when such projects are managed by HR professionals with the credibility to influence HR peers and leaders, the chances of success increase drastically.
This newsletter was abstracted from Project Management For Human Resources, which celebrates its 4th anniversary this month!
To celebrate, the book is available at half-price at View Beyond LLC...
AND, I'm launching a private community of practice, HR Project Management Excellence!
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