Question

Work is well underway. A Task Management Educational Plan is being written to articulate the scope, work breakdown, processes, schedules and assignments at each project phase. This plan must be done within the first month of the project start date. DRA PS hired a new program manager from outside the organization to oversee the new project. DRA PS hired her based on her college degree and years of experience in the field and needs her to get up to speed quickly. An existing program manager who worked on the project proposal and who has met the client is assigned the project’s principal instructional designer. Client’s Requirements The client expects the program manager to conduct weekly status meetings with them; communicate with them on a daily basis through e-mails and telephone calls; and to meet established deadlines for product delivery. The client will conduct quality assurance reviews immediately to keep the schedule on time. Schedule and Workload Requirements The team is organized into three divisions: course development, marketing, and web site development. Each division has a lead team member. The program manager has oversight of the entire project. The web site must be designed and launched two months after the project start date. A marketing plan and branding campaign must be designed before the web site can launch. Marketing products must be ready for distribution at the same time as the web site launch. The first course must be delivered at the start of the fourth month from the project start date. 10 © 2008 Society for Human Resource Management. Marcia R. Gibson, Ed.D. The course review and rehearsal must be ready two months after the project start date. Analysis work for the second course must start two months after the project start date. Program Manager’s Actions The program manager seems friendly but does not seem to be leading the team. She holds weekly status meetings with the client but doesn’t say anything during those meetings. She responds only by e-mail to client communications and calls only to confirm meetings. The client is not impressed with the program manager’s performance and notices that the lead instructional designer is actually filling both the program manager and instructional designer roles. One month into the project, the client mentions the program manager’s performance to the vice president of the division. The vice president promises to talk to the program manager and help her improve her performance. By the end of the second month, the analysis for the second course has started. The first course is ready for review and rehearsal, which means all materials have been developed and are ready for instructor review. The preliminary branding campaign was completed, marketing materials are ready for approval, and the first version of the web site has launched. The vice president of the division phones the client and asks for feedback on the project accomplishments to date and the program manager’s performance. The client praises the progress made in such a short time but thinks it has happened in spite of the program manager. The client informs the vice president that the program manager missed the deadline for delivery of the Task Management Educational Plan. When it was finally delivered, the client sent it back as unsatisfactory. Also, the client feels that the program manager has been uncommunicative; she has not said a dozen words in the past eight weekly progress meetings. The client is not pleased with the program manager’s performance. At the end of the third month, DRA PS decides to replace the program manager. In spite of this, team leaders have made sure that the first course is ready, the web site is launched, and the marketing plan is developed and implemented on schedule. A new program manager is needed right away.

Answer the following:

1. How would you have handled the program manager’s performance issues? Was the right decision made to replace her? Why or why not?

2. What options exist to find a new program manager?

3. Discuss the recruitment and retention challenges you face in filling the position quickly.

4. How will you ensure that the new hire will be approved and hired as expediently as possible? Who must you communicate with to implement your strategy?

Answer 1

1) In reference to the context we identified that the new program manager was not good in effective communication especially in public speaking. Though she communicated through emails and calls, but lacked leadership skills as well. We need to understand that she was hired on the basis of her educational qualification and past experience, definitely the DRA PS must have done several screenings and taken several interviews before finalizing her. She must have been an eligible candidate for the position, the immediate way was to hold a meeting in person with the program manager in order to understand the issue behind her lack of effective performance. There can be several reasons like work environment, lack of interest in the nature of the job and/or other issues related to remuneration etc.

It is not a good decision to replace the program manager immediately as it will require time to hire a new one and it will be a worse scenario if the new program manager turns out to be ineffective because of hiring done on an urgent basis.

The program manager might need training as well or some guidance to build rapport with the team and the client in order to be more effective in meetings. She needs to be more responsive and also be clear with her views and remarks on every aspect of a project.

2) In order to find a new program manager, it is very important to know the work and responsibilities of the designation in concern. Since a program manager is someone who works on a collection of projects there is a significant requirement to lead the teams of the all the projects and also have effective project management skills throughout the project management life cycle. Since the requirement of a project manager is immediate the DRA PS can take inputs from the former program manager as it is evident from the case study that he was managing both program management and instructional design at the same time. It is also advised to keep him as a part of the final interview before finalizing the new program manager and take his decision as final in nature.

It is also advisable to present real life scenarios as tests for the applicants of the position in concern, in order to understand their in depth practical knowledge about the job and how well they understand its responsibilities.

3) In order to fill the position of the project manager there will be several requirements to be considered after posting the ad for the same on job portals and sites. Since the last hiring was not fruitful and there was not enough time to train and develop the skills of the newly hired project manager, it is essential to hire someone who possess effective communication and leadership skills. The procedure of hiring can be made three fold with initial screening, followed by practical tests and finally a psychometric test to analyze the skills of the applicants. The practical test will incorporate on spot presentation making on the scenario presented, group discussion on a real life challenging situation related to on-going projects and tests on subject and area knowledge. After the three fold selection process the final interview can help finalize the eligible candidate.

It must also be informed to the new project manager to take insights and guidance from the former project manager and to also become familiar to his way of work so that it becomes easier for the new project manager to catch up with the client’s requirements without taking much time. This process of getting trained by the former manager will also help in the retention strategy as the new manager will learn the work flow and also the attitude required to maintain effectiveness in the work.

4) It is important to communicate with the Vice President, team leaders and also with the former manager. The results of the tests and the interviews can be shared with the VP and the team heads, and as mentioned earlier keeping the former project manager involved in this hiring process will make things more effective, as he will be quick to identify the desired applicant for the role. In this way it will be easier to hire a new project manager in a week’s time and also get the approval by making the whole hiring process as transparent as possible to the related designations.