Chapter 5 – Project Life Cycle, Scope, Charters, Proposals

5.14. Ask An Expert — Lianne Gallie

Ask An Expert

Lianne Gallie

MSc in Human Resources Management; College Teaching Graduate Certification, CHRL

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Owner of Fieldstone HR Consulting, Professor at Fanshawe College and 25 years experience in positions from Administrator to HR Manager. In her business, she provides advice and HR services to small and medium businesses. She has previous work experience in automotive, publich, private, retail and consulting industries.

Board Member of HRPLD Chapter, Coordinator of an HR Networking group, mentor for MentorCity online program with HRPA.

Question 1: Describe the benefits of developing an excellent monitoring system. What data/analytics would HR monitor in a project?

It gives a real instant view of the project status. It also helps in anticipating an issue by making decisions based on any relevant issue by getting a piece of real-time information.

HR analytics would monitor organization performance starters such as turnover and recruitment. HR analytics also look out for the effectiveness and efficiency of HR day-to-day procedures and initiatives by ensuring that processes are effective.

Question 2: How do you use Project Charters in your work? What do you include? (if you don’t use Charters, do you use proposals?

A charter gives stakeholders a clear objective, scope, responsibilities and project goals.

The project I did in the past was implementing the HRIS program with my previous employers. This was to take data on excel, such as tracking employee data on the excel database, hiring date and performance management. All this was on the excel database and won’t sustain the organization for a long period. We had to put in a project to implement in HRIS. To get approval for the project, we had to have a charter.

Question 3: What is the biggest challenge you face with projects with human resources?

I think the biggest hurdle for us was presenting the benefits of forming a management team for the whole organization and executing it so we could save time. We were successful in doing so.

Question 4: What do students in Human Resources need to do to continue to grow and learn when dealing with and working on projects?

Upgrade your education and your experience, so wherever you can get an opportunity to take courses, specifically in project management, I recommend further education in all areas of your career.

Question 5: What do you think are the most important aspects of project planning?

I think knowing how many people, what vendors you may need, and the cost are very important, as well as having a clear idea of your outcome and end result, so you have a clear roadmap of where we’re starting and where we need to go.

Question 6: Discuss the necessity of developing good data gathering and analysis for projects?

Because of the data analysis, we don’t know if our project is on track because of data analysis. We can make informed decisions about whether we need more resources if we’ve gone over budget, etc. Without data to track things, a project can blow up, cost too much, and never be completed.

Question 7: Do you know project management software? What tools have you worked with?

I know of many management software programs. I tend to use Excel for projects, listing down project steps and then highlighting the cells in different colours to indicate where they are in the project. It would be easier to use project management software instead of Excel for big projects.

Question 8: It has been stated that professionalism and integrity are essential qualities of a project manager who is working on projects. Would you agree? Why? Are there other qualities that you value while working on projects?

Yes, because as a project manager, you will be working with many people, such as staff and external suppliers, you must represent yourself and your company professionally.

In terms of the other qualities mentioned by the expert, a manager must comprehend and know how their staff communicate with one another and be respectful and trustworthy. And honesty is essential for a project manager.