Hrm 517 Unit 1 Assignment 2 Ms Project And Team

Assignment 2: MS Project and Team Leadership
Tammie Johnson
Dr. Stephen Castellese
HRM 517 Managing Human Resource Projects
March 10, 2015

As Human Resource director for CAT Reman, I am in the process working on a project to revamp the employee compensation and benefits package. However, the project is starting to develop some issues that must be corrected in order to finish the project success. The project is currently six weeks off track and my team members are getting discouraged. A key team member is always late with deadlines, and I recently found out that the budget has been exhausted quicker than expected. I am determined to boost my team’s morale and get the project back on track. Included in this paper is a memo that
communicates the budget situation to the rest of the team, and two ways to improve an underperforming team member. Also, my team and I will work together to organize a plan to get the project back on track.
Memo
To: CAT Compensation and Benefits Team Members From: Tammie Johnson, HR Director March 10, 2015

After a recent review of the budget for the Compensation/Benefits project budget, there is major concern that the budget is being exhausted quicker than expected. The issue with the budget is directly related to the project being off track and the missed deadlines that we have been experiencing the last few weeks. We must meet as soon as possible in the Yellow Conference Room to discuss the budget issues and also to find a solution to the problem so that we can get back on track for project completion.
Each team member needs to bring a suggestion for a solution as well as verification that tasks that you are responsible for at this point have been completed. As a team we must provide honest and open estimates about what we are doing to complete this project. We may have to do some partial overlapping in the next few weeks, but we will get this project completed successfully and on time. Some partial overlapping should get the project back on track and help with the budget
issues. Our main goal is to ensure that CAT Reman’s employee are provided the best compensation and benefits plans possible in order to attract and retain the best and brightest employees. All of you have been assets to previous projects so I know what you are capable of. I appreciate the hard work and effort this far, and I look forward to celebrating the success of this project with all of you in the very near future.
Suggest two ways to improve an underperforming team member The first step to turning underperformers around is to acknowledge and embrace that there is a problem.
Assure them that you know that they are much better than their current performance because they have been successful on past projects. Most people want to achieve they just need encouragement and motivation. Next, I will reiterate the established goals and clear vision that we discussed during the planning stage of the project. I will implement an element from the reinforcement theory, positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement refers to the situation in which a behavior is followed by positive consequences and is likely to be repeated (Denisi & Griffin, 2012). Communication is also a way to improve an underperforming team member. By now everyone should know the communications needs and expectations for the project and how and in what format information will be communicated. As director of HR, I believe in open communication and keeping everyone informed. Everyone’s input is valued and all team members should share in meaningful project learning as they develop a sense of ownership during the process of this
project.
Plan of action to the project back on track Projects get of track quickly sometimes for various reasons. The issue may be not enough funds or key team members get discouraged and fall off. My priority when this happens is to take the steps necessary to turn things around. The first step is to determine the problem which may be difficult especially if it points to a lack of leadership. The next step is to determine what is important. There may be some tasks that can be or eliminated to help save time and money. Then, I will communicate with the team about what caused the project to get off track and seek input to make sure everyone is on the same page before developing a new timeline. Because funding is one of the reasons the project is off track, I will find a way to add funding. With the added funding I can reassign roles in order to be more effective and delegate more tasks. The next step is to create a new timeline based on the changes decided on by the team. Finally, we will work even harder as team to stick to the plan. We may have to work more hours, but I will try to increase motivation with small pep talks and praise, and by buying lunch or dinner and snacks to show my appreciation to my team members. Frequent celebration of successes helps project team members share the enjoyment of working on a project, and this in turn helps them stay committed to successful project completion (Kloppenborg & Nkomo, 2012).

References
Denisi & Griffin. (2012). HR. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
Kloppenborg, T. & Nkomo, S. (2012). Human resource project management. (2nd ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.