Project planning and executing in organizations is complex because of all the cross-functional interconnections and impacts associated with any one project. With HR projects typically occurring in flux throughout the year, with competing priorities and workloads, HR team members who manage projects face their own unique challenges: limited visibility in available resources, tight timelines, and confusion about how HR projects connect to the bottom line, all while being expected to mobilize a disengaged project team over the finish line. The result of all of this? Missed deadlines, overworked project teams, and poor project quality.
Sound familiar to you? How can you navigate through project barriers using your organizational awareness, effective communication, and influence to align and inspire others?
Drive your project’s success by learning decision-maker priorities, plan for the cross-functional impacts of your project, and align your project importance to the organizational strategy and bottom line. Communicate effectively with decision makers to gain their support and buy-in by embedding their priorities into your messaging and inspire your project team through trust and empowerment. Influence SMEs, decision makers, and project sponsors to help you propel the project from scoping to long-term project sustainment.
Our Advice
Critical Insight
Step into a strategic HR project manager mindset to proactively plan to overcome project barriers and launch projects that are on time, on budget, and meet the intended objectives.
Impact and Result
- Use this learning resource to strengthen your project management skills and behaviors when leading a project team through scoping, to project launch, and beyond.
- Effectively communicate project significance, needs, and goals to key decision makers to gain support and buy-in.
- Develop interconnected HR projects by considering short- and long-term impacts that align with programs outside the HR ecosystem, aligning with the broader organizational strategy.
- Mobilize and lead your project team across all phases of the project lifecycle by instilling engagement, trust, and, confidence in them.
- Mitigate risk by proactively planning for unexpected changes and checking in with decision makers often to learn about evolving project needs.