Project Termination Process T100

Blog: Biz-Performance, David Brown

T100 – Identify / Confirm New Roles for all Project Staff

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DEFINITION

Ensure that appropriate arrangements are made for all staff. Staff may be going back to line positions, retained in new support roles, be part of the team providing temporary support and maintenance, part of a phase 2 team, or simply not wanted anywhere.

SUMMARY

This process consists of:

conduct performance reviews if appropriate,
identify where and when project staff are going after their duties are completed with the team,
disband the project organisation.

PATH PLANNING GUIDANCE

This process is optional. It is used where staff have been assigned to the team and will be available to take up new duties following the project..

DEPENDENCIES

Prerequisites (Finish-Finish):

When a team member’s duties are complete – note that staff may leave the project at any point, not necessarily the end.
Dependent procedures (Finish-Start):
End of project

RECEIVABLES

Segment Plan
Project organigramme (organisation and job roles)
Approach to cutover / systems handover IPs

DELIVERABLES

Job appraisals if required
Modified Organigramme or Segment Plan if required

TOOLS

Performance review process

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF TASKS

Final performance review

Where it is expected or appropriate as part of the team member’s relationship with the project’s management team, a final performance review should be prepared for the team member, and discussed with them before their departure. This may be appropriate whether or not it is the duty of the project manager to do so.

It is normally useful to give informal feedback to members of the team in return for their service. Whether this is treated as a formal review by their employers will depend upon the circumstances. Positive feedback should usually be reported to the employer to the benefit of all parties. Any negative feedback should be handled with more care and might best be avoided unless specifically required.

The exact format is dependent on the organisation’s guidelines and procedures. KPMG’s own format of document may be used in the absence of a specific format or for KPMG staff.

The appraisal should highlight the individual’s:

contributions to the project,
special skills or techniques learned or enhanced during the project,
additional training suggestions.

Identifying new roles

Completing a large project can be traumatic for team members who may resist the project’s end merely because it presents conditions of uncertainty regarding their future careers. Reassignment may make them feel uneasy as it means having to prove themselves all over again in a new role, or that they may have to take up less responsibility on returning to their old role. It is often appropriate to discuss the team member’s position and try to help them with the change. In some cases, the project manager may be able to help by discussing the issues with the person’s new manager.

In some cases it may be the project manager’s responsibility to ensure that project staff have identified positions to move to following the project work. This will depend on the role of the project manager and the manner in which the staff have been made available. In large projects, team members may have been permanently assigned to the project and have no line position to return to.

Commonly, staff may be:

going back to line positions,
retained in new roles supporting the new system,
be part of a residuary team providing temporary support and maintenance,
part of a “phase 2” team, or
simply not wanted anywhere.

Project staff are often on loan from departments within the client organisation and may be expected to return to their previous duties. This may be demotivating for the team members who often feel they have developed their personal abilities and knowledge substantially as part of the project. Project staff are usually well equipped to return to the user community as local experts in the new system. It is usually of value both to the department and to the individual to recognise this asset.

Former team members are also well equipped to become part of the management and support of the new system, for example by manning a help desk, scheduling processing or helping to develop minor enhancements.

While the system is phasing over to its permanent support and management, there may be a temporary support team acting as the residuary body of the project team to help ease the system into smooth running. This function would normally be staffed by former team members, albeit on a short-term basis.

Many systems projects will have further stages building on the current project’s achievements. Clearly, project team members will be ideally placed to form part of the new team.

Despite all these possibilities, it may still be found that there is no role for individual team members. This is particularly likely to be the case where the new systems have resulted in a downsizing of the overall staffing needs. Great care must be taken to handle such situations properly and the project manager would normally try to see that the staff member is found suitable post or is at least treated fairly.

Note that it is common for staff to want to leave their current employers at the end of an interesting assignment on a project team where they will return to a relatively low-profile routine job. It is often appropriate to coach and encourage them to try to exploit their new skills, but preferably within their current employers’ business.

Disbanding the team

Make sure all participants are clear about when and where they will be going to after their work is complete. Avoid wasting resources where team members have insufficient work to do. In some cases it may be appropriate to agree a phased move of the team member so that they can cover any outstanding or unexpected issues within the team at the same time as they move into their new role.

Normally everyone deserves praise, recognition and thanks at the end of a project. Suitable arrangements would normally be made for a celebration and “thank you” event. Normally, the project’s sponsor or a more senior executive would attend to host the event and to thank the team.