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I had three chats this very week with clients about implementation projects and their resourcing. All three have asked suppliers how they might resource proposals and also what other projects they have on-going. That is an important and essential question for sure, although one aspect that sometimes gets totally overlooked, is our own internal capabilities.
I’ve sometimes been involved with big implementation projects that have been delivered to very tight timescales, although all of those have been generously resourced by both clients and suppliers, in order to make it all work. Although suppliers (sometimes quite rightly) pick up the blame for failure and delay, a good 40% of projects that fail badly are let down by poor internal client resourcing or communication.
Clear problems are created by not having enough resource or not the right mix. Suppliers at their ‘pitching’ stage if asked can indicate how many FTE’s might be needed and from which teams and with the right subject matter experience. Having said that, not many contracting bodies always bother to ask. Reference sites can also share their stories, from which much can be learned. ICT staff should be expected in most instances to not be contributing too much, if individual teams will be expected to take good ownership of their own solutions and processes.
I feel that we need the best quality project staff we can afford to free from the BAU, although I understand the challenges. Particularly in smaller organisations this can be problematic. Back-filling experienced and valuable staff is a serious issue and I normally suggest getting more junior staff to act up, then potentially back filling them which should be easier.
Having additional overtime available is useful, but must not be relied on as a crutch. Also, the possibility of deferring / banking leave and TOIL is useful, particularly beyond the current holiday year if needed.
With all these in place, it is still very common for most of the implementation work to come down to one or two key involved and extremely valuable staff. Sometimes many moons ago, I could have been one of those staff. Opportunity for burnout to occur in these people is high. That can happen quite tragically for the project as they inevitably are a single point of failure.
Looking out for the signs, getting into the office or logging in remotely very early, picking extra work up late evenings or weekends etc, is essential. An open culture of being able to ask for help via managers or project sponsor is essential, as well as being realistic with highlight reports. It benefits no one long-term if there is too much good news. All projects have amber and red periods. If its all greens, the right questions are not being asked.
Look after your project staff and don’t be afraid to consider change control and project extension if needed. Arbitrary go-live targets with little relation to reality or just tick-box completions without delivering the change or transformations promised, do little for staff, ICT or overall process improvements.
As a Critical Friend, either during procurement or afterwards, I do my best to help clients prepare for the above and support everyone when issues occur. If we can do it better together, I think we should!
Related Post: What can erode the quality of communication with our customers?
I would be pleased to connect with you on LinkedIn - http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonysmiththathousingitguy Message me with any issues or queries, you would like to be explored in this blog. We generally receive a couple of suggestions each month.
David Bryne - Burnt by the Sun.
(c) Tony Smith, Acutance Consulting www.acutanceconsulting.co.uk 07854-655009
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