Project Mindset | Transformational Mindset

HR transformation must be run as a programme (i.e., a collection of projects) if it is to be in any way effective. This is not an area of strength for many HR functions but the structure and disciplines of programme management will enable the complexities of HR transformation to be managed within a proper governance structure.

Why the Focus on Developing a Project Mindset?

If an organisation is serious about HR transformation, it will form a HR transformation programme team. Within this team there will need to be some people with high levels of project management/programme management skills and the team as a whole will need to adopt programme management practices. We hope that we do not need to try too hard to make this particular case.

However, the point about the development of a project management mindset is that it needs to extend beyond those people responsible for effecting change in HR. It needs to be embedded as a way of working and thinking across the whole HR function, not least because of the need for strong input from users throughout the transformation process.

Additionally, we have already made it clear that the tools and models we use to support HR transformation are not just right for HR transformation, but are also right for the way HR professionals will need to work with their clients in the transformed HR function; we are role-modelling practices that the HR function needs to embed as working practices. As a generalisation, we have found that the HR community is not particularly strong in the area of project management.

So, although there is no ambition to turn HR professionals into certified PRINCE 2 programme managers, there is an ambition to develop a way of thinking akin to external consultants, who package work using the principles of project management.

Figure 1 presents a very simple framework which we have used to help HR professionals focus on the key principles of project management without overwhelming them with procedures, paperwork and plans.

 

Figure 1: A project management mindset — key questions.

When we present this framework to clients, there is typically quick intellectual buy-in: it is not difficult to understand! However, the challenge is to actually use the framework so that there is a clear focus on deliverables and what it will take to achieve these.

Within HR functions, we have often met with some initial resistance to a project approach. There is an argument that you cannot do the 'day job' using project management principles, as the work of an HR professional is unpredictable and reactive. There is an element of truth in this, and it is not our belief that all HR work can be managed this way. However, we know that a high percentage of HR work can be managed more effectively through the development of a project mindset (just think about recruitment, L&D, case management, reward cycles, talent management processes, communication cycles, etc.).

Our observation of the HR community is that some of the reasons why this way of working is often resisted are due to:

• reluctance to be pinned down about deliverables;
• inability to articulate concrete business benefits;
• unwillingness to identify and be held to deadlines (projects have to fit around the day job);
• lack of process consulting skills;
• unwillingness to share resources across HR's organisational silos.

These are generalisations, and we are not saying that this list in its entirety is true of all HR organisations we have worked with. Nor are we saying that all points will be true of your organisation. However, as you reflect on this list, you may find that some of the points resonate with you. As a slightly provocative parting shot on this point, you may want to consider how you would respond if an external consultant made a proposal to you that lacked any project management element — no clear deliverables, no timeline, no milestones, no resource estimates, no project scope, no budget, no sign off/change control, etc. You may also want to think about the impression HR makes with internal clients when there is an absence of these elements in proposed work.

The important points that we hope you take away are that:

1. developing a project mindset is a key to effective delivery of HR transformation and the ongoing work of HR;
2. developing a project mindset will not come easily for most HR communities because people are not used to working this way.