Managing Staff Acquisitions

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Have you ever managed a project where the resources you want on the project are not available? Or have you managed a project where the resources you've been assigned aren't the best resources to complete the project work? Staff acquisition is the process of getting the needed resources on the project team to complete the project work.

Staff acquisition focuses on working within the policies and procedures of the performing organization to obtain the needed resources to complete the project work. Negotiation, communication, and political savvy are key to getting the desired resources on the project team.

Referring to the Staffing Management Plan

The project manager will rely on the staffing management plan as an input to acquiring project team members. The staffing management plan details how project team members will be brought onto the project and excused from the project as conditions within the project demand. The staffing management plan is a subsidiary plan that documents the staffing requirements of the project.

Examining the Staffing Pool

In some organizations the project manager has little or no say on the project team assignments. No fun. In other organizations, project managers have the ability to recruit, or at least influence, the project team assignments. The project manager should ask questions about:

• Experience What is the experience of the project team member? Have they done similar work in the past-and have they done it well?

• Interest level Are the project team members interested in working on this project?

• Characteristics How will this individual team member work with other project team members?

• Availability Will the project team members desired for the project be available? Project managers should confer with functional managers on the availability of the potential team member.

• Knowledge What is the competency and proficiency of the available project team members?

Recruiting Project Team Members

The project manager has to follow the rules of the organizations involved in the project. For example, an organization may forbid a project manager from approaching a worker directly to discuss their availability and desire to work on a project. The project manager may instead have to speak with the employee's functional manager to obtain the resource.

Exam Watch

When recruitment policies or guidelines are in place within the performing organization, they act as a project constraint.

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