Project Management: How a Project Manager Deals with Human Relations

You're sitting at your desk basking in the late afternoon sun, sipping a latte from the Starbuck's around the corner, and thinking, "This is a great project. This is going to be my ticket upstairs."

Your team is right on target. The product should be ready for final build next week. You're glad it's Mary who has the responsibility for the build. She's great. What a worker. There's no doubt she'll have her code completed . . . probably with a day to spare. A knock on the door interrupts your daydream. It's Mary. She looks awful.

Part 1: Her daughter needs surgery next week. They'll do it Monday. She'll try to be back by Friday.

Part 2: She begins, "I've been offered a new job at almost twice my salary. They want me to start next week . . . "

What do you say? What are you going to do?

Part 1:

Project managers must show compassion for their team members. So, I would attempt to assist and Mary in any way that I – or the project team or company – could in order to get her through her family crisis. People should always come first. Mary is deeply concerned about her daughter; however, some people have a greater sense of fear than others. The surgery could be almost anything: from an inflamed appendix to a heart bypass. I would ask Mary precisely what type of surgery her daughter needed – if it was something serious, Mary may need even more time off than she anticipated. The fact that she actually stopped in and talked with me – instead of phoning – may indicate something more serious. Based on her response, I will start making plans for how handle the project.

If the surgery was minor (not life threatening), and I could make an educated guess about Mary’s return, I may proceed with the project without adding any additional resources for the week Mary would be off. I already had ”day to spare” so the project would, by Mary’s return estimate, be delayed “only” four days. If the surgery was minor and if the project really had a tight deadline, I may (delicately) ask Mary to work on the project at home. If this were the case, I may even make travel arrangements for her – from her home to the hospital – or offer her the company’s best laptop. I would try to justify the additional build time to top management by explaining the situation. Depending on the urgency of the project, I may need to re-assign another builder to Mary’s work and/or add some overtime.

If the surgery was serious, I would tell Mary to take all the time off she wanted. Even if I were some cruel, uncompassionate monster – only thinking about the project – there is probably nothing I could do to convince Mary, anyway. Her mind is already diverted and she would be unable to focus on her job. Before Mary left my office, I would ask her to briefly tell me how far along she was with the project and what a substitute developer may need to know in order to continue her work. Next, I would ask the next highest-ranking builder/developer to assume Mary’s responsibilities. If scheduling was tight, even more developers may need to work on Mary’s part. Or there may need to be some overtime hours scheduled during Mar’s absence – coming in early, working late and/or weekend hours. Hopefully, though, enough safety buffers would have been added to the original project schedule in order to cope with emergencies such as this. Certainly, it would have been wrong – and poor managing practice -- to rely on one person (Mary) to handle the build. There should always be a backup – no matter how reliable, loyal or trustworthy your team members are!

In any case, an empathy/get-well-soon card and flowers to Mary, her daughter and her family, from the project team, would certainly be in order.

Part 2:

As I said above: There should always be a backup – no matter how reliable, loyal or trustworthy your team members are! If this were the case, then I have some control over the situation. Given Mary’s reputation, I/the company should do all that it can to keep her on board -- she may have been underpaid. If more money was out of the company’s budget, perhaps Mary could be given more free (vacation) time or the option of working out of her home – if this were feasible -- certain days of the week. Special favors for one person does not set a very good precedence; it doesn’t matter how good Mary is. If she were allowed to stay – with special privileges – morale among the rest of the team could suffer due to jealousy or resentment.

Is Mary really worth twice the salary? I would definitely ask her who offered her the job and what her position and benefits would be. Even if the other company did really offer a much better salary/package, working conditions could be much worse: lots of traveling, mandatory overtime, less-friendly co-workers, unsympathetic management, greater commute time, etc. Money ain’t everything!