Seema Sonkiya: Managing non productive team members

Article based on PMBOK 4 and agile methodology recommendation of project team management and challenges to manage non productive team members.

Managing non productive team members is very common problem and I do believe that every project manager has faced it.  Project manager is accountable for all aspects of project and human resource is one of important aspect of project which needs to be integrated with rest of other elements of project.

Human resource integration with other aspects (i.e. scope, cost, schedule, quality, communication risk and procurement) becomes a real challenge when some of team members are not performing as per defined and approved project management plan.

Team members are not performing means other pieces of project are not integrated well, because all the pieces of the project are interrelated. Project Manager is role is defined as project integrator and he/she pulls all the pieces of project into cohesive whole, so he/she should be accountable for timely action for any deviation in any piece or aspect of project.

I would like to mention here how other aspect will be affected when some of team members are not performing:

1.       In agile methodology project team members are also involved in QFD development for the purpose of release planning, if team members are not willing to meet their commitments then it will be very difficult to define quantified and prioritize requirements in timely manner. – What is included and what is not included (project and product scope) definition will be affected. Project and product scope is base of further planning, so during scope definition team member’s commitments towards project are very important.

2.       Project schedule and cost will tend to increase.

3.       How we will deliver stated project and product features (Fitness for Use) - forms the basis of project and product quality, it will get affected if it is not properly defined or implemented due to non productive team members.

4.       Project communication will be hindered; there may be lack of communication to some of important stakeholders in timely manner.

5.       Non performing team members may be not willing to discuss uncertainties involved in the project. Risk identification process may be affected and project management plan will no longer realistic.

6.       There may be lack of management with the supplier from which we brought services or goods, may contribute to delay and increased cost.

Here we can see that any problem in anyone factor of project, it may drastically affect other remaining factors.

So it’s very important to deal with human resources skillfully and cautiously. Developing team environment to meet project objective is very important and if one or few team members falling behind can have a cascading effect on other team members, easily resulting in schedule delays and cost overruns to the project and missed opportunities to the business.

Non-productive team members should be helped as soon as the pattern of non-productivity is revealed. The remedy should start with the team itself.

I would like to discuss first the proactive approach to solve this issue. Proactive approach is to make efficient team, effective leadership and team building result in team work and that leads to efficient team.

An effective team wants its members to do well, team members should be educated to take initiative to find out why a team mate is struggling. One important fact that a team mate doesn’t have the authority over the non productive team member can be what opens the door to needed conversation. A team member is likely to have best context for a situation and can bring fresh viewpoint. A team member who doesn't take the initiative because it's not their job is not performing as a team member. Taking responsibility for each other’s performance is at the heart of what differentiates a team from a work group.

Problem is escalated to the project manager after team, then non-performing team member immediate reporting person. After reasonable attempts have been made to help a non-productive teammate, and before the teammate's performance hurts the morale or work product of the team, the project manager should become involved.

Problem should be resolved using direct and collaborative approach but not beyond the tolerance of the project otherwise it will be contentious for other performing team members.

Some guideline for the resolution of the problem, but are not limited to:

1.       First step is to identify whether problem is within or outside the control of team member. We need to identify the root cause of the problem.

2.       To identify root cause, open discussion with non performing team members is performed along with his/her immediate reporting person. Approach should be collaborative and performed in private.

3.       Other peer team members and their immediate reporting person may also be involved in open discussion but in absence of not performing team members.

4.       Efficient communication skills are required to questioning, probing situations to ensure better understanding. Listening actively and effectively is very important in order to finding fact to identify and confirm information.

5.       Problem should be probed including their understanding of task at hand, dependencies on other tasks, prioritization of work, management of time, accountability or interpersonal conflict.

6.       The discussion may reveal broader issues within the team that should be corrected.

7.       Conversely it may lead to a recognition that the team member is not likely to deliver the needed performance, in which case the project manager must proceed with corrective action. And it doesn't have to be contentious.

8.       When root cause has been identified, attempts should be made to correct it

a.      After root cause analysis, we need to be clear about where the responsibility lies. If the issue is within non-productive team member control then be clear about it and expect it to be fixed. If the problem is outside the control of team member then project manager should look for to fix it.

b.      If non productive team member having some personal temporary  problem then project manager need to be empathetic and seek to provide necessary support whatever possible in his/her hand without hindering project overall performance. Project Manager should show sincere regard of his/her performance which he/she shown in recent past and an honest desire to guide him/her for the needed performance. Same efforts are also needed when root cause belongs to lacking skills to carry out the assigned tasks.

c.      Some extra coaching by a team lead or a specialist may be a good investment and result in an appreciative and loyal team member. Alternatively, there might be a less critical position that would allow the person to acquire the skills without putting the project at risk. Care should be taken while coaching and mentoring as the performance of the team usually cannot be slowed while one person gains needed skills. And the project manager cannot make a personal project out of mentoring one person

d.      It is equally important to encourage the non-productive person to think about ways to solve the problem, while we are doing the same. They are in as good a position to know what would work as us.

e.      While issue is in process to resolve after successful identification of root cause, ask team lead to communicate with him/her frequently face to face. When it is discovered that team member is not performing intentionally then some time micromanagement may be required. In some cases the non performing team member may be paired with highly performing team member. Care should be taken that non productive team should not become parasite to the performing one.

f.        Team lead should be educated and he/she should not wait task to be completed. He/she should go to his/her seat, talk friendly, ask indirectly what he is doing and give his/her suggestions. At the same time realize him/her that he/she is the important valuable member of the project team and we have lot of expectations from him.

g.      In case of intentional deviation of performance, be clear that what is expected from him/her. Team lead / Scrum Master should not wait for status report, communicate frequently with team and remind their final goal and step by step sub goals. Daily scrum meeting is perfect for this purpose. In these meetings appreciate team members who are doing good work.

h.      Burn down chart is good communication medium to discuss what is expected and where is deviation and communicate that we are very clear about the expected performance.

i.         We need to identify when to take disciplinary action of course it should be last when all the reasonable attempts have been made to discern the problem and no viable results have been found, it may be time to consider a transfer back out of the project and into their prior position or another position in the business-as-usual environment. Not all problems can be solved within the tolerances of the project. If we've exhausted all reasonable avenues, cut bait. Decisive action on an unrecoverable team member will benefit the team member, whether he or she understands it or not. And it will very likely be encouraging to the remaining team members who are wanting to hit the higher level of performance needed by the project. But at this time care should taken to make sure that other team members should understand why and how decision has been taken to maintain their morale, daily scrum meeting could be a direct communication medium to clarify how the decision was made.

Project manager need to be persuasive to perform desired actions and make understand them they need to work smarter rather than harder.

Seema Sonkiya