PMI Risk Management: Conducting Interviews as a Project Manager

As a project manager, it is the people around you that will make you look good or bad. On that note, making an informed and strategic hire makes a big difference. In order to be both efficient and effective, the PMI Risk Knowledge Area template for processing makes a lot of sense.  

 

Planning the Interviews:

 

The interview is fill a requisition for the risks that relate to the work associated with a deliverable that is due. Risks need to be identified, qualified, quantified, responded to, and finally controlled.  

Identify the Risks:

 

When scheduling a program, scope, time, cost and quality are the prime constraints to think about. These constraints need to be met, but they can be met in different ways. For example, one resource could be more versatile than another, making things friendly towards your budget.  Or, not, because a high caliber focus in needed for the quality of a niche work package. What are the work requirements of the deliverables and what task areas need to covered? After compiling a list of job duties for each ideal role, market the need.

 

Qualitative Review:

 

It could be possible to receive a thousand (or more) resumes for a single job opening. A qualitative review is an efficient way to pick out the top several candidates. What are qualities that you would most admire in a candidate? Pick out several areas for constraints such as education, work experience, trade associations, and referrals. The more resumes received, the more constraints can be added or weighted according to low / medium / high importance.

 

Quantitative Review:

 

The resumes, through qualitative review, have been narrowed down to a few or several candidates. Thank goodness! Now comes the time-consuming part of finding the right fit. A couple of phone interviews might be a good way to knock the dirt off the cleats. If the person, of hire, will be on the phone a lot, then they should be good on the phone. But, the richest information will come in a face to face interview. A couple of things come to mind. Can the candidate match the results being looked for and what are their motives / attitudes?  

 

A great way to understand and compare past candidate results is through evaluation by

 

The STAR Technique

 

• Situation – what was the context of a story?  For example, "My car broke down while I was on a date.”

 

• Task – what was required?  For example, "I popped the hood and noticed the car needed..."

 

• Activity – what actually happened?  For example, "I got some water, dental floss, a toothbrush, and some baking soda to MacGyver the contraption."

 

• Result – how well did the situation get resolved?  For example, "The car started back up like a champ and I ended up getting married to my date."

 

Risk Response:

 

After the appropriate candidate has been selected, some risks have been mitigated by filling the work with a responsible party. The candidate may or may not fill all of the needs required. Find out what residual (leftover) risk remains and decide how it will be dealt with. Some training could be involved to manipulate the candidate into the fold. Consider the risk tolerance required and compare it with all of the risk that is withstanding and if comfortable with the future plans, then you are prepared to roll.

 

Control Risks:

 

Looking into the future, how will these risks be monitored and controlled? How will the candidate behave day-to-day? Was a selection only made based on the candidate’s best canned answers? Can you tell how honest they are?  Will they be good teammates, loyal and diligent in performance expectation? Some candidates may be good at getting by the interview, but they may not be the candidate who was the right fit.

 

Future work is at risk because it is not performed yet. Whatever risk is in limbo adds to the total risk of anything related. Conducting a hire is, indeed, an important project management decision.