How often do you consider those in Human Resources project managers? Probably not often. But I am here to tell you we are. We are “accidental project managers”. From facilitating interviews during the hiring process, planning annual employee benefits and rollout, addressing employee concerns, to new-hire onboarding – Human Resources staff has their fair share of project work – and Human Resources project management is part of our day-to-day.
Like other areas of the organization, Human Resources is always looking for new ways to improve work efficiency – whether it be meeting project timelines or just promoting visibility to management on various corporate-driven initiatives. But it’s not always easy. While email and spreadsheets have a purpose, it’s no longer enough. We started using Projectplace, a collaborative work management solution by Planview. It not only became much easier to communicate progress and share status but it took less effort to manage tasks.
Here’s an example: new-hire onboarding management
We struggled managing the new-hire onboarding process. We lacked workflow. It was difficult to know exactly where new hires were in the process or answer questions like: Did they receive and complete their benefit package? Were they invited to orientation? Were they issued a parking permit? Team members had to navigate the lengthy email chains and track separate emails to find the answers – which was time consuming. We could not easily see what was done or what still needed to happen at a glance. But ProjectPlace changed all that.
The Kanban board functionality in Projectplace allows the team to create a workflow and identify all the steps that must be completed from before the new hire’s first day, to the end of the their first week of work. We can assign cards to specific team members so everyone in the department can see who is responsible for the next task – which creates accountability. The entire team loves Kanban boards because we don’t miss a step in the process. The cards work as a ladder where the next task is not assigned until the previous task is documented and completed.
Not only that but document management is a breeze. Not only can you manage documents in cards, but we’ve created shared folders in the workspace that are accessible to extended Human Resources offices in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany, or the United States. These files contain all the shared documentation and templates needed for a new hire and can be updated and shared easily ensuring everyone is using the same forms. ProjectPlace has created a much more stable and organized environment for the entire Human Resources department.
I invite you to look at the ProjectPlace new-hire onboarding template (check out the blog “ProjectPlace Template Library is Here” about all the templates available). It will help your Human Resources department get started with new-hire onboarding by providing a checklist of things to consider so you can work smarter not harder. Start a free trial today.
To learn how ProjectPlace can benefit each department in your organization, check out the following use-case blogs, covering: Public Relations, Human Resources,Blog Management, Cross-Department Communication, Demand Generation Marketing, Event Management, Digital Marketing, Customer Renewals, RFP Project Planning, Sales Team Collaboration,Customer Experience, Solutions Marketing, and Sales Project Management.
