communications - local and offshore - apm people sig
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Presentation by Ann Pilkington and Russel Jamieson, APM People SIG at Project Challenge 2014TRANSCRIPT
Communications -Local and Offshore
Ann Pilkington and Russel JamiesonAPM People SIG
Project Challenge March 2014
A Quick Introduction - Russel
20+ years PM experience, primarily in
– Financial Services
– Telecommunications
APM People Specific Interest Group (SIG) Chair
APM Wessex Branch Committee
APM Nominations Committee
APM National Awards Committee Deputy Chair
Registered Project Professional (RPP)
Fellow of APM (FAPM)
PRINCE2, MSP and AIM Practitioner
Winning mentor last 2 years for Student PM Challenge!
Manchester United member (suffering badly this season )
Appeared on Page 3 of The Sun…No, alongside!
Quoted in Sunday Times editorial…Interesting!
Yes…I have project managed a failed project…Or have I?
Twitter @[email protected]
Examples of Where (Overseas)
United States of America
Malaysia
India
South Africa
Quick Wins
• Email signatures and ‘Directory’ entries
• Full job title
• Office address
• Landline number
• Mobile number
• ‘Golden’ Hours
• Common times, if any, when employees across time zones are
available together
• Politely ask ALL teams to only take breaks when they fall outside
of the 'golden’ hours to maximise available time together
Quick Wins
• Always quote the same customers time zone e.g. UK – USA – AUSTRALIA…
• Email content
• DO provide full details of what you want and why
• DO provide business justification
• DO provide all references and key contact you have been speaking to
• DO ensure ‘subject’ reflects the contents e.g. Release AK – Story ABCDE–12345
• DO NOT rely on people figuring it out from a massive mail chain you have
forwarded
• DO NOT email if you can talk – it’s good to talk!
Quick Wins - Understand
When ‘Yes’ could mean ‘Yes’, ‘No’
or even ‘Maybe’
Ethnic Group
Religion
Language
Handshake
Presentation of Business Card
Concept of Face
Do’s and Don'ts
Names
Official Titles
Useful Phrases
Useful Websites
Costs – Offshore versus Onshore
• Be involved from inception…not after procurement…easier said than done!
• Beware of the ‘bean-counters’!
• Beware of offshoring at the expense of lost ‘in-house’ expertise
• Make sure that ‘Day 1’ savings aren’t out-weighed by ‘Days 2, 3 & 4’ costs of
re-work
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A Quick Introduction - Ann
PR and communication – more than 25 years – agh!
Journalist, PR, internal communicator
Now project communication specialist and trainer
Author of ‘Communicating Projects’ published by
Gower
Founder and Director of PR Academy – training in PR
and communication
Deliver PM for PR course
Designed and about to launch course in project
communication
Worked at programme level on major central
Government change initiatives: ERP and shared
services
Twitter @AcademyAnn
Communication and employee
engagement.
How can they help your project?
Passengers must
carry dogs on
escalators
Customer information
What is communication?
The response you get back
The biggest problem
with communication is
the illusion that it has
been accomplished
George Bernard Shaw
Engagement: a definition
MacLeod and Clarke conclude that “we believe it is
most helpful to see employee engagement as a
workplace approach designed to ensure that
employees are committed to their organisation’s
goals and values, motivated to contribute to
organisational success, and are able at the same
time to enhance their own sense of well-being”
(italics added).
CO
MM
UN
ICA
TIO
N
Engagement
ENGAGING
MANAGERS
Facilitate and
empower.
VOICE views are
sought out; people
see that their
opinions count.
INTEGRITY
Behaviour is
consistent with
stated values.
MacLeod and Clarke (2009) Engaging for Success
LEADERSHIP
Provides a strong
strategic narrative.
Feeling really well informed.
Professional
Timely, clear, accurate,
pertinent, consistent,
sincere, concise,
business-like.
Reinforces believable
values and narrative.
Propaganda
Content is biased
and does not
reflect reality.
Reinforced by
managers who
show commitment
to the project
Upward feedback
Advanced
Based on people
feeling well informed in
the first place, face to
face, actions taken as a
result or reasons why
action not taken
provided.
Basic
Surveys,
suggestion
schemes, email
boxes.
Reinforced by
managers who are
open to critical
feedback.
Engagement: the challenges for projects
Don’t mess with my scope!
Having enough time
Having a framework – who is going to make
it happen?
Adapted from Harkins, P. 1999 Powerful Conversations: How high impact leaders communicate. McGraw Hill
The Say Do Matrix
Achieving engagement
It doesn’t happen by itself – you need a structure
Managers facilitate conversations – they don’t
have to sell, sell, sell
If you aren’t going to act on feedback, best not to
invite it
Co-ordinate centrally, but deliver and act locally
Culture check – but don’t assume that people
don’t want to be asked
Some final thoughts….
Be clear about the role of communication – it isn’t a substitute for
good governance or line management.
Importantly, communication can’t make sense of something
nonsensical.
Sometimes the problem is with the solution being implemented and
communicators need to be able to recognise this and push back when
the expectation is on them to fix it.
No amount of communication, however creative, can turn a bad
solution into a good one.
And Almost Finally…
• People matter – wherever they are located!
• Things don’t always work out as planned but try and keep a smile on your
face…..and learn!
• I’ll get the ice-creams
Thank you…any queries or is it lunch?
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeopleSIG
Web: http://www.apm.org.uk/group/apm-people-specific-interest-group