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Staff Acquisition and Release

5 minutes 5 Questions

Staff acquisition and release involve the processes of sourcing, selecting, onboarding, and separating team members throughout the life cycle of a project. Staff acquisition encompasses resource planning, recruitment, interviewing, and selection of the most suitable team members based on their skills, experience, and cultural fit for the project. On the other hand, staff release occurs when a team member's services are no longer required, due to project completion or other reasons such as performance or organizational changes. Managing staff release effectively is crucial in maintaining positive workforce relations, carrying out knowledge transfer, and ensuring a smooth transition for the remaining team members.

Staff Acquisition and Release: An Examination Guide

What is Staff Acquisition and Release?
Staff Acquisition and Release is a key part of human resource management that focuses on processes and strategies to acquire, develop, manage and eventually release staff when necessary. As per PMBOK Guide Seventh Edition, it is pivotal to the project's success.

Why is it important?
It is crucial to ensure that a project has the right individuals with the necessary skills to contribute towards its successful completion. Furthermore, effectively managing the release of staff, either on completion of project or if they no longer fit into the project requirements, is vital to ensure a smooth transition and continued project success.

How does it work?
It works by identifying project roles, required skills, and timelines. Subsequently, the appropriate workers are selected and introduced to their roles. Once the project is over, or if performance falls short, members are ethically and efficiently released.

Exam Tips: Answering Questions on Staff Acquisition and Release
1. Understand the Key Concepts: Be thoroughly knowledgeable about the Human Resource Management processes.
2. Be clear about Roles and Responsibilities: Know the different roles and their tasks in a project.
3. Understand how to appraise performance: Know how to critically evaluate a team member's performance.
4. Know the Ethics: Be aware of how to navigate ethical considerations when releasing staff members.

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PMP - Human Resource Management Example Questions

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Question 1

Your project is about to enter a decisive phase, and you have identified a resource constraint. However, obtaining new resources could mean that the budget allocated to the project will be exceeded. What must the project manager do?

Correct Answer: Analyze the impact on the project, create alternatives, and present them to stakeholders for a decision

The best approach when facing a resource constraint that could potentially exceed the project's budget is to analyze the impact on the project, create alternatives, and present them to stakeholders for a decision. This allows all interested parties to understand the situation, weigh the risks and benefits associated and make an informed decision. The other options are not good project management practices. Hiring new resources regardless of budget constraints could lead to financial issues and is not respecting the boundary conditions given by the stakeholders. Increasing the workload for existing resources by removing their lunch break is unethical and could lead to reduced productivity or burnout. Convincing the team that additional resources are unnecessary might not solve the problem and could potentially lead to failure in meeting the project's objectives.

Question 2

A project is facing delays due to the lack of experienced resources in a specific domain. The project manager is unable to find local resources with the required skills. What should the project manager do?

Correct Answer: Consider hiring skills outside the geographical area, potentially involving remote or contracted workers

The best action in such a scenario for the project manager is to consider hiring skills outside the geographical area, potentially involving remote or contracted workers. This approach expands the pool of potential candidates and allows the manager to find individuals with the requisite experience and skills, albeit from a different location, hence overcoming the delay due to lack of resources. Canceling the project due to resource insufficiency is not an optimal choice, as it might lead to potential losses, compromised client relations, and reputational damage. Continuing with the project without additional resources and hoping for the best lacks proactive management and cause delays or a decline in quality. Lastly, hiring unskilled resources and assigning them tasks without proper training is an imprudent decision, as it might escalate into heavy costs, delays, and subpar product or service quality due to performance inadequacies. Hence, these other options are not advisable for the project manager to solve the problem.

Question 3

A project manager is working on a project with tight deadlines and high stakes. A key team member has requested an early release from the project due to personal reasons. What should the project manager do?

Correct Answer: Discuss the situation with the team member and explore alternatives, while documenting the risks associated with the release

The best course of action for the project manager would be to discuss the situation with the team member and explore alternatives, while documenting the risks associated with the release. This ensures a balanced approach that considers the team member's request while also evaluating its potential impact on the project. As a project manager, it's important to handle such situations delicately and appropriately. Just denying the request without further discussion or immediately finding a replacement without discussing the request are not ideal solutions as they don't consider the team member's perspective and could lead to interpersonal issues within the team or a loss of key skills and knowledge. Consulting the human resources department to transfer the team member might seem like a potential solution, but without further discussion with the team member, it might not be the best course of action.

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