Imagine you are about to board a plane. As you head for your seat, you overhear the pilot having a conversation with the flight attendant. “Well, actually, this is my first time flying a plane. Normally, I drive a delivery truck … but hey! They are pretty close to the same thing, right?” At this point, most of us, or at least those of us who understand the expertise and knowledge necessary to be a pilot, would run off the plane fearing for our lives. Although a somewhat drastic example, choosing an unqualified project manager for your Kronos Project is in many aspects like letting an unqualified person fly a plane. He or she will give it their best effort and may have many of the necessary skills, but they do not have the knowledge or experience necessary to make sure the project gets off the ground and lands without any organizational casualties.
A Kronos Project Manager is responsible for keeping your WFM project on time and on track. He/she motivates management, the core implementation team, and the users towards the projects outcome. He/she is a team leader, risk management, and the key communicator. A Project Manager must be able to clearly speak with the steering committee about ROI, statistics, and business impact and then turn around to communicate with the IT team about the technical aspects; all while clearly informing the end users of the functional implications of the project. Filling all of these different roles is a huge responsibility that should be met by someone with the right level of knowledge and experience. Here are a couple key things to look for when selecting a project manager for your Kronos project.
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Experience Approving a Business Case
The first step in any IT project is to design your business case. The business case records the justification for starting a project. It describes the benefits, costs and impact, plus a calculation of the financial case. Your project manager should understand how to clearly outline the expected business outcomes and the strategic reasons for your Kronos implementation. He/she needs to be able to accurately document, define, and discuss all the different factors of your Kronos project. One of the most important elements of building a business case is having the communication skills and credibility to gain approval from all business and project sponsors. IT projects need strong support from every stakeholder. Communication and moral come from the top down so make sure your project manager understands how to manage organizational relationships.
Strong Internal support and alignment will give a Project Manager and team the confidence needed to strive for difficult goals. Make sure the project goals are achievable, while still stretching your team to improve. It is essential to always have sufficient requirements for your team.
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Team Building Skills to Support Objectives
Not only should your Project Manager have specific experience with implementing a Kronos application, he or she should also understand how to recruit the correct talent. Recruiting talent is one of the most important steps of any project. Hiring talent that has the skill set and knowledge necessary to support the organization’s objective will bring you one step closer to success. Once you have the talent required, make sure that talent is supported with the proper amount of resources. All the skills and talent in the world add up to nothing if they are not backed with company resources and a purposeful budget.
Specific Experience with Kronos
When selecting a project manager for your Kronos upgrade or implementation, it is crucial that he or she have specific experience with Kronos. Although this detail may seem obvious at first glance, organizations will often try to shortcut this important detail by filling the PM position with the vendor, Payroll Clerk, or even an IT Analyst. While all of these positions are important, often the people in these roles do not adequately understand Kronos Implementation Project Management. Beyond experience with Kronos, the ideal situation is for your PM to have experience executed the same or very similar types of projects. If you PM has successfully executed an upgrade or migration to the cloud before, you can be confident in their abilities to successfully manage a similar project.
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Fits into Corporate Culture
Even the best Project Manager will not perform well in an incompatible corporate culture. If your organization decides to work with a Kronos service partner or outside consulting firm, it is crucial to make sure the project manager matches both your technical needs and your business processes. Working with an outside consulting firm to select a PM can be an advantageous decision because he/she will be a neutral opinion. During a WFM project, the IT department and the executive team need to be on the same page in order for proper communication to surround the project. An outside project manager can serve as an unbiased mediator between departments.
Deciding whom to work with can be an arduous process, but it is necessary to ensure good chemistry between your organization and the PM you choose. Bringing an outside project manager into your organization is comparable to inviting a stranger into your home: there needs to be an element of trust between you in order for every party to feel comfortable. Your organization chooses needs to match your both your needs and your business processes. Deciding whom to work with can be an arduous process, but it is necessary to ensure good chemistry between your organization and the PM you choose.
Project management can be challenging, but there is nothing more rewarding than guiding a project to completion and seeing excellent results. Working with a Kronos Services partner is a great way to supplement your team and ensure successful delivery on your Kronos project.
To learn more about working with an outside Kronos Project Manager and selecting a Service partner, download our Guide to Choosing a Services Partner.
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