If an employee is absent due to vacation or personal problem then the project will be delayed if no planning was made prior to the employee leave. The project manager should get a head notice before the employee has to leave so they would have time to change the schedule. Communication is key for the schedule to be intact and so there wouldn't be major problems for the project. If the schedule cannot be change then other members should be recuited to take over the task. This would help keep the project running as scheduled.
If it was an emergency situation then nothing could be done as it this was not planned and hence the project will lag because of that but, if it was a planned vacation then the employee would have previously finished the work that he was supposed to do or would have assigned the work to somebody else to complete.
Planning needs to be there if the project has to be on schedule.
It is sometimes challenging for a project manager to cover the duties and responsibilities who is on vacation or who is having some personal problems. If there are enough funds for the project there could be a temporary replacement for the work. If there is no replacement, then the project manager can seek permission from the upper management to reduce the expectation from the team for some time. All the responsibilities of the employees should be distributed at the beginning of the project. If there is planned vacation of the team members the work can be distributed with other team members. If there is sudden absentees then the project should be delayed or the deadlines should be delayed until the employees return back.
While employee absenteeism due to illness or other issues is an unavoidable fact of life, there are many measures that managers and employers can take to minimize employee absenteeism and to better manage it in general. Although employee absenteeism is an issue for any business that employs workers, many managers and employers fail to institute a systematic approach to absence management. One of the most important steps managers can take to address absence management is to proactively monitor and measure the rate of absence of departments and of individual workers. Managers can be measuring both group and individual absences so they can identify some trends and they can be developing resources to address the underlying causes. Without accurate data to diagnose the problem of excessive employee absence, it will prove difficult to manage and cure.
As the execution phase transitions into a project's process, the development of a team foments. Keeping records of all team members and establishing effective communication is tremendously important when developing a team. Each team members should always have the freedom to take their owed vacation time off. Team members should never feel that their life is tied down to work because that will cultivate negativity towards the company's work culture. A system should be set up to give a team notice in advance for when a team member is deciding to use their vacation time. This will allow the team to properly prepare to continue the same workflow with part of the team unavailable. For sick days, if possible and depending on the position, working remotely can still be done. If not possible, a sick team member must alert the time of their condition and the expected date of recovery. Any useful information for the team that the sick team member may have should be communicated. In the case of emergency, a team should always be ready to carry the weight of an absent team member. A team is really tested when their most valuable member is missing in action. Without that member, a team should always have the resources and power to continue their expected workflow. With that in mind, only so many emergencies can happen to multiple team members simultaneously, so the occasion of not having any prior notice of an absent team member should be rare, but a level of confidence is set to have a contingency for a worst case scenario.
After the team development, execution process should work on the planned timeline by team members in which each should perform the assigned tasks on the planned time. However, during any possible employee absence or vacation, the project manager should have a well-constructed leaving/vacation approval system is required to prevent the negative effects of time off. An employee absence would not only affect the original plan, but it could also negatively affect team members who are still working on the project. "According to a study by Kronos, 69% of employees surveyed say that unplanned absences add to their workload and 61% believe it increases stress. Being able to track absences and prepare for, or even prevent, unplanned days off can help eliminate changes in workload and the stress they cause."
Thus, a backup plan is always required to avoid such circumstances, this can be included under the risk management criteria.
- Ref: blog.mavenlink
As some already mentioned, it should be made clear before the project execution if all proposed project team members will have the availability needed for the project, especially for the start of it. Depending on which organization types, different actions could potentially be made in response to an unavailable team member. For instance, in a Matrix organization, the project manager can discuss the concern with his or her manager to see if another member from the team fill in for the time being.
It purely depends upon the Management department, most probably they hire a new employee. While interviewing the employee the policy of holidays or absence is being clearly mentioned to the candidate. If there's a critical project, big companies either have a back up team or else they appoint a experienced candidate for emergency case.
I think one of the major mistake in management is to assume full availability of the all the team members. I think management, should include a board with all the team members availability and expected absences. And according to those absences, management should work on finding replacement as to avoid delay in project's timeframe.
Successful team development involves great leadership and support at every stage of the process. It is important for team leaders to facilitate the introductions and highlight each persons skills and background. Team member are also given project details and the opportunity to organize their responsibilities. Team have to figure out how to work together . There is no more internal competition, and responsibilities and goals are clear. Each person works more efficiently because person should learn how to share the ideas and listen to feedback while working toward a common goal.
If one employee is absent due to a personal problem or any other issue, it is the duty of management to reallocate the tasks for that individual to the rest of the team. As such, they should be ready to take on said tasks so that the project continues smoothly. The problem only arises when multiple team members take leave of absence or even if the project manager is absent. In such a situation, it calls for the team to reassess the risk management protocol that they made in the planning phase. If there are available contingency plans that will allow the project to continue running smoothly, then they can undertake those tasks. However, if there are no available options, the project would probably be put on hold.
After the development of team how do the execution process works or what does it do during the absence or vacation of an employee or with an personal problem?
Generally, the PM will lay out a timeline for when each deliverable will need to be completed along the course of the full project. These deliverables are generally outlined in the company's procedures, so it is consistent across all projects. The order in which these are completed is generally also outlined at a high level in the corporate procedures, so the PM's job is to make sure each of the individuals on the team are aware of their specific responsibilities. Once the PM makes the timeline, it is up to the individuals to communicate whether any of the dates the PM set are unrealistic or if they will conflict with anything (such as vacations). If proper planning and communication is implemented, the timeline can be adjusted to plan around those conflicts. However, if changing the timeline is not an option, it is up to the individual to make sure that their deliverables are completed up to a certain point so that the project can continue while they're out and other deliverables will not be held up in the meantime.
After the development of team how do the execution process works or what does it do during the absence or vacation of an employee or with an personal problem?
Generally, the PM will lay out a timeline for when each deliverable will need to be completed along the course of the full project. These deliverables are generally outlined in the company's procedures, so it is consistent across all projects. The order in which these are completed is generally also outlined at a high level in the corporate procedures, so the PM's job is to make sure each of the individuals on the team are aware of their specific responsibilities. Once the PM makes the timeline, it is up to the individuals to communicate whether any of the dates the PM set are unrealistic or if they will conflict with anything (such as vacations). If proper planning and communication is implemented, the timeline can be adjusted to plan around those conflicts. However, if changing the timeline is not an option, it is up to the individual to make sure that their deliverables are completed up to a certain point so that the project can continue while they're out and other deliverables will not be held up in the meantime.
After the development of team how do the execution process works or what does it do during the absence or vacation of an employee or with an personal problem?
Generally, the PM will lay out a timeline for when each deliverable will need to be completed along the course of the full project. These deliverables are generally outlined in the company's procedures, so it is consistent across all projects. The order in which these are completed is generally also outlined at a high level in the corporate procedures, so the PM's job is to make sure each of the individuals on the team are aware of their specific responsibilities. Once the PM makes the timeline, it is up to the individuals to communicate whether any of the dates the PM set are unrealistic or if they will conflict with anything (such as vacations). If proper planning and communication is implemented, the timeline can be adjusted to plan around those conflicts. However, if changing the timeline is not an option, it is up to the individual to make sure that their deliverables are completed up to a certain point so that the project can continue while they're out and other deliverables will not be held up in the meantime.
I have never been able to experience working on a project team in a company. But I do agree with Jordan that it is all about communication. If a team member has a complication they should tell the PM that they would not be able to accomplish that goal. I do not know if this is realistic but I also think that if the timeline is set from early on if the team member knows they have a conflict they can try to accomplish the goal before. Like for example if they have a goal due on the week they will be gone they can accomplish the goal before the week they are gone. As Jordan said the team member should complete their deliverables so they when they are gone the team can continue with the project and they will not be held up. The timeline is set from early on and the team members should communicate when they will be away and what goals they think are unrealistic.
Mutual trust between team members and between them and the leader is one of the most important things, Each team member should plays a role to achieve the team’s common goal, and therefore everyone must participate in the team’s performance in a positive manner, although the roles may not necessarily be equal and based on the team’s sense of belonging to their team and their collective responsibility to accomplish the team’s goal
