MODULE 7 UNIT 3

Video 1 Transcript

© 2019 UCT/ GetSmarter

All Rights Reserved
Module 7 Unit 3 Video 1 Transcript
ULRIEKE RIVETT: Imagine you are the project manager for an interdisciplinary team that has
been hired by a pharmaceutical company to develop a gene-editing technique. Part of the
project mandate is to hire recently graduated masters and PhD students to help bridge the
gap between university and industry jobs. Because of the potential that gene-editing has for
combating cancer, there are also several other labs working in competition with yours to
patent this technique first. This project has also attracted a lot of media attention, and your
inexperienced team is feeling the pressure to produce results quickly.

However, the most experienced member of your team, Dr Jovana Jurgens, has been offered a
fellowship at a prestigious university, where she will have the freedom to pursue her own
research interests with greater autonomy. Dr Jurgens does not only have exceptional research
credentials, she’s also particularly skilled at facilitating multi-disciplinary teams, and you fear
that losing her experience and maturity will have a negative impact on the project. With the
possibility that this key team member may leave at a key point in the project, you are faced
with several options.

As the project manager, what do you do?

Hire another employee to shadow Dr Jurgens daily work, so that they will have all the relevant
project context to take over if and when she leaves the project.

Nothing. There is no point worrying about something that may not even happen.

This is not my problem. As the project manager, it is not my job to hire new team members.
The pharmaceuticals stakeholders will need to hire a head-hunter to replace Dr Jurgens.

If Dr Jurgens announces that she will be taking the fellowship and leaving the team, then I will
assign an existing team member to work alongside for the last two weeks to facilitate the
handover process.

Hire another employee to shadow Dr Jurgens

RIVETT: This is a risk avoidance strategy. As the project manager, it makes sense that you
would want to eliminate this risk altogether, and to ensure that the knowledge of your key
researcher is effectively disseminated among other team members. There are some
downsides to this approach, however. Hiring another team member just to shadow Dr Jurgens
would be an extensive cost, especially since you are not certain that Jurgens will be taking up
the fellowship option.

Secondly, Dr Jurgens may not want to share her news with the rest of the team before she
has made a decision. Hiring someone new to shadow her will arouse suspicion, and could
disrupt the team unnecessarily.

Given this information, would you like to pick a different strategy?

© 2019 UCT / GetSmarter

All Rights Reserved

Tel: +27 21 447 7565 | Fax: +27 21 447 8344

Website: www.getsmarter.com | Email: info@getsmarter.com
Page 2 of 3
Do nothing

RIVETT: This is an accepting approach to risk management. Considering the uncertainty of the
future, it makes sense to deal with the problems as and when they arise, rather than spending
valuable resources on potential problems. The downside of this approach is that you may find
yourself short of a key resource a few months down the line. Because you have not planned
for this eventuality, no effective handover was implemented, and it may be very difficult to
contact Dr Jurgens once she has taken on her new role.

Given this information, would you like to pick a different strategy?

Pass on the responsibility

RIVETT: This approach to managing risk is called transference. It can be tempting to outsource
your risk strategies, especially when it does not affect your day-to-day activities. The
consequence of this strategy is that the dilemma is not resolved, and it may result in the team
assigning blame if things turn out badly. This will have a negative impact on interpersonal
relationships, and is not conducive for a trusting working environment.

Given this information, would you like to pick a different strategy?

Facilitate an internal handover process

RIVETT: This approach is known as mitigation. You have recognised the risk, and put a plan in
place in case the risk becomes a reality. You have not eliminated it entirely, but you have
reduced the impact of the risk without overextending your resource budget.

Given this information, would you like to pick a different strategy?

General feedback

RIVETT: Remember that Agile emphasises personal interaction. Why not speak to Dr Jurgens
directly before reacting to this news. Find out how serious she is about the new position, and
if there is anything that can be done to make her current position more attractive for her. You
could also ask her to suggest a replacement, so that if she does resign, you will already have
some leads on a new candidate. Open and honest dialogue between you and Dr Jurgens will
ensure you have as much accurate information as possible before you decide on your next
steps in mitigating the risk.

You might also consider a more long-term risk mitigation strategy for the company, such
increasing the resignation period for core researchers to six months. This would ensure that
you have adequate time to replace employees going forward. Key resources for the project
should be identified early on, and mitigation strategies already planned, so that the
collaborative knowledge can be maintained and disseminated among the team even if the key
resources leave.

© 2019 UCT / GetSmarter

All Rights Reserved

Tel: +27 21 447 7565 | Fax: +27 21 447 8344

Website: www.getsmarter.com | Email: info@getsmarter.com
Page 3 of 3