The project staffing plan is also known as Human Resources plan. And the main purpose of the Staffing Plan is to get project success by ensuring the suitable human resources with the essential skills are acquired. Project staffing plan template is a tool that aids in the management of projects. So, Let us dive into more details of the staffing plan template.
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Project Staffing Plan
Staffing management plan gives for orderly and effective management of human resources within the framework of the overall Project Plan. Also, staffing plan template word aids in the management of all projects.
Further, it identifies roles and responsibilities, organized charts, how to acquire resources, etc. download our Human Resource plan template to quickly start your plan. This sample project staffing plan template is easy to use and flexible.
Description
The staffing management plan is an important part of the Software Upgrade Project. While the human resource management plan template is a tool that helps in the management of the project’s human resource pursuits throughout the project.
The example staffing plan template defines when and how human resources will be brought onto and taken off of the project team. The project plan template can be formal or informal.
So, this sample staffing plan template is highly detailed and broadly framed, according to the project’s requirements.
Moreover, the staffing management plan includes a resources histogram. Also, it includes:
- Roles and Responsibilities of Team Members All Over the Project
- Project Organization Charts
- Staffing Management Plan to Include:
- How resources will be bought
- Timeline and skill set for resources
- Preparation required to develop skills
- How performance reviews will be performed
- Appreciation and rewards system
Roles and Responsibilities
In any project, the members of the team, as well as any stakeholders, need to have their roles and duties specified very precisely.
Depending on the company’s structure, the project team members may act in the interest of various functional managers and represent various groups and departments.
In addition, other team members might be given different levels of responsibility and authority. When compiling a list of duties and responsibilities, be sure to include the following items:
- Role describes the aspect of the project for which the member is accountable.
- Authority is the level at which the member can make choices, use project resources, or approve.
- Responsibility is the work that a team member is expected to execute to complete assigned project activities.
- Competency refers to the skill(s) required to successfully complete assigned work activities.
The Software Upgrade Project’s tasks and responsibilities are essential to the completion of the project successfully. For each team member to complete their project component, they need to have a solid understanding of their roles and duties within the group.
For the Software Upgrade Project, the following roles and duties for the project team have been established:
One Post Will Be Reserved For A Project Manager (PM)
Who will ensure that the Software Upgrade Project is successful overall. The PM is responsible for authorizing and approving all expenses related to the project. In addition, it is the PM’s duty to ensure that all work activities satisfy the predetermined acceptability standards and remain within the acceptable range of variation.
The PM’s responsibility will be to report the current state of the project through the communications management plan. The PM is responsible for conducting performance reviews on every project team member and reporting those reviews to the managers of the relevant functional areas.
Additionally, it is the responsibility of the PM to acquire human resources for the project in conjunction with the managers of the functional areas. The PM is required to have expertise in the following areas: leadership and management, budgeting, scheduling, and clear and efficient communication.
Design Engineer (DE)
Responsibilities include collecting coding requirements for the Software Upgrade Project. There are two openings available for this role. The DEs are in charge of the entire upgrading process, including the new software’s design, coding, and testing.
The Distribution Engineers (DEs) will assist the Implementation Lead in monitoring and distributing software upgrades across the network infrastructure.
According to the requirements outlined in the communications management strategy, the DEs will be responsible for providing the PM with timely status reports. Without prior approval from the PM, the DEs are not permitted to authorize project expenses or allocate resources.
The PM will manage DE’s performance and convey any updates to the Design Technology Group Manager, who serves as DE’s Functional Manager. DEs are required to have a strong understanding of the programming languages HTML, C++, and Java.
Implementation Manager (IM)
This individual is responsible for distributing, implementing, and monitoring the new software upgrade. There is only one role for an IM. The IM must collaborate with the DEs to ensure that all the new software codings comply with the organizational security requirements.
It is the responsibility of the IM to assist in distributing software upgrades while causing as little or no disruption to business operations as possible throughout the coordination of outage windows with each department.
The IM will provide the PM with an update on the state of the project under the communications management plan. The PM will assess the IM’s performance and then report their findings to the IM’s functional manager (Network Manager). It is necessary for the IM to have experience controlling network architecture.
One Position Open for A Training Lead (TL)
The TL is accountable for educating all network users on the functions made available by modifications to the previously installed software. The TL will communicate with the training advocate of each department to coordinate training hours and venues.
The TL will update the PM on the training status by the communications management plan for the project.
Jobs For Functional Managers (FM)
Functional managers are responsible for the provision of resources for the project by the project staffing plan, even though they are not members of the project team.
Functional managers are accountable for authorizing resource allocations and determining which skill sets are necessary for the project in collaboration with the PM.
Additionally, it is the responsibility of functional managers to conduct performance reviews of assigned resources based, at least in part, on the PM’s feedback regarding the project’s execution.
Organizational Charts for the Project
The Human Resource Plan includes a component that provides a graphical display of the project’s tasks as well as the members of the team. It is done to illuminate the duties of team members regarding the activities associated with the project.
When it comes to effectively expressing roles and responsibilities for the project team, many tools, such as the responsible, accountable, consult and inform matrix (RACI) or the responsibility assignment matrix (RAM), may be utilized.
In addition, organizational or resource breakdown structures can be used to demonstrate how responsibilities are delegated from department to department or resource type to resource type, respectively.
It is essential to keep in mind that the amount of information may change based on the intricacy of the project. The RACI chart illustrates the relationship between the tasks of the project and the team members.
Any changes that are suggested to be made to the duties associated with the project need to be examined and approved by the project manager. Alterations will be indicated in a manner that is consistent with the change control procedure for the project.
The project documentation will be revised and re-distributed appropriately as soon as any modifications are made.
Staffing Management
This section of the Human Resource Plan includes information on several topics, such as when and how the requirements for human resources will be acquired, the timeline for when resources are needed and may be released, training for any resources that have identified gaps in the required skills, how performance reviews will be carried out, and the rewards and recognition system that will be used.
The components of personnel management might encompass additional aspects, depending on the scale of the project, such as compliance with government and regulatory requirements, organizational health and safety, and so on.
Acquisition of Staff
In the Software Upgrade Project, all project staff will come from within the organization as internal resources. Within the parameters of this project, neither outsourcing nor contracting of any kind shall be carried out.
To identify and distribute project resources in a manner consistent with the project’s organizational structure, the Project Manager will negotiate with managers of functional areas and departments.
Before beginning any project work, any resource must receive authorization from the functional or department manager responsible for that function or department. The project team will not be co-located for this project, and all resources will continue to operate out of their usual place of business.
Resource Calendars
There will be a five-week time commitment required for the Software Upgrade Project. Before work can begin on the project, all resources must be secured.
The resource histogram that can be found below shows that throughout the first three weeks of the project, design engineers are required to work a total of forty hours per week, on average, to fulfill their duties.
After that, during the fourth week, their requirements are decreased to five hours per week. The design engineers will no longer be required for the project after the fourth week has passed.
After the fourth week of the project, the implementation manager will also be removed from their duties. The person in charge of training will have to put in 15 hours of work during the first week, and then they will have to put in a total of 40 hours of activity in the fifth week.
Training
Due to the company having sufficient staff members who possess the necessary skill sets, there are no plans to conduct any training sessions about the Software Upgrade Project.
On the other hand, cash for the training will be supplied from the project reserve if it is determined that training requirements exist.
Evaluations of Performance
The project manager will review the work tasks assigned to each member of the team at the beginning of the project and will express all of the expectations regarding the work that is to be accomplished.
After that, the project manager will review the performance of each team member at various points throughout the project to determine how well they are carrying out the tasks assigned to them. The project manager will provide feedback on employee performance during a meeting with the appropriate functional manager that will take place before the release of project resources.
After that, the managers of each functional area will conduct a formal performance review of every team member.
Recognition and Awards
Although the breadth of this project does not allow for adequate time to give cross-training or possibilities for monetary rewards, there are some planned recognition and reward items for project team members.
- A celebration will be thrown to commemorate each team member’s accomplishments once the Software Upgrade Project has been successfully finished, and the team members’ families will be invited to attend.
- A certificate of appreciation will be given to each team member by the CEO upon the successful conclusion of the project for having satisfactorily finished all of the job packages assigned to them on time.
- A member of the team’s photo will be taken for inclusion in the corporate newsletter if they can successfully fulfill all of the tasks allocated to them.
- The organization will give complimentary family movie tickets to the top two performers on each project to recognize their hard work.
What is Staffing Management Plan in PMBOK?
The main purpose of the Staff Management plan Template is to obtain how the project manager will manage their staff resources throughout the entire project.
So, free resources planning template for multiple projects ensures that the project has enough staff and the staff have the correct skill sets and experience which is required to the success of the project.
Related Article: Resource Capacity Planner
Staffing Management
In the human Resource Plan, staffing management includes the following areas:
- When and how human resource requirements will be bought. The timeline for when resources/funds are needed and released.
- Training for resources with recognized gaps in required skills. How performance reviews will be performed.
- How the rewards and recognition system to be used.
To begin, one must respond to the following questions:
- What are the primary goals and objectives of your company?
- What is it that you hope to accomplish?
- What kind of deliverables do you have?
- What is the overall amount of time you have available?
You can begin refining your labor needs by selecting from the following options based on your responses to the following questions:
- Do you need a certain number of people on your team?
- What skill sets do you need?
- Do you need your team members to work on a contractual or full-time basis?
- What criteria will you use for hiring them?
- How much investment do you need to make in their training?
One of the most significant distinctions between hiring workers on a contractual basis and recruiting full-time employees is that the former are included on the organization’s payroll.
People recruited on a full-time basis are typically entitled to various additional benefits, including medical insurance, paid vacation time, and parental leave. People hired part-time may or may not be eligible for these benefits.
Contract workers are not included in your company’s payroll; as a general rule, they are not eligible for employee benefits.
On the other hand, short-term contracting can be a helpful approach to evaluating potential team members before bringing them on full-time. It is because many contract workers end up being hired permanently.
You now have the foundational information you need to construct an effective workforce management plan for your company, thanks to your responses to the questions presented above.
Depending on the project’s scope, there can be other resources in staff management. Such as government and regulatory companies and organizational health and safety, etc
What Elements Should a Plan For Staffing Management Consist Of?
The fundamental objective of an SMP is to assist you in recruiting members of your team who possess the ideal skill set at the appropriate moment to guarantee the successful completion of your projects.
Keeping this in mind, it is helpful to understand the components that go into producing a reliable SMP.
Let’s go over a few of the most important things that should be included.
Staff Acquisition:
For the Software Upgrade Project, the staff will completely consist of internal resources. And there will be no outsourcing in the scope. Also, the project manager will consult with functional and department managers to assign and identify resources in harmony with the project organizational structure.
Roles And Responsibilities
First things first: get a good understanding of the specifics of your project or your long-term operations. In particular, you should inquire about what it is that you hope to accomplish and provide through the implementation of the project.
As of this, you will be able to rapidly calculate the number of individuals you need and, more crucially, the same skill sets each individual possesses. Create a list of the essential roles for the tasks, and describe the duties associated with each job.
In addition, each function and obligation listed ought to have a set of required proficiencies and skills corresponding to it. Make sure you give equal weight to both your hard and soft skills.
You can also describe the workflow that you envision for your ideal project team. Do certain functions necessitate collaboration? How will your employees be grouped to get the most out of their distinct strengths?
The component of your SMP that is responsible for establishing project roles and responsibilities serves as the plan’s backbone. It will be of use to you in the succeeding stages of SMP creation, such as establishing a timeframe, drafting a project plan, and hiring staff.
Resource Calendars:
The Software Upgrade Project will end in four weeks. And the team manager will acquire all necessary resources before starting the project. Designs engineers will perform 4o hours per week. And in the fourth week, their requirements are scaled back to 5 hours per engineer. Then after four weeks, the design engineers and implement engineers will be resealed from the project. Moreover, the training lead will perform 15 hours of work in the first week. And a total of 40 hours of training during the fifth week.
Related Article: Roles and Responsibilities Template Excel
Training:
There will be no training since the company has adequate staff with the required skills. However, if there will be a need for training, funds will be available.
Performance reviews:
The project manager, in resource utilization template excel, will evaluate the assigned activities of each project member. Then, he will communicate all expectations of works. And then he will review each member throughout the project. And, before releasing the project resources, the project manager will meet the functional manager. Then he will provide feedback on employee project performance.
Recognition and Rewards:
Upon successful completion of the project, there will be a party to celebrate success. And the team member who satisfactorily completed all tasks i=on time will receive a certificate of thanks.
Related Article: Project Management KPI Template XLS (KPIs)
Different Kinds of Staffing Plans
It is essential to carefully consider the planning and the afterthought stages of the Project Staffing Plan Template. It should contribute to the achievement of the long-term goals of the company without resulting in unnecessary downtime.
Every organization may have its unique staffing strategy, but if you want to get an idea of what one looks like, you can read an example of a staffing model.
Plan For Short-Term-Hiring
The immediate requirements are the primary emphasis of this type of plan. After the retirement or resignation of some personnel, there may be vacancies in the workforce. It is not an option to put off filling the posts until later; instead, action needs to be taken immediately.
One such illustration of this would be when a company is in the midst of its peak sales season. The immediate need is for a more significant number of staff. In this scenario, a hiring process that is just temporary will be appropriate.
Long-Term Hiring Plan
The long-term recruiting needs of a corporation investigate what those needs will be in the future. It’s possible that the company is expanding steadily, which may necessitate additional hiring in the not-too-distant future.
There are holes in our skill set that need to be filled. Long-term recruiting plans often take at least a year to complete because the company’s management requires time to analyze the situation and determine the precise set of skills or types of employees needed to fill the vacancies.
Plan For the Success Of Employees
In the absence of a succession plan, the day-to-day operations of a company can be severely disrupted by the departure of a single highly skilled employee. It takes time to learn how they do their job or train new staff to do it so they can take over.
This difficulty is helped to be less significant by the worker succession plan. It ensures that there is another worker who can take over the functions of each staff member smoothly should that staff member quit for any reason.
It is also possible that they are staying in their position but have been given a promotion.
Strategic Staffing Models
An example of a hybrid type of staffing arrangement is presented below. It incorporates short-term and long-term staffing strategies to guarantee a continuous flow of operations.
The model performs ongoing investigations into the staffing requirements to ascertain whether there is a shortfall or surplus of personnel. In addition, it establishes whether or not there is a void in the required skills that should be filled.
The model that can be utilized to carry out additional training looks like this. It helps prepare the personnel within a department to take over one of their colleagues’ duties if the colleague is promoted or leaves the firm.
How Can We Determine the Staffing Needs?
You can develop a realistic Project Staffing Plan Template if you correctly determine the personnel needs. There will be three primary considerations for you to make.
Analyze The Present Staffing Levels
To assist you in determining the current personnel numbers, there are a few steps that you will need to examine. You should have a look at the staffing levels in each department individually.
Make a note of the total number of employees working in the department. Please keep a record of their daily responsibilities and how they complete them. Please make a note of whether they are working too much or not enough.
Examine The Forecasted Need for Personnel
After completing the report on the current staffing level, conduct an analysis of how future staffing requirements would look. It is recommended that you consider the firm’s current growth pace and needs.
Determine the level of stress that the existing staff goes through to be able to provide the service. You should determine whether the need in the future will be immediate or long-term.
Based on this information, you will be able to establish how soon you need to start employing and who should be hired.
Determine The Gaps That Will Exist Between The Needs For Staffing In The Present And Those In The Future.
You could classify the existing staffing needs as overstaffed, understaffed, lacking skills, or something else. The future staffing demands can be stated as the requirement of new skills or the necessity of additional workers.
Find out how the empty spaces will be filled in. There will be a variety of approaches that can be taken to fill the vacancies, such as further recruitment, promotions, or skilling. If there are too many staff members, the HR department may, at some point, reduce the total number of employees.
It will contribute to a decrease in the salary bill. The newly recruited employees should meet the requirements for their skill set. In addition, it should concentrate on the demands that the organization will have in the foreseeable future and work toward satisfying those needs immediately or gradually.
What Are the Advantages to A Company of Having a Project Staffing Plan?
A well-thought-out recruitment strategy is beneficial to firms in several different ways. It would be best if you devised the most effective strategy possible to ensure that the change will be helpful to your company in light of changing business models and emerging business trends such as remote work, virtual hiring, and global teams.
Utilizing One’s Most Impressive Abilities
The businessperson may have the required number of employees on hand. On the other hand, only a subset of them likely possesses the necessary talents. The HR staff can more easily identify the required abilities for each department thanks to the hiring strategy template.
When companies are looking to fill open positions, they will promote those openings and be very precise about the qualifications they are seeking. The fact that the company will have employees with the necessary abilities is beneficial.
The Improved Economic Expansion of The Company
Many moving parts contribute to the expansion of a company. It all begins with selecting the appropriate products for its target market. It is essential to have the proper skills for improved production.
Enhancements to the company’s customer service and marketing efforts assist bring in additional customers. The result is increased productivity in the firm.
A Decrease in The Cost of Labor, A Reduction in Waste, And Increased Productivity
When it comes to education and expertise, surrounding yourself with the wrong people can be a costly mistake. They could end up being a burden for the company, resulting in a rise in the cost of labor.
Working with incorrect equipment results in low productivity and more significant waste. When job output is streamlined, an organization sees increases in productivity and efficiency.
Increased Employee Turnover and Improved Rates of Employee Retention
When a company increases its revenues, everyone benefits, including the employer and the employees. They are offered improved benefits, greater earnings, and renewed optimism for the future.
When a company’s operations are not running well, the future can never be accurately predicted. Workers will continue to look for work elsewhere, and the company will continue to look for new employees continuously.
Customer Retention and Boost Employee Engagement
When they receive good service, customers feel satisfied with the encounter. There is nothing more effective than poor service in driving away clients. In the same vein, nothing brings in more clients than outstanding service.
Having a template for the hiring plan helps ensure that the appropriate people are assigned to the relevant departments. As of this, people continue to be engaged in the task because they believe they are working in the appropriate capacity.
The enterprise will ultimately reap the benefits of this arrangement. Creating the proper template for a hiring plan needs to be a high priority for the HR department. It will be to the company’s advantage because it will assist in preventing difficulties that could result in growth delays or hamper product quality.
Customers unhappy with the goods will not return, resulting in a loss of business. In addition to assisting with recruitment, hiring plans are helpful tools for helping with both the budgeting and decision-making processes involved in running a business.
A Step-By-Step Guide to Efficiently Creating a Project Staffing Plan Template
Coffee is popular among consumers. Research from Statista indicates that the market for the coffee shop industry in the United States reached 47.5 billion USD in 2019, representing a 3.3 percent increase over the previous year’s total.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that lines at coffee shops are incredibly long, which causes your staff members to become worn out more quickly.
As of this, you need to develop an efficient plan for staffing, but before you do so, you should read the following tips to guarantee that you are doing everything right.
Define Your Business Goals
You steer your company in the direction of achieving its objectives. Every single activity within the firm impacts these objectives. Equally important is the Project Staffing Plan Template that you will develop.
Therefore, you need to refer to your organization’s goals to build an effective Project Staffing Plan Template. This information is included in your company strategy, which you can consult.
Familiarize Yourself with The Current Staffing Situation at Your Company
It is a good idea to make a business choice with sufficient data to utilize as a point of reference. To successfully determine the future staffing demands of your business, it is essential to gather information on the current staffing issue at your company.
Put all of the vital information in one convenient location. This phase will be much simpler for you to complete if you already possess all of the company’s human resources information.
You can work with Access databases or spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel in this step.
Establish the Long-Term Staffing Requirements
As soon as you have collected all of the relevant information regarding the existing staffing situation at your company, you will be able to develop a projection regarding the staffing requirements that your firm will have in the foreseeable future.
To accomplish this, you must consider various elements, including but not limited to economic shifts, turnover rates, unemployment rates, anticipated mergers or acquisitions, product launches, investments, industry labor prices, and competitors.
To improve your forecasts’ accuracy, you can use several methods, such as trend and ratio analysis.
Carry Out A Needs Assessment
By using gap analysis, you will be able to detect the gaps between the future staffing needs that have been anticipated and the current status of your staffing.
Please make a note of the differences in terms of the people involved and the abilities they possess. You can estimate how many and what kind of employees you will require in the future if you do this.


Top 5 Frequently Asked Questions about Project Staffing Plan
There are many questions in the FAQ list of Project Staffing Plan . However, the top 5 and the basic ones are:
1. Here are several steps of staffing plan:
2. Fix Your Goals.
3. Find the Factors Impacting Personnel Availability.
4. Determine the Organization’s Functional Needs.
5. Conduct Gap Analysis.
6. Make the Plan.
These are the points to follow:
1. Fix your goals.
2. Find the factors affecting personnel availability.
3. Determine the organization’s operative requirements.
4. Conduct gap analysis.
5. Make an actionable plan.
The Staffing Management Plan states how a project will meet the needs for staffing the project and how the resources will be managed. It also classifies the process and procedures used to manage staff throughout the project.
The five staffing models are planning, recruitment, selection, decision making, job offer, and retention system.
To determine staffing needs:
1. Evaluate Business Flow.
2. Ask Managers about the needs.
3. Give Attention To Customer Experience.
4. Keep Bases Covered.
5. Use Your Competitors As Benchmarks.
Finally, it was all about the “Explore Our Free Project Staffing Plan templates in Excel”. Please do share your feedback in the comments section and keep visiting us to learn more about Project Management.