Setting up a working group for an HR project: who should be involved?

The secret of a working group that works

There is a tendency to think, usually wrongly, that brilliant people will necessarily be able to work together more effectively. This is not the case. Many other qualities come into play. If it is necessary to have a project manager capable of communicating easily for project management, the management of human resources can be mutualized in order to involve the whole team. As everyone can be involved in HR development, it results in stronger cohesion.

In order for a working group to work, it is imperative that team members can trust each other. Everyone will be able to express and defend his or her point of view, and thus participate in the debate. A leader may emerge from the group. He will generally be able to defend his ideas and spread them within the group.

Everyone must also be open-minded, so as to encourage collaborative work and welcome the ideas of others while being able to explain and defend their own. The project leader and other participants will need to be able to sort through the ideas expressed in order to retain and develop only those that will have a real impact on HR development.

Finally, every group success must be turned into an individual success. By feeling valued, the members of the work group will develop a stronger team spirit, a sense of belonging and will be more invested in the project.

Stakeholders for an HR development project

Should all stakeholders in the working group be from project management or human resources? No, of course not. The wider the range of skills present in the working group, the greater and more positive the impact on the project.

It is therefore important to involve a variety of actors, including those who are not necessarily thought of at the outset, such as support managers, the communications department or finance. Everyone can bring their skills and their vision of the HR project. It is the diversity of a group that makes it rich.

It can also be interesting to invite people from outside the group, either occasionally or regularly. They bring an outside view to the project and allow us to take a step back. For example, a technical expert can come and share his experience acquired on a similar project in order to feed the continuous improvement process necessary for any project management. These participations can come from other departments, or even from outside the company.