Job Shadowing in Information Technology Projects

Abstract

High-value turnkey projects in Information Technology firms are susceptible to multiple risks. Inappropriate staffing is one of the major risks that can impact deliverable negatively. The greatest fallacy that comes up is the incongruence between HR managers and line managers while staffing critical experience based roles. HR managers being aligned with the firm's strategy to maintain a low resource bench figure are driven to staff these positions with less than suitable resources from the firm's internal labor market. The line manager under pressure to deliver on time and budget need resources with appropriate skills and experience and hence are not averse to hire from external labor market. This incongruence in goals creates friction between HR and line manager. The research paper presents a framework to balance the twin priorities of HR and line manager and also assist in creating a human resource-based non-replicable strategic advantage for the IT firm.