There are roughly 2,683 different forms, templates, and documents that you could encounter in your journey toward a new Employer Brand (or any other project-based outcome).? Of them all, there is one that has the greatest number of permeations, the most debate over structure, and (wouldn’t you know it) the highest level of importance of any document.? That would be your Project Charter.
A Charter is meant to keep track of who you are, where you are going, which path you will take, and how you will know when you arrive.? It lists your goals, metrics, team members, champions, resources, milestones, roadblocks, and any number of other important items.? And therein lies the issue.? What’s important to me may not be important to you, and every organization seems to want to put its slant on what needs to be in the Charter.? Plus there are fonts and colors to consider.? (The last thing you want your project to be is out of compliance with brand standards!)? To that end, let’s talk about the critical components of a Project Charter and how you start putting one together.
So what goes into building a Charter of your own?? There are a few key elements that are generally considered to be required, or at least a super good idea, to be included:
- Project Overview: A high-level look at a project’s goals, the resources you expect you’ll need, and the overall timeline for completion.? This should also include the key players on the project team, including your Champion(s), Project Manager, Finance liaison (to validate any project savings), and team members with specific knowledge or skills that are critical to success.
- Scope: What’s in and out of bounds for the project team.? This is a critical component to keep your team from doing too much or too little.??
- Schedule: Overall timeline for the project.? This should include major milestones towards success and some of the key dates.? (See below for more on that.)
- Risks: What are the most likely restrictions or challenges that may stop you from reaching your goals?? Understanding these can not only help you make sure they don’t cause you to fail, but they will help you inform your Project Champions of their role in success.??
- Budgets: How much is the project likely to cost, and who is paying the bill?? This may include travel, software, and other materials needed to complete your project.
- Stakeholders: Who are the people to whom you go for support, and how do you reach them?? Generally, stakeholders have power and/or money, and you’ll need to understand where they stand in relation to your goals.? (A Stakeholder Analysis is an excellent addition to this section!)
There are a few other items that I like to include, especially when running projects that have to do with HR, TA or other people-related functions:
- Key Dates: What are the items on your calendar that might be of importance, either for the restriction of resources, change management operations, or other major disruptors.? This might include open enrollment, HRIS freeze periods, planned system outages/upgrades, and compliance deadlines.? While these might be baked into your schedule, it sometimes helps to call them out for those reading the project charter who might not otherwise know about these restrictions.
- Related projects: Has anyone tried to tackle this before, and what you can learn from them?? Are there any projects in-flight or planned that might intersect???
- Metrics/KPIs and baselines:? What are you tracking, what will you track, and how are you performing against these measures today?? This could be as simple as dollars spent on a function or a complex calculation of functional efficacy.? Whatever you need to know, you should include it in the charter.? (Very often this leads to a conversation of, “OK, but where do we even get that information?”? That’s a very common starting point for projects!)
Is there one format or template you should use for all of this?? Not really.? I’ve seen great charters in document format, spreadsheets, or even presentation slides.? Just make sure however you build it, or whichever existing Charter format you select, yours is specific to your organizational expectation and project needs, is easy to update and share, and gives a clear view to anyone who looks at what you are working on, why you are working on it, and how you will know when you are done (and hopefully successful).??
Just like any other form, it isn’t about the document.? It’s about what information the document holds.? Make sure yours holds all the important bits!
