Seyyed Babak Alavi, Graduate School of Management and Economics, Sharif University of Technology.

Content HRM challenges in project-based organizations; Specific characteristics of HRM in project-based organizations; Challenges of HRM in some Iranian project-based organizations; Main recommendations; Conclusion.

HRM challenges in project-based organizations The impacts of specific features of project-based organizations have not yet been discussed adequately in HRM or PM literatures. Key features of PBO influence HR mechanisms and may raise new HR challenges for PBO.

Specific characteristics of HRM in project-based organization (Huemann, Keegan, and Turner, 2007) “Managing by projects” as the main strategy of the project-based organizations; Temporary nature of projects; Dynamism; Project-portfolio resource and role demands; Specific management environment; Specific considerations for the wellbeing of employees and their families.

Dispersement from the project If there is no project to go to straight away, there are some other choices:

Retention of project-oriented engineers and managers Research suggest that engineers with project orientation may possess different values and personal characteristics. Having opportunities to work in interesting and challenging projects that keep people marketable. Employees in PBO build their careers on a series of projects.

Some challenges of HRM in some Iranian project-based organizations Lack of adequate planning for HRM; Administrative approach to understanding HRM; Lack of clear distinction between staff and line HRM roles; Given the centralized HRM processes (e.g., selection, compensation), project managers may not possess required authority for human resource management; Limited and unclear delegation; Project management and HR competencies must be developed in relation to the strategic directions of PBOs; Leadership crisis given the workload of project management activities;

Some challenges of HRM in some Iranian project-based organizations (continued) Succession planning and career development plans, especially for project management careers; Lack of adequate acceptance of young staff employees by project members; Transferring knowledge from experienced to young employees; Retention of knowledge workers; Internal/external recruitment approaches; Limited resources that result high stress; Safety issues; Work-family and morale issues.

Main recommendations Development of succession management plans; Development of career development plans for becoming project managers; HRM organization in projects; Development of work-family plans for project employees; Assigning some project roles to young engineers; Training and development plans for stress management; Development of competency models specifically designed for project environments; Development of strong PMOs in order to specify more time on leadership activities.

Conclusions New lines of research and case studies must be conducted in the area of HRM in PBOs. For a long term development of project management in Iran, we need to develop a body of knowledge of HRM in PBOs.