PMP · Question #289
A large multi-year project requires highly skilled staff for successful deployment. The management team and the project sponsor have analyzed the resource requirements and agreed to have permanent sta
The correct answer is C. Enhance the competencies of the project team through training, mentoring, and coaching. E. Introduce a recognition program to motivate and reward resource performance.. To mitigate staff turnover risk in a multi-year project, the project manager should enhance team competencies through training and mentoring, and implement a recognition program to boost motivation and retention.
Question
A large multi-year project requires highly skilled staff for successful deployment. The management team and the project sponsor have analyzed the resource requirements and agreed to have permanent staff hired for the project to avoid potential budget overrun. However, there is a risk of staff turnover during the course of the project, which may have an impact on the delivery. Which two actions should the project manager take to mitigate this risk? (Choose two.)
Options
- AMeet with management to discuss dividing the project into smaller projects.
- BConvince senior management to hire third-party staff.
- CEnhance the competencies of the project team through training, mentoring, and coaching.
- DIncrease the trained staff to create back-up for resources.
- EIntroduce a recognition program to motivate and reward resource performance.
How the community answered
(15 responses)- A7% (1)
- B13% (2)
- C73% (11)
- D7% (1)
Why each option
To mitigate staff turnover risk in a multi-year project, the project manager should enhance team competencies through training and mentoring, and implement a recognition program to boost motivation and retention.
Dividing the project into smaller projects does not directly address the risk of staff turnover, although it might change project complexity or resource allocation needs.
Convincing senior management to hire third-party staff directly contradicts the agreed-upon strategy of hiring permanent staff to avoid budget overrun and does not mitigate the risk of turnover among the existing permanent staff.
Enhancing team competencies through training, mentoring, and coaching improves individual skills and overall team capability, making team members feel valued and more engaged, thereby reducing the likelihood of turnover and improving project resilience.
While increasing trained staff might create backups, it also significantly increases project costs (hiring, training, salaries) which contradicts the goal of avoiding budget overrun mentioned in the question and is not a direct retention strategy.
Introducing a recognition program provides motivation and rewards performance, which can significantly boost team morale, job satisfaction, and loyalty, directly contributing to higher retention rates and mitigating the risk of staff turnover.
Concept tested: Resource management and staff retention strategies
Source: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/training/modules/get-started-people-management/5-build-cohesive-teams
Topics
Community Discussion
7
Nina C.Jun 16, 2026Are we looking at this from a "mitigate" risk strategy angle? I want to make sure I get this right because as someone switching into project management from teaching, I keep overthinking the HR stuff. The way I understand it, mitigate means you reduce the probability or impact, so you would want to keep the people you already hired happy and build internal capability rather than completely changing your staffing plan. That makes C and E the correct answers because training and mentoring builds resilience if someone leaves, and a recognition program directly addresses the turnover risk by motivating people to stay. D sounds tempting as a backup
Imani T.Jun 20, 2026C and E are your two answers here. PMI loves the people-centric mitigation strategies: training and mentoring (C) builds resilience into the team, and recognition programs (E) directly address retention, which is the actual risk stated in the question. D sounds tempting but hiring extra staff as backup contradicts the budget concern already mentioned, and A or B are scope and procurement changes that dodge the real problem. Got nearly this exact question on my exam last spring and flagged it for review because D pulled at me. Re-read the stem and caught that the turnover risk is what you are mitigating,
Nina C.Jun 22, 2026Agree on C and E, and the budget constraint eliminating D is the key read, but I would add that pairing mentoring (C) with recognition (E) is what makes the answers work together rather than independently, since mentoring without retention incentives just trains people to leave faster.
Orla P.Jun 29, 2026C and E are the correct pair here. The question asks to mitigate the risk of staff turnover, which points directly to retention strategies like recognition programs and developing the existing team so they feel invested and capable. D is a tempting distractor because creating backups sounds logical, but hiring extra permanent staff directly contradicts the scenario where management already finalized the resource plan to avoid budget overruns. Training and mentoring your current people, combined with a solid reward system, is the textbook PMI approach to keeping your highly skilled staff from walking out the door.
Viktor S.Jul 5, 2026C and E are the right picks here. The question is asking about mitigating turnover risk, not eliminating the root cause entirely. Training and mentoring, option C, builds depth so losing one person does not gut a critical skill area. Recognition programs, option E, directly address why people leave in the first place, which is a retention play. D sounds tempting but just throwing more bodies at it is expensive and does not fix morale problems.
Yusuf A.Jun 22, 2026Got C and E on my exam last month, my senior always said motivate and train to retain staff.
Nina C.Jun 23, 2026Makes sense on C and E, though Id add that the motivating part only sticks if you tie it to a clear career path, otherwise trained staff just leave for better offers elsewhere.