PMP · Question #808
A healthcare organization hired a new compliance specialist to ensure that the healthcare compliance needs are met. The feedback about the new compliance specialist from the team was average. What sho
The correct answer is A. Coordinate a one-to-one meeting with the specialist to assess the situation. To help a new team member improve based on average feedback, the project manager should first hold a private one-on-one meeting with the specialist. This direct conversation allows the project manager to gather details, understand challenges from the specialist's perspective, and
Question
Options
- ACoordinate a one-to-one meeting with the specialist to assess the situation
- BEscalate this situation to the manager of the area for a possible solution
- CProvide time for the specialist to adjust to the pace of the project
- DContact the human resources (HR) manager about the team's feedback
How the community answered
(43 responses)- A84% (36)
- B5% (2)
- C2% (1)
- D9% (4)
Why each option
To help a new team member improve based on average feedback, the project manager should first hold a private one-on-one meeting with the specialist. This direct conversation allows the project manager to gather details, understand challenges from the specialist's perspective, and offer specific coaching or support.
Before escalating or making assumptions, the project manager's best first step is to engage directly with the individual. A one-to-one meeting allows the project manager to privately gather more specific information about the specialist's challenges, understand their perspective, and provide constructive feedback or offer support and coaching without prematurely involving other parties.
Escalating to a functional manager should be a later step, only after direct intervention by the project manager has proven ineffective or if the issue is clearly beyond the project manager's scope to resolve.
While providing adjustment time is reasonable, simply waiting without intervention when feedback is already "average" is a passive approach that may delay necessary improvement.
Involving HR is typically reserved for more serious performance issues, disciplinary actions, or when an employee's behavior warrants formal intervention, not as a first step for average performance feedback.
Concept tested: Team Management, Performance Coaching
Source: https://www.pmi.org/learning/library/coach-leader-project-manager-role-8583
Topics
Community Discussion
6
Ola B.Jun 28, 2026A. Before you escalate anything, sit down with the specialist one-on-one and figure out what is actually going on. You cannot fix a performance gap from hearsay alone, so treat this like troubleshooting a deployment issue and gather the facts directly from the source first.
Grace U.Jul 3, 2026I leaned toward C first but average feedback means talk to them directly, so A.
Dervla O.Jul 4, 2026A is the move here because the PM owns the team's performance, and average feedback is not a crisis requiring escalation to B or D yet. Read the stem twice: it says "help the specialist improve," which points you toward coaching and assessment, not reporting them upstream. C sounds compassionate but it is passive, and the PM is accountable for driving the improvement conversation, not waiting around for it to happen organically. One thing I keep wrestling with on these people-management questions: when does the PM loop in the functional manager versus handle it solo, and is there a clean threshold in PMI's
Prof. SaraJun 9, 2026Confirmed A on exam last week. This falls under People Domain conflict resolution, where the PM must use interpersonal skills before escalating. The mnemonic is PIP: Probe the situation In a one-to-one, then Plan next steps. C is a trap because waiting does not address the feedback, and B or D skip the coaching step the PM owns.
Samuel O.Jun 22, 2026Going with B. In my experience, compliance gaps need the functional manager involved, not just a pep talk.
Prof. SaraJun 23, 2026A is correct here because the question is asking about the project manager's responsibility to ensure compliance, not to escalate it. Samuel, functional managers absolutely matter, but the PM owns adherence to the compliance framework first, which maps to Domain 3 (Business Compliance) where you own the gap, you fix the gap.