Why Hire a Professional Project Manager

Project management is practiced by every human and most companies are driven by them. Many executives and managers simply define their jobs as the shepherd of a myriad of projects.

Unfortunately doing 'more with less' is Corporate America's battle cry. Inevitably projects arise: which are outside of the core competency of the in-house staff; exceed employee workload capacity; or just plainly 'get in trouble'. All of this happens frequently even in the best of organizations.

Each year executives are challenged by a never ending parade of acquisitions, mergers, divestitures, new product launches, etc. In addition to the ubiquitous upgrading or installing of new systems, equipment, plants, offices and continuous process improvements.

And although these projects are commonplace, the ever-changing skill sets required to address the hundreds of issues and challenges that arise in a typical project are not.

Project Management is a discipline, and as with most skills it can be learned, and with desire, dedication, and experience it can be mastered.

A well trained and experienced project manager will have greater success delivering the goals of any project whether it involves constructing a building, retrofitting existing space, re-engineering a process or migrating to new systems. Your trained project managers make sure everything comes together in a timely, cost-effective manner. Their high-profile, high-risk work demands multitasking ability, analytical thinking and excellent communication skills.

Nowhere are these areas of expertise more critical than when an organization is considering a 'mission critical' project. Success requires that your managers live and breathe by the project's needs, and in most cases, each project is planned down to the daily or even hourly level.

What To Look For When Hiring A PM

• Seasoned Project Leader
• Producer
• Administrator
• Integrator
• Entrepreneur
• Communicator
• Independent; No Conflicts of Interest
• Formally Trained
• Contract Management Skills
• Decision & Approval Background
• Coordination & Scheduling Know-How
• Team Builder
• Consensus Gatherer
• Realistic Scheduler
• Fast Track Experience
• Purchasing Leverage with Vendors