How do you know when your business would benefit from hiring contract Project Management leadership or support? Whether you have an unusually big project coming up, or are struggling to keep tabs on a remote freelance digital team, it’s not always easy to identify the right time to call in contract Project Management help. Some businesses may even think that they can’t free up the time to engage with the process of hiring and on-boarding a Project Manager. Spending time and money to save time and money perhaps sounds counterintuitive to some.
But it works!
A contract Project Management professional can be hugely beneficial to your business and projects in many ways. They are well used to joining projects at different stages in their evolution and one of the main PM skills is the ability to be adaptable, learn fast, and get up to speed on projects quickly and with minimum disruption. They can oversee complex budget and time management processes, as well as evaluating and implementing systems to make your projects run more efficiently, thus increasing profit margins. They facilitate effective communication between teams, departments, clients and other stakeholders, provide status reports and project analyses, and come in to your project with a fresh viewpoint which can revitalise a stalled team approach. They are also an organised, professional and attentive client-facing presence, the importance of which cannot be overstated!
So – is your business showing any of these familiar signs that you might benefit from contract Project Management support?
1. You are a small but growing digital agency taking on larger projects. You have previously managed projects yourself or overseen a small team, but need to spend more time and energy on business and product development to grow your business and are aware that you need a more structured approach to do this. You don’t have the budget for a full-time permanent Project Manager - what you need most is flexibility – on demand PM support or advice to help you run or set up systems.
A contract Senior PM can provide one-off consultancy to help you implement new systems or continuing mentorship for small businesses. PM support can also be supplied on demand – on an hourly, flexible basis to help keep small agency projects on track. Without the financial commitment of hiring a permanent or full-time PM, you are freed up to lead the company and push on those all-important sales.
2. You are an established digital agency with Project Managers on staff and good systems in place, but problems can occur during holiday periods when multiple team members are on leave at the same time, or if there is an unscheduled absence of a key team player. You try to keep your projects running smoothly but it is a stressful juggling process of appointing and briefing other team members to cover essential work or trying to keep your PMs semi-available while they are on holiday.
A temporary contract Project Manager can keep your projects professionally ticking over with minimal disruption so that no key deadlines or deliverable need slip. Other staff will not be overloaded with holiday cover – and your permanent Project Managers can have the relaxing holidays they deserve!
3. You are a team providing digital services in larger company and already outsource projects to freelancers and remote workers. Your systems are optimised for remote and contract working but you cannot control the amount or flow of work coming from the wider company so sometimes you might not have enough or specialist staff for particular projects.
Contract Project Management can help you deal with the irregular work flow and size of projects by supplying reliable professional short-term or part-time PMs on demand, as and when you need the extra support. You only pay for the hours of support you use, so this can be a cost-effective approach.
Project Management On Demand supplies skilled Project Management professionals to digital businesses when they are needed most. Working remotely or in-house, our PMs look after your key deliverables, mitigate issues, and keep your critical path on-track, and your clients happy. For more information on our services, visit www.projectmanagementod.co.uk/our-services