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Professional Project Managers: Do You Need Them?

Paul Naybour Paul Naybour

Published: 28th November 2013

Both private business firms and large organizations that are involved in completing large projects recognize the true importance of project managers. With the amount of knowledge and experience needed on the job becoming more complex, businesses are realising the true benefits of hiring a professional project manager (PPM) to control the project teams.

Importance of Professional Project Management

Many corporations utilise formal methodologies for software development, engineering, construction, and manufacturing projects to strategies, plan, and manage the necessary tasks and activities to ensure a successful project completion. For this reason, professional project managers play a vital role in preparing delivery strategies, planning, and managing project activities, applying their expertise in risk, quality, and change management. These skills are essential for project completion, increasing the demand for PPMs in the business environment.
Professional project managers have a technical ability to effectively manage project tasks and communicate with customers. Not only are accreditations a plus in project management, but professional project managers should hone their other skills to ensure a successful service process, benefiting the project manager with a thorough knowledge of professional techniques and methods.

  • Positive attitude to new tasks and challenges
  • Ability to utilize the right tools throughout the project
  • Knowledge in businesses processes
  • Ability to implement successful business goals
  • Ability to tailor techniques and methods for projects
  • Negotiation skills to obtain additional resources
  • Learning from previous mistakes
  • Diplomatic skills to deal with stakeholders and customers

Why Certification Is Necessary?

Many businesses prefer to hire professional project managers over project managers because PPMs understand the true importance of reliable project management discipline when it comes to delivering successful projects to the clientele. Clients associate a professional certification with strong discipline, and the certification indicates the PPM has a higher level of expertise and knowledge, allowing the professional project manager to work more proficiently in a project’s environment.

Benefits of Effective Project Management

Project management offers businesses several benefits, allowing the professional project manager to control and lead the team more effectively. By instituting the proper strategies to ensure the project reaches fruition, PPMs benefit not only the team but also the customers and stakeholders. The top 10 benefits of effective project management include:

  • Improved Customer Satisfaction: Getting the project done on time and under budget will go a long way in satisfying your customers, and a satisfied customer means more business down the road.
  • Increased Service Efficiency: Professional project managers can apply the basic skills and tools needed to ensure a successful project completion, fixing any problems that may develop.
  • Increased Team Growth: Positive feedback encourages the team to seek out new ways to perform their job more efficiently.
  • Improved Service Effectiveness: Previous applied strategies can help the PPM successfully complete new projects.
  • Service Expansion: Providing premium-quality projects will increase the likelihood of your business expanding to new clientele.
  • Increased Competitive Edge: Satisfied clients will inform others of your great service, increasing your business’ competitive edge.
  • Improved Risk Assessment: Keeping the team in line and implementing the right strategies will increase the chances of identifying potential risks in the project, allowing the PPM to fix any issues that arise.
  • Increased Quality: Making sure the project’s quality remains high increases your company’s effectiveness.
  • Increased Quantity: Increasing the quality of the project will increase the likelihood of returning and new customers with more projects.

Because project management can be an extremely complex process, you should contemplate hiring a professional project manager who has had the training needed to complete your business’ projects. Customers want their projects completed not only within the designated time frame and budget but also to meet their high standards. The end result is that the business, project manager, team, customers, and stakeholders come out of every project satisfied.
Does your business need professional project managers? Parallel Project Training can help you to develop a roadmap to build your project management capability. This can often blend project management certification courses if applications workshops and bespoke training. Contact us to understand the benefits of project management training for your business.

  1. Derron Taplin says:

    Hi Paul,
    Good post and I agree that there is a difference between Professional PM and PM’s.
    Project Management is often seen as something anyone can do in their spare time. This type of approach generally provides disappointing results, rework and additional expense. Equally however, and this is the kicker, not everyone can be a project manager. There is, as like most skilled professions a blend of technical understanding (in a project context not technology) and also leadership skills that need to be exercised to make a good project manager. Hence, we have situations where PM’s can yield poor results even through they have the PM “badge”. The sweetspot is to have vetted professional PM’s execute all projects. If the project doesn’t warrant the “overhead” of a professional PM then the value to the organisation must be small and perhaps shouldn’t be executed at all.
    Regards,
    Derron

    • Paul Naybour says:

      Darron
      An interesting point you make on the difference between project managers and project management. Although I do see lots of projects managed by say new product development or marketing where the project management tool set can complement the professional role.
      Paul

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