Training builds trust. Trust boosts teamwork. Effective teamwork leads to more successful project delivery.
The correlation between professional development and project success is significant, and yet many organizations fail to see the value their Project Management Office (PMO) can bring in guiding its project management professionals along their career path.
Over the last decade, the PMO has evolved into a crucial body within many organizations as it fulfills various functions from a strategic, operational, or tactical standpoint. Regardless of its scope, the PMO has a direct impact on projects and the professionals who deliver them.
According to an ESI International survey, three out of four organizations claim to have a PMO in place. Its significance in the enterprise also is expressed by the sheer number of employees within the PMO itself: More project management professionals are being managed by it than ever before (46 percent).
The PMO also has shown a large rise in reporting on its own effectiveness measurement to ensure it is getting the job done. Despite this increased concern about its impact on the organization, the PMO’s involvement in training and development has dropped in every area. In fact, the PMO’s effort to ensure that what is learned in the classroom is applied to the job—so-called learning sustainment—dropped from 57 percent to 46 percent globally in just one year. In many cases, the PMO’s L&D function has been put on the backburner, while reporting has taken the lead.
This trend puts the PMO’s value proposition into question. What exactly is the PMO bringing to its core constituent, the project manager?
Best Practices of Top-Rated PMOs
According to the PMI-Pulse of the Profession report from 2013, top-performing organizations take a different, more strategic approach to project, program, and portfolio management than those on the lower end of the spectrum. Most notably, they place a large emphasis on professional development, talent management, and best practices in the project management profession. Furthermore, top performers provide their project managers (PMs) with well-defined career paths.
ESI research shows that PMOs with a concentration on PM professional development enjoy the best reputation, exhibit higher levels of maturity, and are valued the most in their organizations.
The PMO has proven to be a career-crucial body for project managers. Not surprisingly, the so-called “active” PMOs that measure both workplace performance and engage actively in learning sustainment tend to be the most involved in structuring the PM’s career path. It is no wonder, then, that these PMOs also are viewed as the most valuable to the people benefiting from the PMO’s activities. Three out of four active PMOs were reported as providing a structured path for project managers, compared to a global mean of just 41 percent.
In other words, the more investment made in the people, the more appreciation the PMO receives.
On the flip side, if PMs don’t see the PMO’s value, then it is unlikely the organization will either. With 37 percent of PMO-managed professionals still challenging the function or value of the PMO in 2013, PMOs need to focus on the needs of its professionals to solidify and improve their reputation in the enterprise.
Benefits of Focusing on Learning Sustainment and Workplace Measurement
Our research suggests that those PMOs most involved in the focus and development of the project community through both learning sustainment and workplace measurement received much higher marks across the board. Furthermore, the PMO enjoyed a better reputation and delivered more value to the business overall.
- PMO Role Fulfilment: Some 42 percent of respondents rated their active PMOs as either “Excellent” or “Very Good” compared with 28 percent of those who are active in neither area.
- Project Success: Some 56 percent of those respondents with PMOs active in measuring both training impact and learning sustainment claimed more than 75 percent of projects were delivered on time, on budget, within scope, and to customer expectations compared with 39 percent for those who are active in neither.
- PMO Maturity: On average, active PMOs were deemed to be 14 percent more mature across all six evolutionary stages as identified by ESI compared with those who are active in neither.
Not only do active PMOs that professionally develop PM talent enjoy an improved standing internally, but they also have a better business mindset. Compared to PMOs that did not engage in learning sustainment and workplace measurement, active PMOs showed significantly higher scores by measuring their effectiveness in such areas as:
- Higher project ROI: 43 percent (active) v. 24 percent (non-active)
- Increased Customer Satisfaction: 64 percent (active) v. 45 percent (non-active)
- Raised PM profile: 54 percent (active) v. 35 percent (non-active)
The existence of the PMO alone has an impact on the PM’s career. For instance, 47 percent of organizations with a PMO were found to provide a structured career path for their PMs compared to only 27 percent in organizations without a PMO.
Addressing the Professional Development Question
If consistent professional development not only raises the PMO’s value, but also creates better project success, why aren’t more organizations recognizing the value of continued education through their PMOs for its project management professionals?
The answer is simple. Many do not know how to design their training programs to match the needs of the organization, nor do they think the PMO alone can supply it. Our research shows that leveraging the power of the PMO can raise the bar in business performance across all sectors of the enterprise. Organizations must assess their training needs first, then actively seek help from their PMOs to fulfil them. After all, the PMO, which is managing many more PMs than ever, knows which skills it needs the most.
J. LeRoy Ward, PMP, PgMP, executive vice president, Product Strategy & Management, ESI International, brings more than 37 years of expertise in project and program management to the refinement of ESI’s portfolio of learning programs. He works closely with ESI clients worldwide to guide the assessment, implementation, and reinforcement of knowledge and skills that allow for the effective measurement and successful adoption of learning program objectives. For more information, visit www.esi-intl.com.
