Don’t employ a new project manager until you’ve read this.
There comes a time - and maybe your time is now - when a business decides that a project team is too small, over stretched or under skilled. Or all of the above. So extra help is needed.
At this point, there are many benefits to welcoming a new member of staff. Not least bringing on board a new colleague who will hopefully become a long-term asset to the company.
But many business leaders nowadays are more concerned about the shorter term.
Perhaps the business is volatile or market forces are unpredictable. Or maybe the salary for the rock star project manager is a bit too big a hit at the moment. It all feels a bit risky.
Well, we’re 100% biased but we have a pretty good series of six reasons why choosing an external consultant might be your best course of action right now.
It’s for now, not forever.
Projects have an end date. And once that project finishes, you don’t have to continue your relationship with the external consultant. Both sides know that, so there’s no hard feelings.
You can afford someone better.
Your budget could stretch to a more experienced, more capable person because you can limit your financial commitment to the length of the contract. And someone better will probably leave the project in a far stronger condition.
More flexibility. More scalability.
External consultancy contracts can be adjusted up and down, as your workload ebbs and flows. You can bring in more help or cut it back if you set up the right terms at the beginning.
No politics or baggage.
Internal culture has an inevitable impact on permanent members of staff. Externals are far less likely to be affected, distracted - or interested - in such matters.
You get to cherry pick a star.
A particular project might benefit from a specific subject matter expert, for a certain amount of time. After which they’re not needed. Hiring externals allows you to have specific expertise on tap.
Max accountability.
External consultants usually arrive with pre-defined objectives and timelines. They know what they have to do and when it needs to be done. Their brief keeps your project on track.
Particularly since the pandemic, the landscape of the workplace has changed dramatically, with many business leaders wanting their teams to work in a more agile way.
Maybe giving a project manager a permanent job is not the best way of achieving that.
