Project management is a challenging job, but finding a good project manager might be an even taller task. Facing mounting talent shortages in an already competitive field, many companies have turned to talent solution providers to help source project leaders. But if they’re not getting the results they desire, it might be because they haven’t chosen the right partner.
For example, traditional staffing organizations often deliver an exhaustive list of candidates who meet the baseline job requirements, then leave the internal HR team to separate the wheat from the chaff. It’s hard to see how that would save anyone time, much less help them hire and onboard an elite project manager.
Here are three advantages to using a specialized talent solution provider to fill project leadership needs.
1. Getting True Leadership Qualities
Excellent project managers don’t grow on trees. Being able to shepherd a mission-critical project from ideation to completion demands a unique blend of technical and people skills that few people possess. You need someone who’s simultaneously process-oriented and adaptive, inspirational and tough, inquisitive and knowledgeable — and those are just a few of the qualities of a good project leader.
Assessing the leadership styles of effective project managers goes far beyond simple résumé screening. A specialized talent provider will have the experience and expertise needed to spot soft skills like communication, conflict resolution, and trust-building. They have consultants that are vetted and experienced in real-world scenarios, and the firm has had a chance to see how they’ve handling the ups and downs of leadership in project management–and, any firm worth its salt, is only providing the leaders who have demonstrated the qualities to lead your projects.
2. Covering All the Bases of Control
A traditional staffing firm may help a company find a good project manager in the technical aspects of the role, but a specialized provider will help that company get to the bottom of what they need out of a project manager. There are six constituent roles in project management that must work together to bring a project to fruition: leadership, subject matter expertise, data analysis, scheduling, coordination, and administrative tasks.
It’s unreasonable to expect a single person to execute all six duties flawlessly, yet they’re all critical to project performance. Together, they form the bases of project control. If those bases aren’t covered, your projects are out of control by definition. That’s where a project firm can come in to offer extra support and ensure projects remain on budget, on schedule, and within the original scope.
3. Creating a Harmonious Environment
Every organization has a unique culture — an unspoken social order that influences people’s attitudes and behaviors. A chop shop doesn’t have the bandwidth to familiarize itself with your company’s culture and align the project management apparatus with that culture.
A boutique firm will dive deep to understand what kind of support (if any) exists for your project managers and the factors that could be influencing effective project management. Then, they’ll help you create an environment where your project leaders can thrive.
Download our whitepaper “Leadership Is Taken, Not Given” to learn more.
Finding leaders with expertise in project management is so difficult because there are so many skills and variables that go into project success. Only a firm with a specialty in projects can be the right resource to both shore up your immediate resource needs and also ensure that those resources are set up for success.
Ready to explore WiserWulff’s solutions? Set up a free consultation today!
