That could be the cry of organizations taking on an ever-increasing number of complex projects—even though they lack project management maturity.
In these cases, bringing in a project management consultant could save the day. Put out the call, and a trained professional swoops in and objectively assesses your project management practices, identifies gaps, provides expertise and drives improvement.
Project management consultants can be a valuable and cost-effective source of best practices and specialized expertise.
“Most companies cannot afford to have a whole bunch of project managers on call when they need them—that's a lot of money,” says Wayne Balardo, president of Balardo Group, an information and communications technology infrastructure consultancy in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. “Unlike in the past, firms now tend to use more external help of some kind. It's just not as foreign a concept as it used to be.”
Of course, not all project management consultants are created equal. Organizations must select consultants that have the right combination of knowledge, skills, tools, techniques and personality traits. Furthermore, hiring a project management consultant at the right time (neither too early nor too late) can have an enormous impact on success.
HIRE A PRO
Find experienced professionals in the PMI Consultant Registry. And learn valuable pointers in A Guide on How to Select a Project Management Consultancy. All at rcpdirectory.pmi.org.
IDENTIFYING THE NEED
First you should explore the reasons for hiring a project management consultant, says Fabio Luiz Braggio, PMP, a São Paulo, Brazil-based project management consultant.
For some, the aim is to identify a seasoned professional “who is experienced in several types of projects so a company can gain important knowledge in a very short period of time,” he says.
For others, it's simply a matter of not having the resources themselves, Mr. Braggio explains. “If a company is in a situation where it needs another perspective, it may feel as if it can't get that perspective internally.”
Another big driver for engaging a consultant: better control of costs. Hiring a full-time, salaried employee to satisfy an internal need is time-consuming and costly. But with a third-party consultant, “the costs are very clear,” Mr. Balardo says. A consultant should have a hard start and finish date, and the organization doesn't have to provide benefits.
“Plus, it may be advantageous to use a consultant if there's any uncertainty about the initiative, as a company can terminate the consultant very quickly, whereas it may have difficulty finding another role for an internal employee,” he says.
OPPOSITES ATTRACT
“There's an advantage to bringing in a consultant who is the opposite of your corporate culture,” says Mike Graupner, PMP, senior project manager at GeBBS Healthcare Solutions, a healthcare business process outsourcing organization in Westminster, California, USA. “It's important to understand your culture and what you'd like to achieve with a consultant. If you're undergoing a radical change in a project, sometimes you want to bring in a more abrasive type of consultant to shake things up. Whereas if you brought in a culturally compatible consultant, he or she might be more focused on change without irritation.”
Personality counts a lot, Mr. Braggio says. “A project management consultant must have open ears, be open-minded and try to integrate as best he or she can.”
Finding a suitable candidate gets even more complicated when relying on a third party.
“Make sure you have access to a firm's engagement manager—the individual responsible for supporting the consultant throughout the project's implementation,” Mr. Balardo says.
If an engagement manager isn't available, make sure you have a direct contact to referee any conflicts or sort out a potential mismatch, he adds.
You're paying for expertise, so demand it.
“The right consultant should be a subject-matter expert with relevant industry experience,” says Ehab Yehia, PMP, IT applications development specialist at the Council of Ministers General Secretariat Information and Decision Support Center, a governmental organization in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
If the consultant isn't meeting your expectations, don't hesitate to terminate his or her services.
PEACE KEEPERS
Sometimes the hurdle derailing a project is personality clashes among team members.
Calling in outside help can defuse a politically charged environment, especially “if you bring in a consultant who has worked in different situations, has no vested interest in your corporation and can deal with the various stakeholders without any emotional involvement,” Mr. Balardo says.
>TIP
Don't wait till it's too late, says Fabio Luiz Braggio, PMP, independent consultant, São Paulo, Brazil. “Too often, organizations wait until they cannot handle it any longer, and then hire a consultant,” he says. “It's much better to call for outside help earlier in a project than to let things continue until they're messed up.”
While it might not be necessary to enlist a consultant in the planning stages of a project, recruit one at the first sign of trouble, Mr. Braggio adds.
Even the most highly qualified and carefully selected consultants aren't a cure-all, though.
“Some projects will continue to run off the rails, whether it's because they don't have executive support or sufficient user involvement, or the requirements are unclear,” he warns.
Be prepared to hear the worst if a consultant isn't able to transcend a company's politics, personalities or project obstacles, Mr. Graupner says. “A good consultant will say, ‘Look, I can't help you.’ A big part of change management is understanding organizational culture, and what can and can't be done.” PM