5 Reasons Why You Need a Project Management Office (PMO) Leader
A Project Management Office (PMO) ensures that your project goals are met efficiently and effectively by providing organization and guidance throughout all stages of the project lifecycle from inception to completion, regardless of whether it’s a company-wide initiative or one with a single point of contact. Once you learn about the multiple benefits of having a PMO, it’s clear why every company needs one. Here are 5 reasons why you need a PMO
What is a PMO Leader?
A Project Management Office, or PMO, is an organizational unit responsible for planning and tracking tasks. It helps to bring order to chaos by providing organizational oversight over assigned projects. In other words, it’s what makes your business more efficient and productive by managing employees and resources. A good PMO will improve communication across all departments involved in executing a project; it ensures that all stakeholders are aware of what they are responsible for and what needs to be done. A functioning PMO also keeps projects on schedule and reduces overall project risk. Though some consider their effectiveness minimal or obsolete, studies show that businesses with effective PMOs are far more likely to experience positive growth than those without.
PMO Leader vs. Project Manager
A project manager may manage multiple projects, but their focus is on one or two—the ones they are assigned to. A PMO’s focus is on all of them. The intent of a PMO is to bring consistency and predictability to your projects by overseeing them and making sure that best practices are being followed. That way, you don’t have to worry about how things are done on each individual project because it’s already decided for you. This means you can do what you do best: manage your project(s). Whether or not you need an entire PMO team depends on your size and scope; ask yourself how many projects (and employees) it would take before one person can no longer be expected to oversee all things Project?
1. PMO Leaders Ensure Visibility & Focus
The first benefit of a PMO is that it creates visibility. When you have dedicated teams working on various project-related tasks, it’s easier to know what’s going on with each project and to gain an overall understanding of where your company is in its projects. Furthermore, PMO representatives can help focus employees in achieving goals by formalizing processes and procedures for reporting progress. Employees who feel ownership over their individual projects are much more likely to pursue them with vigor and follow through until they’ve been completed—and they’re also more likely to identify problems as they arise rather than waiting until something big blows up in their faces.
2. PMO Leaders Command Accountability
The PMO creates an environment of accountability. The team can hold individuals accountable for their individual tasks as well as their deliverables. The PMO Manager and Project Managers have to ensure that they clearly communicate with each other and work toward specific goals. By implementing strong controls, a project manager can better ensure deadlines are met. Accountability is one of the main reasons why a company needs to implement a PMO. If no one is accountable for anything then nothing will get done on time, or worse yet completed at all.
3. PMO Leaders Enforce Collaboration
Collaboration should be easy, right? Well, most people don’t have unlimited resources and must make tough decisions about where to spend their time and energy. So while technology has made collaboration more accessible, it can also complicate matters if team members are scattered across multiple platforms. A project management office streamlines collaboration by simplifying communication with technology that allows your team to focus on what they do best.
4. PMO Leaders Constitute Better Time Management
In larger organizations, PMOs often help managers implement better time-management systems for their teams. This can be helpful for those who have teams spread across multiple locations. But in smaller organizations, it’s more likely that whoever leads your company will also lead your project-management efforts. In that case, you may need to incorporate some other strategies into how you manage your team’s time effectively—for example, making sure everyone has clear deadlines and goals so they know what they’re working toward. On top of all that, make sure you’re scheduling regular one-on-one meetings with each team member to talk about what they’re working on and track any issues or concerns.
5. PMO Leaders Help Improve Productivity
By providing your team with templates, tools, and resources designed to simplify your project process, you’ll be able to cut down on time spent planning and coordinating tasks. A PMO will also help streamline collaboration between teams, as well as with outside stakeholders. Eliminates Friction: Project management software provides your team with one central location for information about goals, schedule, milestones, and more – so there’s no need to waste time searching for that slide deck you put together last month or those last-minute edits you made to the company budget. The office also keeps everyone on track by alerting you when deadlines are looming or when issues arise that could affect projects.
Conclusion
A project management office is an essential tool for managing your projects. The PMO helps to improve productivity, responsiveness, and stakeholder communications. In addition, with a PMO in place, you will see improved risk management and scheduling capabilities. Hopefully, these 5 reasons have given you enough insight into why you need to have a PMO. Keep these tips in mind when creating your PMO so that it meets all of your business needs!
