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If your company is like most private or public organizations, business is run the traditional way: as a collection of ongoing processes, relying on a stable, permanent workforce, supported by resources valued for a long lifecycle. But all that could be changing.
This year, the first of the Baby Boomers will begin to retire—it's projected that could amount to nearly 77 million of them over the next decade. On top of that, there are nearly 31 million fewer Generation X workers to take their place.
In addition, "retirement" for the Boomers won't be like it was for their mothers and fathers. Instead, the Boomers will seek to remain engaged and active. For them, work will consist of either part-time employment, or contingent or project-centric opportunities, based on their years of expertise. Most importantly, they'll seek employment that fits into their newly defined retirement lifestyle, not their employers' schedule.
This changing workplace demographic means companies will likely find new challenges in securing and managing people from both inside and outside the company and creating teams of people, most likely geographically disbursed. More importantly, it also means they'll begin managing everything as a project.
Everything's a Project
Developing software, building a community center, performing research, or creating a global marketing plan—all these activities have one thing in common. They're all projects. Each has a start and end date. Each has a budget, stakeholders, timelines, and tasks. Each relies on an individual to lead the charge. And, each is made up of many people, with the right skills, coming together at the right time.
Forward thinking organizations are already beginning to look at implementing their business strategies as a series of projects, directly tied to their strategic initiatives. They've begun to train their resources in both the art and science of program and project management. Some have taken the concept one step further and are managing their projects as a portfolio, much in the same way as a financial analyst manages a portfolio of investments.
In fact, project management is poised to become one of the "in" jobs for the 21st century. According to the Project Management Institute, the number of Project Management Professional certifications issued total 25,000 in the first 17 years of the program. Since 2000, more than 100,000 have been awarded, including 25,000 in the first seven months of 2005.
Project Management: The New Value-Add
The Center for Business Practices, the research arm of the consulting and training organization, Project Management Solutions, Inc., reports that more than 94% of respondents to a recent survey stated that implementing project management added value to their organization, specifically, in financial measures, customer measures, project/process measures, and learning and growth measures.
Initiatives that led to these improvements included implementing a project office, a project management methodology, and project management software; integrating project management into key company processes; training staff in project management tools and techniques; and deploying a project management training program for employees. Over 70% of the organizations implemented three or more initiatives within the past 3 years.
In other words, companies are learning how to achieve their objectives using project management. And, they've begun to realize that they also must invest in the tools and technologies that will help them manage resources from both inside and outside the company.
Tools and Techniques
Here are a few of the ways that project and portfolio management tools can give your business the ability to control and plan for financial cycles:
Plan—With each new customer, companies must estimate total project cost in order to determine resource constraints, timelines and profitability. A project plan must be developed that not only includes scope, deliverables, and milestones, but also pin points resources (human and nonlabor), costs, and forecasts.
Execute—During the execution phase each assigned task is delivered, teams collaborate locally or across geographic boundaries, issues are raised immediately and task progress is reported. Time and expenses need to be captured here as well.
Control—Without proper control of all costs, projects can quickly spiral out of control. Project managers and executives must receive frequent status updates regarding all project costs and make adjustments to their plans and forecasts. An added benefit of having a system that captures all project costs is that it makes invoicing a far more streamlined process.
Reporting—It is critical that project managers and other executives maintain constant control over each project and manage key metrics such as revenue, cost, margin, utilization rates, and activity analysis related to service level agreements. Better information always drives better decisions.
Be Prepared
Is your company affected by the changes in workplace demographics? If you already see these trends in your organization, you may be ready to consider project management tools and techniques.
Global Challenges
People and resources are increasingly distributed worldwide; teams have different language and cultural requirements
Varied local tax and accounting regulations are making compliance difficult to manage
Complex Organizational Structures
Internal pressures to "do more with less" require more collaboration
Project participants who may not have the same objectives, processes, and systems need to be coordinated
Knowledge management is hampered by organizational complexity and global distribution
Cost Reigns Supreme
Managing project costs, billing, and invoicing is increasing
Shrinking project budgets are forcing teams to become highly efficient
Increased accountability and transparency are demanded by customers, management, and governments
Leveraging the best resource, with the right skills, at the right time, is difficult
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