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Caring For Your Project Managers FINDING PROJECT MANAGERS A continuing source of difficulty for many design firms is finding and recruiting capable project managers. Since few engineering or architectural schools teach management skills to any degree, it is no wonder that there is a significant shortage of skilled project mangers. As increasing numbers of firms recognize the value of project management, the competition for available talent is nearing crisis proportions. In large cities, high job mobility creates the opportunity to recruit project managers from other firms. In many smaller cities, however, the total architectural and engineering community may number only in the hundreds. As a result, experienced managers may be unavailable or cannot be recruited from other local firms or from larger cities. For many firms, there are three basic techniques in obtaining the project management talent required: Recruit from outside your firm This method is often the fastest approach to building your management staff. However, recruiting from other local firms (particularly in smaller communities) may create animosity on the part of your peers, and it may also eliminate any hesitancy other firms have had about raiding you staff. In addition, the local design community may be somewhat inbred and firms may simply be exchanging each other's weaknesses. If the local pool of talent is thin, recruiting from other, usually larger, cities, man be the solution. Unfortunately, attracting staff to smaller communities may not be possible when highly paid, experienced project managers are sought. Offering competitive salaries, fringe benefits and ownership (or potential) has been used with varying success. Train your own project managers In some communities, the only significant source of project managers may be in a firm's own staff. Some firms are reluctant to make a major investment in training their staff for fear of incurring the expense only to lose these people to competing firms after a few years. Clearly, a certain percentage of your staff will leave the firm for various reasons. With sufficient incentive (salary, bonus, ownership, profit sharing, etc.), many capable staff members will remain to help the firm prosper. These individuals will have made the cost of training well worthwhile. The training process requires constant budgeting of time and resources for seminars, courses, publications, etc. Some firms recruit prospects directly from colleges and universities to obtain the most capable talent. They then educate these individuals into project managers compatible with their firm's philosophy. In large cities, successful firms with experienced teams of project managers also seek younger talent and bring them along as assistant project managers to fill needed slots. In many locations, it is not unusual to find a large percentage of design professionals who have worked for one or two local firms at one time. Many of these firms are noted for their training programs. Recruit an experienced project manager as the mainstay of your staff For many firms not experienced with effective project management, it is often wise to recruit one knowledgeable manager as the center of your system. This individual should help establish the project management program, recruit and train younger staff, and serve as a technical and managerial resource. In many firms it is not necessary to recruit an experienced manager, since a principal may wish to begin an intensive self-education program to acquire the necessary skills. KEEPING YOUR MANAGERS Finding and training your project managers is only the first step. Keeping your hard-won managers is just as important. It is the responsibility of senior management to provide for the psychological and financial well-being of these individuals. The obvious incentives of competitive slalaries, bonuses, profit sharing, and fringe benefit package are most important. As noted in earlier chapters, project managers must have the authority that matches their level of responsibility in the firm. Second-guessing and countermanding their decisions will quickly destroy your project management system. As a result, many of your managers may become interested in opportunities with other firms. HOW MANY PROJECT MANAGERS DO YOU NEED? A frequently asked question is "How many project managers does a design firm need?" Unfortunately, there is no fixed answer for a number of reasons.
With no easy way to determine the required number of project managers, how do firms cope? Well-managed firms always train younger staff in the principles and applications of project management. Junior staff can learn project management by assisting experienced PMs. After a little seasoning, they are given the opportunity to manage their own smaller, less complicated projects. In this way, a cadre of people is always available to meet the needs of an ever-changing workload. In small firms with limited staff, all employees should be given basic project management training. It is vital that the required tools and systems are in place to assist in managing projects. REWARDING PROJECT MANAGERS Senior managers in many firms find it difficult to determine appropriate rewards for project managers. As key employees of the firm, project managers deserve a high level of base compensation. In most parts of the country, project manager salaries begin at no less than $35,000 an can range upward of $70,000 in major cities and in large firms. Beyond base salary, what are the best methods to reward project managers? Smart firm managers generally try to assign their best project managers to the most difficult projects. This may be the most technically complicated job, one that has a tight time schedule, or one with a very restrictive fee budget. Basing a project manager's rewards on the project's eventual profit level will be extremely unfair to the good performer assigned to a tough job. Some firms have attempted to base both the project manager's reward and that of the entire project team on the final profit level of the job. During the fee-budgeting process, senior management and the project manager set a target profit level for the project. It is agreed that any profits beyond that level are divided among the members of the project team, with the manager receiving as much as half. While this concept appears to be a good idea in theory, in practice it often fails. Human nature indicates that the major effort of the team members will be directed toward the project with the greatest potential for financial reward to the possible detriment of other jobs. Positive rewards Provide an atmosphere conductive to positive self-esteem. Project managers must not only have a high level of responsibility, but must also have a corresponding level of authority. Senior management must not only trust the judgement of project managers, but must also publicly back their decisions even if private follow-up is required. Project managers must also have significant input to decisions for which they will later be held accountable. For example, a project fee budget should be prepared by the project manager and reviewed by senior management, not the reverse. This process rewards and encourages the project manager by providing a positive environment of trust and confidence. A spot bonus program is an ideal way to reward good performers and should be used by all firms. While the amount of money is not significant, the symbolism is very important. Salary increases and promotions are obvious rewards for good long-term performance. The use of increased fringe benefits can also be valuable reward. This might include the providing of a company car or similar reward. Firms should also have a profit sharing or similar program in place to reward all staff members for superior year-long performance. SALARIES The salaries of project managers vary greatly depending on the office location, responsibilities, experience, and many other factors. In many firms, project managers are the second-highest-paid individuals after the principals. Table 1 show the average salaries of nonprincipal project managers as determined by a 1995 salary survey conducted by the Association for Project Managers. The survey also asked respondents to provide data on both the lowest-paid and highest-paid nonprincipal project managers. For firms with only one or two PMs, the data reported would cover all individuals in this position. In the lowest-paid category, 12 individuals earned less than $30,000. This may indicate that these people are not full-charge project managers. The mean salary of the lowest paid PM in responding firms was $40,244. The range was from $15,000 to $65,000. The range of the highest-paid project manager in the responding firms was even more extreme. The lowest-paid in this category was $25,000 and the highest, $100,000. The average salary of the highest-paid PMs was $61,171, and the median firm's understanding of the role of the project manager affects the salary. TABLE 1. Average Salary of Nonprincipal Project Managers
*K means thousand. Adapted from The Project Manager/Summer/Fall 1996. Howard Birnberg is the Executive Director of the Association for Project Managers. He can be reached at (312) 664-2300. Return to Training Project Managers Monograph Return to the Association for Project Managers Main Page Email the Association for Project Managers
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