Over the years, work has continued to evolve to become project-based, a phenomenon that cuts across all job roles and industries. True to this, a 2017 report released by Bain & Company projects that most of the jobs today will be project-based by 2027. As a result, the rush to hire digital project managers is at an all-time high compared to other occupations. This is an indictment of the importance of project managers and the impact project management can have on an organization. In hindsight, however, a good project management team handles much more than organizing, tracking, and executing tasks within a project. They should also be able to centralize project plans, handle cross-functional work, share status updates with all stakeholders, and improve team collaboration.
Whilst it’s still possible to try DIY project management, using professional project management consulting services adds a bit of salt to any organization’s cracker. If you came looking for answers as to when to outsource your project management, you have to come to the right place.
In this article, we are going to explore the role of a project manager, how to build a good team for project management, and the benefits of hiring an offshore project management team vs hiring an in-house team. To finish it off, we are also going to look at where to hire technical project managers. If you are looking for PPC services, our agency can also help your company build a fully-constituted PPC team.
What Is the Role of a Dedicated Project Manager?
If you’ve ever tried project management outsourcing, chances are you know that any successful collaboration is pegged on clearly defined goals, proper planning, and effective communication. A dedicated project manager ensures that all your project requirements are met, and they have the prerequisite planning and organizing skills to execute and bring your project to a close. Along with that, a dedicated project manager is tasked with improving the performance of your project management team. They ensure that every team member understands their roles and responsibilities, as well as the goals of the project. Still, they also play the important role of regularly monitoring and assessing the team’s performance.
Now that we have seen the roles of a project manager, let’s take a look at how a dedicated team can expedite project management:
- They help create a clear vision
- Provide a clear framework for all the project-related tasks
- Identify resources needed to manage and achieve project goals
- Set project milestones, measure progress, and ensure that the desired results are achieved
- Coordinate activities between team members and mediate whenever conflicts arise
- Motivate team members
- Identify, assess, and respond to potential risks that may face the project
- Ensure project delivery within the stipulated timelines.
What to Look for When You Hire a Remote Project Manager
There’s no shortage of companies looking for project manager/s. So how do you choose the right candidate for your team? In this section, we are going to look at the skills to look out for before you hire a project manager.
- Task management and delegation
One of the primary considerations when looking to hire virtual project manager is their ability to sort and profile the strengths and weaknesses of every team member. By having an in-depth understanding of which team member is good at what, the project manager can easily delegate responsibilities to the right employees, ultimately improving the overall productivity of the company.
- Excellent verbal and writing skills
According to the latest statistics published by Zety, communication skills are the second-most mentioned skills on project manager resumes. This is a true reflection of the importance attached to communication, in relating to the role of a project manager. Not only do they have to deal with multiple aspects of the projects but also dip toes across multiple teams, which makes clear communication an absolute necessity. Along with that, they need to clearly communicate to team members and different managers in case project deadlines are not met or deliverables need to be changed.
- Organization skills and ability to scale
The role of a project manager entails a fair amount of logistical tasks, meaning the ideal candidate needs to develop a schedule for every team member, as well as know the clear timelines for every stage of the project. This includes curating due dates, scheduling meetings depending on team members’ availability, creating task deadlines, and so much more. And if you the individual is overseeing multiple projects, you should find a project manager that’s proficient at multitasking and capacity planning. If a due deadline is missed or project deliverables changed, they should be able to shift the schedule around instead of forcing things down everyone’s throat.
- Leadership skills
Considering that many project management team members liaise with the project manager for guidance and solutions, you need to hire IT project managers with the right leadership skills and are respected by other team members.
- Problem-solving skills
And that brings us to the next set of skills; problem-solving skills. In the course of project management and implementation, unforeseen challenges in the form of missed deadlines, budget overruns, or even sick employees may occur. As a business owner, navigating through all these curveballs alongside managing a business may be a challenge but an experienced project manager can react swiftly to resolve any conflicts. If you find and hire remote project managers that can think on their feet and come up with solutions for any challenges thrown at them, make sure you don’t let them go.
- Team-building and negotiation skills
There’s no doubt that outsourced project management services providers deal with a lot of moving parts, and challenges are bound to occur. Part of solving these problems may require constant negotiation and team-building efforts. Whether it’s budget overruns, missed deadlines, or any other challenge, a good project manager should be able to solve them without antagonizing anyone.
In-House Project Managers vs Remote Experts: Who Win the Battle?
If you are one of those business owners or managers out there wondering how to hire an IT project manager, there are two primary methodologies to go about it. You can choose to hire an in-house team or go the outsourcing project management services route, both of which have their pros and cons respectively. Let’s briefly break down each hiring methodology to help you determine which one suits your business.
In-House Project Management Team
As the name suggests, this hiring model entails running and maintaining a full-time team operating within your company’s premises. Some of the pros and cons of an in-house team include;
| Pros | Cons |
| In-house project management recruitment gives you better control of your projects and team. | An in-house team can be costly in the long run. |
| An in-house project is fully invested in your project and business values. | An in-house project management team may not have the necessary skills to manage and implement your project. |
| Lack outsider perspective. | |
| Finding qualified project managers locally can be hard. |
Outsourced Brand Marketing Staffing Agency
Offshore and nearshore project management, on the other hand, entails hiring third parties to handle some or all the aspects of your project. Here are the pros and cons of remote team project management.
| Pros | Cons |
| Hiring a project management staffing agency is relatively cheaper compared to running an in-house team. | Some IT project management services providers tend to exaggerate their expertise. |
| Outsourced project management consulting services come with well-defined reporting and review systems, allowing you to measure results. | |
| Dedicated project management teams feature experts with varied skillsets, meaning they can handle all project management tasks and subtasks. | |
| Remote project managers for hire are vetted in advance, reducing the time taken to fill a position. | |
| Outsourced project management teams are flexible, letting you scale your workforce depending on your hiring needs. | |
| Unlike hiring locally, outsourcing gives you access to global talent. |
How Our Company Can Help in Setting up a Remote Project Management Team
We are a project management staffing agency based in Ukraine, and our core competence is helping companies from all over the world source, recruit, and retain project management professionals. Our experts are equipped with industry-relevant skills and can fit into any company’s culture.
The project management services professions we provide can help in the following areas:
- Consultancy
Our team of experienced project management consultants will offer a depth of experience and insights into your project to ensure you get the desired results quickly and cost-effectively.
- Project management capability assessment
Our expert project managers also render a comprehensive analysis and score for all the three elements of project management capability i.e. People, Process, and Tools. This is particularly important in planning and addressing all PM-related issues, as well as their diagnosis.
- Project health audit
Project management audit is a quick and effective way to evaluate the progress of your project. Our professionals have the necessary experience and diagnostic tools to assess the strengths and weaknesses of your project’s management.
- Project office implementation and review (PMO)
Establishing an efficient reporting and supporting environment is key in determining how successful a project is. Our expert project managers will help create the resources and processes required to support a single project or multiple programs in the most efficient fashion possible.
- Method development
Our virtual team project management team will also assist in developing the customized project management methodology tailored to your needs. As a result, you’ll enjoy a streamlined way of project implementation, better communication, and improved overall performance of your project.
- Project portfolio management
Business owners find it extremely challenging to settle on projects with the potential to deliver the best value to their organizations. The end result? Portfolio of work that offers sub-optimal value. Our virtual project managers will help you overcome these challenges with ease.
- Project management coaching & mentoring
As your team members take on new project management skills, it is important that they have a coach or mentor. Still, adopting new behavior within an organization is never easiest, and our project management consulting agreements also include coaching services when challenges occur.
How We Hire Project Managers
Our hiring process is streamlined to ensure that our clients get creative, innovative, and experienced project managers in the shortest time possible. Here’s a quick run-down of how we hire our project managers:
- Book an appointment with us. Our approach to recruiting the right candidate is pegged on understanding our client’s organizational needs, culture, and values. And our hiring process begins by jumping on a virtual meeting with you to understand all that.
- Sourcing for project managers. Next, we will start sourcing the right candidates based on your needs by creating a catchy project manager needed advert. And thanks to our huge pool of candidates and a robust referral-based system, this process is completed super-fast. Once done, we will send you the chosen candidates’ resumes for your consideration.
- Screening and interviewing. Next, we will arrange virtual interviews for you to vet the candidates via Skype, Zoom, or any video conferencing platform of choice.
- Service level agreement signing. By now, the hiring process is complete. To protect your interests, the newly hired project manager will be required to sign a comprehensive contract outlining the job requirements, starting date, salary, and many other details.
- Project management implementation. Finally, it’s all systems go. The newly hired project manager will be introduced to the rest of the team and they will begin to develop, manage, and implement your project towards meeting your strategic goals.
Industries That Our Remote Project Managers Are Ready to Work in
We offer our staffing services to public and commercial entities of all shapes and sizes. Whether it’s IT dedicated project manager service/s or services in any other area, our project managers can and have worked with clients across a broad range of specialties and industries including:
- Tech
- Manufacturing
- E-commerce
- Construction
- Education
- Real estate
- Insurance
- And so much more