Member Article

Investing in project management drives innovation

By Matt Forrest, executive director, business development, Home Group

Brexit, snap general elections and political U-turns - the last year has shown us just how volatile the external environment can be. As business leaders, we have learned to expect the unexpected, and this is especially paramount for public facing organisations.

Why? Because not only are we responding to changing social needs, we are often responding to changing policies too. Policies that inform the very services we provide. In our case, these are services that people need to maintain or re-able independence and wellbeing.

But how can we ensure the independence and wellbeing of the organisation? If the business isn’t healthy, it simply cannot deliver.

Fundamentally we need the ability to flex, often at pace, and with minimal risk. At Home Group, we need to be a fit for purpose strategic partner for the NHS, local authorities and development organisations.

These sectors are also changing rapidly. We are all acutely aware of the pressures the NHS is facing nationally and we are constantly identifying different solutions to support the sector. But we must also take into account the regional priorities that respond to the diverse health needs and characteristics of different communities across the UK.

We are seeing increased transformation and collaboration externally, within sectors like health, and we must be in a position to respond and embrace.

Creating a more agile organisation requires a flatter structure, less bureaucracy and greater autonomy. It might sound great, but it does carry its fair share of problems. Design by committee, duplication of effort and a lack of governance. Slacken everything up without applying the necessary controls and your organisation will be running wild like a dog on an ice rink – moving incredibly quickly but not really getting anywhere. So what’s missing? This is where a Programme Management Office comes in.

An article in Forbes describes project management as ‘a compass’, helping a business to ‘use its agility to move toward its real overall goals’.

It’s old school business fundamentals. Project management provides a stable grounding and framework to guide the business.

Think of it like a stage show. The cast are all talented, seasoned actors. But if they rehearse their roles separately, without a shared vision and without a director, the result will be a catastrophe, not an Olivier award-winning ensemble performance. Awkward silences, interrupting one another, bumping into one another. Total chaos.

It’s the same with project management. A project manager, working as part of a wider Programme Management Office, does not have to be the expert in the product or service, but they do need to be an expert in collaboration and organisation. They need to see the bigger picture, keep focus on the outcome, and steer all contributors towards that vision, and therefore avoid the gaps, duplications and conflicts along the way. So how do we resource this? Projects by their very nature have a start and end date, so is it more efficient to hire contractors to fulfil programme management roles? Not always.

Contractors do offer flexibility, and are greatly valued, however, they are not in the best position to develop the bigger picture thinking, unique to your organisation. Only long-term colleagues can bring this. Which is why at Home Group we have doubled the number of permanent roles in our project management team.

It’s a long term commitment, but it will pay off. Can anyone seriously remember a time when new product development and new market penetration weren’t regular features in the annual plan of any established company? A business cannot afford to stand still so there will always be a need for a programme management team.

Home Group is a large, national organisation with colleagues working across the country to support community needs. But you don’t need to be a huge organisation to implement project management principles. As the Forbes article shows, even small start-ups will benefit.

It might sound ironic that moving with the times means going back to project management basics, but it’s the only way to move harmoniously and effectively. Business needs and vision should always come before the latest IT innovation, before the current social media trend and before product development ideas.

Place project management at the heart of your business and you’re far more likely to score a goal.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Matt Forrest .