Get your Project Managers ready to work quickly with the right tools

These days, owners' representatives and client-side Project Managers are becoming an increasingly scarce resource. According to the Project Management Institute (PMI), there were 1,000 vacancies per 100 candidates looking for a project management position globally in 2018 - up from 500 vacancies per 100 candidates just two years earlier. In the current hiring environment, it's a fair guess that those stats are even more dire.

Project Management is also one of the hardest roles to retain. If you have a Project Manager who’s doing an effective job, they might be tempted away by another company offering more money or less responsibility. 

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Increasing demands from owners‍

PMs are now responsible for communicating with stakeholders, managing budgets and timelines, overseeing subcontractors, managing change orders, and much more. In many cases, they're also expected to have a technical background because they're working on projects that involve building roads or bridges or installing utility lines. 

This makes sense - a fast-growing infrastructure market is pushing owners to find new ways to get the most out of their project managers.‍

Owners can better use existing staff by investing in technology‍

To attract and retain talent, simply offering competitive salaries is not enough. Project managers often stick around when they feel valued within the organization, their work has meaning, and they have influence over decisions made on behalf of their team's success.

Rather than keep hiring more staff, training and technology are areas you can invest to help make existing project management teams faster, more efficient and more motivated.

Investing in people means giving them the tools they need for success, such as new techniques and processes for managing projects effectively. Investing in technology provides speed, consistency and accuracy to their work. Neither of these two areas can be ignored.

So what should software deliver to improve your team's quality of work and boost their morale?

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Software that offers real-time data tracking

Real-time data is one of the most powerful tools available to Project Managers who are looking to speed up their processes. It enables them to review progress against plans and put in place corrective actions when needed.

Automation gives project managers accurate data which means there's less room for human error. With regular updates on projects' status, there's no need for long meetings or phone calls just to find out what's going on with your team or portfolio of work. You can focus on strategic decisions rather than being bogged down in reporting tasks that distract your organization's time and resources.

The Mastt system provides real-time data to your PMs whenever they need it, presented in a consistent, easy-to-understand format. Now instead of generating summary reports on a regular basis, they can review real-time, actual progress against the high-level milestones set out at the beginning of the project lifecycle. ‍

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A single source of truth for all project data‍

For project managers, having current data on all project aspects, stored in one place, is imperative. This allows owners to make better decisions based on the most accurate information and helps reduce costs by eliminating the need for manual reporting and analysis. This means you don't have to spend time combining files in different formats, chasing down the status of various tasks or worrying about whether you've missed an important deadline.

Mastt provides templated methods of data entry across your organisation. That means you can ensure consistency across projects and all PMs work from one set of standards. Your PMs can happily use their energy on what really matters: executing your projects with excellence!

With so much at stake, it’s time for owners to make their project managers more effective by investing in technology. The best way to do this is with a software platform that provides a single source of truth for all project data and supports real-time reporting.