Project Management + Operations Consulting

 
 

A strong PMO paves the way for progress.

 

What is a PMO?

While there are many definitions for a PMO, a study by Dai & Wells defined a PMO as “an organizational entity established to assist project managers, teams and various management levels on strategic matters and functional entities throughout the organization in implementing PM principles, practices, methodologies, tools and techniques”. In simpler terms, a PMO paves the way for progress.

A PMO helps to ensure employees are appropriately allocated to minimize project failure. At SHIFT we provide a more affordable, leaner, and more nimble approach to operational excellence through Project Management and Operations consulting, coaching, and training. We focus not only on project management fundamentals but also focus on soft skills, ie, leadership, strategy, communication, client management, and resilience.

Strength in numbers.

  • 74% of organizations with a PMO set up for six years or more reported better performance and quality. (source: PWC)

  • 95% of large firms (>$1B revenue) reported having dedicated PMOs, either in specific departments or across the entire organizations. (source: PMSolutions)

  • Only 32% of organizations say that they're satisfied with their current PM maturity level. (source: Wellingtone)

  • 75% of small firms (<$100M in revenue) have dedicated PMOs. (source: PMSolutions)

  • 33% of projects fail because of a lack of involvement from senior management. (source: PMI, University of Ottawa)

  • 97% of organizations believe that project management is critical to business performance and organizational success. (source: PWC)

  • Poorly training project managers, taking on too many projects, and a lack of project funding are the top three project management challenges. (source: Wellingtone)

  • 83% of high-performance organizations make an ongoing investment in project manager training. (source: PMI)

  • Poor stakeholder-project manager alignment is a big cause of project failure. Only 55% of people involved in projects - team leaders and project managers - feel that the project's business objectives are clear to them. (source: Geneca)

“Operations keeps the lights on, strategy provides a light at the end of the tunnel but project management is the train engine that moves the organization forward.”

– Joy Gumz

You may benefit from our consulting if:

  • Project and/or Client Impact

    • You’re a government agency looking to plan and/or execute a marketing plan and need a strong leader to guide your organization through the project

    • Projects repeatedly finish later than planned or over budget

    • Projects are not correctly aligned with business or client goals

    • You need a strategic partner to push your high-stakes projects through

    • You’re an agency bidding on a government project in need of a strong PM lead

    • The number of projects at your organization is growing, and you need a strong PM lead to train and/or manage your current team of project managers

    • You are not able to track project success accurately

    • Your stakeholders do not have visibility into project progress

    • You do not have a standardized process for initiating and executing projects

  • Organizational Growth

    • Your employees feel stretched and unable to manage priorities

    • You feel your internal projects lack momentum preventing your organization from scaling

    • You’re experiencing retention challenges due to unclear employee goals and roles

    • Your team feels they don’t have enough time in the day to handle their workload

    • Your organization has many organizational goals but is unable to prioritize them

    • Your project or account managers need training

    • Your organization is experiencing a productivity issue

    • You are a smaller firm (<$100M) experiencing some of the issues in both lists but don’t have the budget to hire a full-time PMO team

How we uplevel PMO’s.

Connect: Introductory Call

We begin most of our engagements with an Introductory Call to see if we make a good fit for each other. On this call, we will discuss your goals, current Project Management strategy, and biggest pain points. Before wrapping up the call, we’ll discuss the best approach and potential associated costs before we move further. If we determine that one of our Career Wellness Programs makes the most sense for you or your team, we will provide you with a proposal with our recommendation within 48 hours. Schedule your Free 30-minute consultation to get started.

Evaluate: Roadmap to Success Discovery

If after our Introductory Call we determine that we need a deeper dive into your operations and/or goals, our Roadmap to Success Discovery will be recommended. Here we meet with stakeholders and then team members to understand goals, strengths, operations, concerns, and desired outcomes. Part of this Discovery will include a survey to obtain a high-level understanding of your organization’s current operational strategy.

Upon completion of the Roadmap to Success Discovery exercise, we will provide you with a success strategy to achieve and prioritize your Project Management goals, a timeline, and execution cost. Our strategy may also include participation in one of our Career Wellness Programs to achieve your goals and sustain a healthier, more efficient, and balanced work life.

Roadmap to Success Discovery Use Cases:

  • Need guidance in designing a PMO

  • Experiencing process inefficiencies or being concerned about employee performance

  • Concerns about organizational structure

  • You need guidance in scaling your organization

  • You need assistance developing organizational processes and/or vetting project management tools

Duration: 30-60 days

  • Deliverable: Roadmap to Success Strategy with recommended approach, timeline, and implementation cost

Maintain + Level Up: PMO Success Programs

One of the options SHIFT offers in enhancing your PMO or Project Managers is our PMO Success Programs. SHIFT will work with you to determine if one of the following programs best suits your needs immediately after the initial Introductory Call.

 
 

Option A → Resilience Training + Career Enhancement Coaching

Use Case

  • Career development to help strengthen, motivate and help your Project Manager and their teams thrive and become more resilient

  • For Project Managers struggling in certain areas that require performance enhancement coaching

  • For companies who want to avoid employee retention or project-related challenges from the start and offer on-demand in-house coaching when onboarding new employees.

Sessions: bi-monthly or monthly // 45min

  • Monthly Terms: 6 / 9 / 12 months, monthly retainer

 
 
 

Option B → Executive Level Coaching

Use Case

  • Great for PMO executives, and senior managers that need help defining, prioritizing, decision-making, and implementing organizational goals

  • Need PMO consulting or support when your PMO lead doesn’t have the bandwidth or will be out for an extended period.

Sessions: bi-monthly or monthly // 45min or 90min

  • Monthly Terms: 6 / 9 / 12 months, monthly retainer

 
 
 

Option C → Transitional Coaching

Use Case

  • Short term program to prepare Project Managers for a new role or a future role

  • Excellent for first-time leaders who need training for a high-profile role

Sessions: bi-monthly or monthly // 45min

  • Monthly Terms: 4-6mths, monthly retainer

 
 

Option D → Fast-Track Coaching

Use Case

  • Accelerated short-term Project Manager coaching or training for high-potential individuals who would like to prepare for the next career step or for those who need to be able to jump into a new role quickly

Sessions: bi-monthly or monthly // 45min or 90min

  • Monthly Terms: 2-4mths, monthly retainer

 
 

Ready to Shift?