Has your organisation ever explored the value that can be achieved through a PMO? We know that more and more organisations are setting up a PMO to take control of their project portfolios and we predict that next year PMOs will continue to grow.
According to Monday.com, in 2020 89% of organisations reported having a PMO (with 50% having more than one). For companies with revenue over $1B, that number climbs to 95%. Only 9.9% of firms stated that they do not have a PMO at all. Meanwhile, a quarter of PMOs are relatively new, having been set up in or after 2018.
Maybe you already have a PMO but are frequently challenged over the benefits and value that your PMO brings to the organisation. You’re not alone.
At Nine Feet Tall we work with many organisations to set up or improve PMO functions. Through years of experience, we have found some common themes that we thought would be worth sharing:
PMO Reputation
Often PMOs are seen as a hindrance or a blocker for senior leadership and that perception needs to change. The PMO need to work closely with leaders to explain how they support and accelerate delivery. Share success stories and benefits achieved as a result. Proactively build the love for PMO!
Engage Leadership
Once you have clearly articulated the role and benefits of the PMO with leaders, make sure you stay visible. Engage leaders in key discussions, get their input and together make better informed decisions
KISS
To over-govern is to halt progress and creativity. Keep your framework light – we refer to it as ‘just-enough’ governance, providing control and transparency, but not at the expense of pace and agility. One-size doesn’t fit all. Large investments and high-risk programmes warrant more structure, but make sure that for smaller initiatives you dial down the governance.
Plagiarise
Make sure you reuse good examples and work. Go beyond templates and share best practice, completed examples and re-purpose and re-use what has been done before. This way you can really accelerate delivery and you will find you get support from the PMO, PM teams and stakeholders.
Metrics
Demonstrate the value the PMO adds through simple and powerful metrics. Ensure you have the right data points and report on real outcomes – i.e. ££ efficiency savings, ££ benefits realised. Steer away from metrics around compliance. It is the end result that matters. Invest in some good tools and dashboard – a picture says a thousand words.
Collaborate
Understand who your stakeholders are and how you can best support, inform and guide them. Create a friends-of-the-PMO following.
If you want to get more from your PMO but don’t know where to start, then let us take you through our unique PMO assessment. If you’re keen to get a PMO set up we can help with that too. Contact us today.
Source: https://monday.com/blog/project-management/project-management-statistics/
