How to Get Innovative Projects Off the Back Burner

Ready to Move Forward with Back Burner Projects?

Even the most innovative projects get pushed to the illustrious back burner for many businesses. It’s completely understandable why this happens. Everyday tasks take priority since they keep clientele satisfied and business going. However, important projects need to be addressed eventually.

If you find that projects are mounting and you do not have anyone who can dedicate the time, project management consulting or outsourcing may be your ticket to getting them completed in a cost-conscious, effective manner. Outsourced project management has the following advantages.

Easy Access to Talented Staff

When you outsource project management services, you eliminate the administrative burden of talent identification and acquisition. This is excellent since high-quality project managers are in such high demand so the market is competitive. Having access to talented staff and subject matter experts is crucial to the success of initiatives in terms of getting them done on time without wasted effort.

Also, if you have a low budget, it may not be realistic to hire a full-time project manager. Hiring full-time employees may not even be necessary if you only need a specific project completed. An outsourced project management provider can be used on a per-project basis if you do not foresee a long term need for managed projects.

Don’t Get Sidetracked

Outsourced project managers do not have the same constraints as your team. The internal staff gets pulled in several directions and other tasks take precedence which leaves gaps in certain initiatives. When something “comes up” this can lead to projects hitting a dead end, failure, and/or wasted money and time. There is a lot to gain when you utilize an outside project manager since they aren’t affected by your company’s busy season and they do not get sidetracked putting out fires. Your projects get their undivided attention.

You may be fortunate to already have dedicated project managers on staff, but they may have bigger fish to fry. If there are limited time and no resources to devote, a project management service can do wonders in project execution. This is conducive for staff to focus on core competencies and do what they do best.

Ditch the Office Politics

Personal interests, relationships, and overall culture can stand in the way of projects being completed successfully. There is a huge sigh of relief when projects can be driven forward quickly and efficiently without office politics setting plans off balance. Project managers offer an outside perspective and they have one goal: to get the job done! They can serve as a mediator and listen to both sides of any conflicts while keeping the goal in sight.

Keep Vendors Accountable

You know you can’t “do it all on our own” thus you use vendors. Vendors are great resources, but you want to make sure that you are using them to the fullest and they are meeting your expectations. Good project managers know how vendor performance and its management impact project success. They can make sure the best practices are followed.

Shifting priorities can often be an issue, too, and leave you with a bunch of unfinished projects and a loss in focus. Sometimes it’s your own switch in priorities, and therefore requests, that prevents vendors from delivering what you truly need. A dedicated project manager allows process visibility and improved communication, so bottlenecks are largely avoided, and projects remain on track.

Put Your Project Needs Back on The Table

It’s time to streamline those work processes across departments and perform that Windows update or SQL server update! Using project management services, like InStream’s Project Management as a Service (PMaaS), can be groundbreaking for your business operations. It is important to assess whether this is a good move for your business, so be sure to do your homework. When you partner with someone to help, make sure they understand your industry and what you need based on the size of your business. Once you clearly define and set your expectations, you will finally get those projects done and reap the rewards of those great ideas that have been set aside for far too long.