Merry Christmas everyone, the last day at work today and I have a few quiet minutes so I just wanted to reflect on 2006 and think about what will be happening in 2007. This year we’ve seen a steady increase in good programme office roles, I say good because alot of the roles have been in programme offices which are moving away from the administrative version i.e., a support person looking after the documentation, completing reports and taking minutes etc. The good quality roles have been in a variety of organisations but generally they share one common theme – their project management maturity is right up there and the value of a good programme office has been sold well to them.
In 2007 I think we will continue to see more and more organisations embracing better models in PMO. The government are making headways with their “Centre of Excellence” models – areas such as benefits realisation and portfolio management are high on the agenda and hopefully, because these concepts and this way of delivering has been around for a little while now, they have the competent and skilled people to adopt it and make it a success (for all our taxpayers sakes). Things will start to hot up on the Olympic front – we’re already seeing some of the major players re-think their recruitment strategies in order to secure the best staff – which is good news for recruitment agencies who want to do a quality job!
Better job descriptions and understanding of roles have already started following the Age Discrimination Regulations – there are still a few clients out there using the terms – junior and senior – but we’re able to get down to the nitty gritty of core competencies, skills and experience required now meaning not only are we getting a better understanding but its also challenging clients – what do they really want!
We’re kicking off the new salary survey at the beginning of January – this is an important survey for us and should be for the thousands of project management professionals out there – especially in terms of the contract market, market rates and salary levels. More details to come on how you can take part shortly.
Finally, 2007 will be a busy year for many, early indications show that employers have many projects and programmes in the pipeline and the recruitment drives are already starting with the aim to kick off 2007 with project activity. Personally, I’m looking forward to two things this year – talking to clients about good programme and project office jobs (that’s my specialism) and talking to a lot more PMO professionals who really know their stuff – I’ve enjoyed talking to some really knowledgeable, upbeat candidates this year (and wish them well in their new jobs!) and look forward to more of the same in 2007
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Lindsay
