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> new ways of working - introducting a project mgmt structure
"As ever we appreciate the effort you put in"
from: The Design Council, July 2007
The Design Council had previously contacted Arras People three years ago when they faced the challenge of changing the way their employees tackled project management. It was only until recently that decisions were made at Board level to go ahead with the new structure and new way of working. The Design Council are a creative media related organisation.
Project office management requirement
As a non departmental government body the organisation faced budget constraints like any other but they were eager to bring on board someone who could perform the role of Project Office Manager, working closely with the Board and senior delivery team managers to bring good practice, structure and ultimately a flexible and pragmatic approach to projects without stifling the creativity of the project teams.
Nailing down the job specification
Without any such previous role within the organisation the first major challenge was nailing down the job specification – there were a lot of must haves, nice to haves, a feeling of we don’t know where this role could go within our organisation and a lack of clarity in some of the key capabilities required.
Continuously challenging and refining
Arras People initially visited The Design Council to get a feel for their organisation and culture and meet the people tasked with taking the concept forward within the organisation. There was a series of job specification reviews – continuously challenging and refining to really understand what was required within the role. Spending quality time at the beginning of the recruitment process to really understand the role also enabled Arras to really understand the organisation – its people and plans for the future which really helps us sell a client’s brand and why someone would really love to work for them
After several interviews and informal chats, the client found their Project Office Manager, someone from a different background who would bring in a new perspective and ideas but ultimately was a good fit personality wise and a real deliverer of solutions.
Committed to going to the extra mile
Arras People enjoys working closely with clients from the word go – getting involved with the creation of the job specification, challenging the nice to haves and helping our clients reach informed decisions through information about the project management job market and even project management itself. We were able to recommend training organisations and seminars to help in their thoughts and direction about Project Offices. The recruitment process took several months and Arras People were committed to going to the extra mile to make sure they got the right person for the job.
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