Continuous Development to Stay Competitive - February 2010

Arras People, the project recruitment specialists, have carried out their fifth annual survey of the UK project management market, using independent research company Benchpoint™ to survey over 900 project management professionals in January 2010.

Arras People estimate that nearly 80,000 people earn a living as project managers in the UK. It's an occupation which has evolved from short term "task force"-type activities to a fully fledged professional career based on the effective management of change and the creation of major infrastructure and IT projects, across the Government, private and charity sectors.
 

Survey Highlights

The recession – Private sector hit and tough times ahead for Public sector and contractors

The recession has hit practitioners working in the Private sector much harder than their Public sector peers. Economic growth shrank by 4.8%, and 2009 was a tough year not only for those who lost their jobs, but also those who continued working- many of whom saw their pay frozen or reduced and their working hours extended. Once again Contractors appear to be the hardest hit, squeezed from multiple directions.

In the Public sector there was significantly less disruption; Remuneration continued to rise and job cuts were minimal during 2009.

In the Public sector only 9% of contractors saw an increase in remuneration against 37% of employees, rising to 42% in the Public sector alone.

Decreases hit contractors hardest with 42% seeing remuneration falling compared with just 17% of employees or 14% in the public sector.

42% of employees expect their earnings to increase in 2010, against only 15 % of contractors.

Looking forward into 2010, the survey responses suggest that many Public sector workers are beginning to see harder times ahead. Whilst pay rises have been agreed for 2010-11, the impending general election and the budget deficit are seen as a major threat to both job security and incomes in 2010 and beyond. Those expecting growth declined by 5% whilst those expecting tough times increased by17%.

Where are the younger PMs?

For the fourth year running, the numbers of respondents under the age of 34 has declined, in line with the hiring patterns experienced by Arras People. This is partially explained by respondents moving up the career ladder to take on more senior roles, but begs the question, where will the project managers of tomorrow come from?

Project failures – Who is to blame?

Project failure has been consistently in the news with many high profile examples demonstrating the huge costs of failure and no apparent improvement in delivery capability.

Many research groups have investigated and reported on the causes of failure, with Standish research suggesting that the number of successful projects is falling: 32% in 2009, down from 35% in 2006.

So who is to blame? The short answer is "not me"!

• Only 13% of Private sector respondents said they were accountable, falling to 6% in the public sector

• 13% of Private sector respondents said their team was accountable, falling to 8% in the Public sector

• 62% of Private sector respondents said they were not in a position to influence a different outcome, rising to a massive 72% in the Public sector.

Lack of executive support is cited as the biggest single cause of project failure. Detailed analysis reveals project initiation is major point of failure with poor requirements, scope creep and expectations not being set or managed accounting for 37%. Add to that the lack of alignment between the project team and the organisation and this reaches 47%!

Said John Thorpe, managing director of Arras People, "Based on these figures, maybe we should celebrate a 32% success rate as it may be that most projects are actually setup to fail?"

This suggests that authority and accountability are not part of the deal for many PPM practitioners when they take responsibility for leading a programme or project?

This is backed up by comments suggesting practitioners are removed where they deliver bad news that the boss does not wish to hear!

Project Managers and the environment

Many projects are justified on the basis of the environmental benefits they will bring –such as reduced energy consumption or recyclability. Many tenders for projects require applicants to demonstrate their environmental credentials.

The survey shows that the "greening of projects" is seen by many PPM practitioners as a compliance issue which will add complexity, cost and time to their programmes and projects. Whilst many respondents are making changes to reduce consumption of resources such as paper and petrol there is generally not a clear understanding of what "green" will mean; just 7% indicate that they have a clear understanding regarding "green" project management. In terms of the implications beyond simple compliance, 31% of practitioners believe that a market will emerge for "greened" practitioners; 30% are undecided whilst the remaining 33% believe that practitioners "will just add it to their skill set". Of course there are still the doubters, but only 4% express the belief that it is just a fad!

The survey also asked respondents about their personal concerns on "green" issues. The vast majority in all cuts of the data were firmly in the "somewhat concerned" grouping that averaged around the 50% mark. At the extremes the "vey concerned" was also a consistent cut across all groupings at 26% of all respondents, (although, as you might expect, the "very concerned" group rises to 43% of the charity/NFP sector, where significantly more respondents have ""green"" objectives and claim to have a "very clear" understanding of "green" project management.

When the "not at all concerned" group were analysed there were two groups that had a much higher level; Males recorded 11% against just 5.5% of females, whilst the 50+ age group recorded 17.5% against 13.5% in the under 34's and 9.5% in the 35 to 49 age group.

Work/Life Balance. Is there a long hours culture in project management?

Over 28% of respondents claimed to have an unacceptable life balance, and this figure increases markedly for those who work more than 40 hours a week (34%), and more than 48 hours a week (45%).

Not only that, there is evidence that project managers are working longer. There is a significant increase- over 5% -in the number of Public sector workers working more than 48 hours, though this figure at 15% is still lower than the 20% in the Private sector.

This chimes with a recently published report from the TUC which led with the headline that UK workers are giving away £27 billion of unpaid overtime, a figure that has increased significantly since they last checked in 2008. The analysis suggests that this is partly due to the recession, with workers accepting additional hours as part of the package that protects jobs.

The Arras People Survey in detail

The full 28-page survey is available on line, sign up to receive a copy at Project Management Report 2010

It contains a wealth of detail, including earnings data for different sectors, and for employees versus contractors, remuneration trends and benefits and bonuses. It is a very useful tool for employers and project management professionals alike to benchmark their earnings, benefits and working conditions.

The on line survey was carried out by Benchpoint Ltd (www.benchpoint.com).

About Arras People:

Arras People is the Project Management Recruitment Division of Arras Services Ltd. Arras People provides programme and project management professionals and professional project office support personnel across all industry sectors, for either permanent, contract or interim positions. Arras Services began trading in February 2002, and now provides its services to many of UK's leading blue chip organisations in the UK, as well as public sector (central and local government), IT, engineering, marketing and media organisations, not for profit and charities.

General enquiries, comments and quotes:

John Thorpe,
Managing Director
Arras People

Arras House
47 York Street
Heywood
Lancashire OL10 4NN
Phone: 01706-366444
Fax: 01706-366544
Project Management Recruitment
survey@arraspeople.co.uk

Survey enquiries, charts and pictures:

Richard Gaunt
Benchpoint Ltd
Tel 077 11 69 19 28
gaunt@benchpoint.com