lindsayscott
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Project Sponsor and Programme Director Event
Apr 16th
Arras People has received a few places for the Making Project Management Work: a high-level briefing for project sponsors, programme directors and other senior managers responsible for successful project management. The event is being run by the APM Group, which is responsible for the OGC portfolio of best practice products liek PRINCE, MSP and P3O. Taking place on Wednesday 12th May 2010 at the Caledonian Club, London, the event will see senior programme and project management professionals come together to learn more about “effective new ways of thinking that will ensure the success of each of your future projects.”
Arras People can extend a number of invitations to our colleagues, friends, clients and candidates who are currently working at the senior level in programme and project management. Just contact Lindsay Scott for more details.
Read on to find out more information about the Making Project Management Work event;
Why do projects fail?
Yo-Yo dieting and choosing the latest management fashions have much in common: they are unlikely to leave a lasting impression, which may explain why the reasons for project failure havent changed in many years and why a piecemeal approach to solving them is doomed to failure.
New high-level briefing
This brand new briefing has been designed to guide you, as project sponsor or programme director, through a simple yet incredibly effective new way of thinking that will ensure the success of each of your future projects.
A new way of thinking
Each of the key components of a project overlap and intermingle, but you need them to fit together seamlessly like a completed jigsaw, so that every piece of this jigsaw contributes its own unique part of the big picture. Attend this event and take the opportunity to explore this new way of thinking, whilst exchanging ideas and strategies for putting it into practice with other experienced project sponsors and programme directors.
What is the agenda? A full agenda can be found below, however, in brief, the morning will begin with networking and full Scottish breakfast, followed by a series of informative presentations with opportunities for Q&A. After the coffee break there will be a number of interactive roundtable discussions for you to participate in, before a final presentation. The seminar will finish just before lunch so you will have time to get some work done in the afternoon.
Please R.S.V.P. to Lindsay Scott as soon as possible or by 30th April 2010 at the latest
Agenda
08:00
Registration, networking and full Scottish breakfast
08:45
Welcome remarks and Introduction to the Jigsaw
Adrian Dooley, Board Member, The APM Group
09:05
PRINCE2 based process implementation:
PRINCE2 is a widely used and flexible project management method that navigates you through all the essentials for running a successful project
09:30
Maturity Modelling (P3M3):
Identify and leverage competitive and performance advantage from improved efficiency and delivery
Rod Sowden, P3M3 Lead Author for OGC
09:55
Portfolio, Programme and Project Offices – P3O:
Bringing together principles, processes and techniques to facilitate effective portfolio, programme and project management through enablement, challenge and support structures
10:20
Project Management Development
Implementing new ideas in practice
10:45
Networking and refreshment break
11:15
Interactive Round Table Discussions
12:05
Last Piece:
Constructing a common framework that enables all the pieces of the jigsaw to fit together
Adrian Dooley, Board Member, The APM Group
12:30
End of Briefing
Who will you meet? Project Sponsors, Programme Directors, Portfolio Directors, Heads of Projects and Directors from all business functions who are tasked with planning, managing and delivering internal projects within large multi-faceted organisations. You will meet your peers from a wide variety of industry sectors from both the Public and Private sectors.
Why should you attend?
Learning: This briefing will arm you with fresh ideas and new ways of thinking that will ensure success for all your future projects.
Sharing: This is a unique opportunity for you to sit down with your peers, exchange ideas and learn from each others experiences.
Networking: This briefing will offer you a chance to meet a number of high-level individuals from project teams at leading organisations, in a professional yet informal environment.
Success: Learning, Sharing and Networking will help ensure your next project is a success.
Key Programme and Project Management Competencies, are you Competent?
Feb 24th
Arras People will be sponsoring and presenting at the Programme and Project Support Office Specialist Interest Group (PPSO SIG) conference on the 19th March 2010. The one day conference at the Open University in Milton Keynes will look at what competencies are required for the varying roles within the Programme and Project Office.
The Conference will provide the opportunity for you to discover your own individual competence levels; understand more about how competency and competencies affect your career within the PMO; practical advice on developing competency profiles for you and the PMO team; and the opportunity to hear what your peers are currently doing in the area of PMO competence models.
Each delegate will receive their own individual competence assessment with a FREE copy of the APM Competence Framework, helping them to identify their own personal areas for development.
The conference provides expert led presentations and interactive sessions combined with networking and discussion groups on key topics such as competence frameworks for the PMO, role profiles in the PMO, understanding your own competence assessment and how competence and competencies are viewed and used in the real world.
Lindsay Scott, one of the leading Project and Programme Management recruitment specialists, will provide information on how the industry is using competence as the basis for recruitment and what are the key competencies being requested. Lindsay said;
Its important that the PMO world continues on the road to professionalisation, programme and project managers have competency frameworks available to them but there is nothing for the PMO professional. Im looking forward to being involved in the conference and seeing what the PMO profession is doing in this key area
| Date: | Friday 19th March 2010 |
| Venue: | Open University Campus, Milton Keynes |
| Prices: | 115.00 per person |
To find out more and book your place visit: http://www.ppsosig.co.uk/Events.php
Hiring Programme & Project Management interims through Buying Solutions
Feb 22nd
If youre a NHS body or other public sector organisation seeking to recruit commercial short-term resources such as Programme and Project Management contractors, the Commercial Resources Framework (CRF) has made it easier and quicker than before by supplying you with a list of pre-qualified suppliers, of which Arras People is the only Programme and Project Management specialist on that list.
As a Buying Solutions approved supplier, Arras People provide project management recruitment services in three main areas;
Programme Management – this includes executive-level Programme Directors, Programme Managers, Programme Office Management and Programme Office Support (Programme Co-ordinators, Programme Planners, Programme Accountants etc.).
Project Management- this includes Project Managers with a wide range of specialist knowledge as well as strong project management capability, Assistant Project Managers and Stage/Workstream Managers.
Programme Office / Project Office / Project Support roles- includes roles such as programme co-ordinator, project co-ordinator, project support officers, and project administrators. Programme and Project Office roles such as PMO Analysts to Programme and Project Office Managers, Programme and Project Planners, Quality Assurance Specialists and Document Controllers.
Benefits of using Arras People through the Framework
- Pre-qualified supplier for non-permanent workers that meet a predefined standard of service.
- A framework that is distinct from other consultancy services frameworks because it provides individuals. Consultancy services are used to provide a solution for a defined piece of work or support in fast tracking a critical project. Whereas interims will support the ongoing/longer term business objectives of an organisation providing longer term support and skills transfer in a flexible way.
- Quality candidates that can be provided at short notice and deliver high performance.
- Confidence that the suppliers have carried out the necessary pre-placement checks and meet the standard required for managing ongoing processes e.g. time sheets, invoices etc
- Dealing with suppliers that understand the healthcare environment, keeping up to date with current policies in order to understand and meet NHS needs
- Use of a comprehensive set of clearly defined role scopes and competencies to facilitate the specification of a requirement.
- One point of contact with each supplier to simplify communication.
- Simply standardised presentation of CVs with template highlighting suitability.
- Provision of commercial capability and capacity at the lowest whole life cost.
- Detailed and accurate management information available to customers and suppliers.
- Commercial acumen is embedded into DH/NHS organisations, which is the vision in DHs commercial strategy.
For more information on how the process works please visit Buying Solutions by clicking here.
You can now use Arras People for easy public sector procurement of programme and project management resources, for further details please click here.
Public Sector Recruitment Up, through OCG Buying Solutions Framework
Feb 9th
In June 2009, Arras People, Programme and Project Management Recruitment Specialist, were awarded a contract to supply Interim Commercial resources to the entire UK public sector as a preferred supplier, including the Department of Health and NHS. The Buying Solutions Commercial Resources Framework (CRF) (formerly knows as PASA Purchasing and Supply Agency) in now part of the wider Office of Government Commerce (OCG) Buying Solutions.
Buying Solutions completed a rigorous Official Journal of European Union (EU) selection process before awarding a contract to Arras People. Arras Peoples success to date has been attributed to our unique niche in recruitment for targeting project management & programme management personnel. As part of the tender evaluation criteria Arras People had to demonstrate the ability to present quality candidates that will transfer their commercial skills in a manner that will ensure long-term sustainability to commercial development for public sector organisations. In addition, Arras was awarded supplier status for their cost effective recruitment tactics as a value for money supplier.
Since commencement of this framework in April 2009, Arras has seen a steady flow of work coming through public sector organisations including; the DH, the NHS and other non healthcare organisation such as Financial Service Authority (FSA), Local Councils and Ofcom, for procurement of project managers, programme managers and project support workers.
If you would like to use Arras People for procurement of Interim Commercial resources, through your Buying Solutions framework, please get in contact and we will be happy to talk you through the simple recruitment process.
Discount Available at the BPUG Congress
Feb 5th
Arras People will be attending the BPUG Congress next week and you can attend with a 100 discount on the list price. If you’re not a member of the BPUG (Best Practice User Group) the price is 650 for the two day conference, but if you quote Arras when you book, you will receive the member price of 550.
Arras People will be available for the full two day event and will be sharing the latest Project Management 2010 Report with delegates
Look forward to seeing you there
Project Management – A Survey by Arras People
Feb 2nd
Manchester, UK, 2 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. Its 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 34s 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 enquiries, charts and pictures:
Richard Gaunt
Benchpoint Ltd
Tel 077 11 69 19 28
Arras People Releases Snippet of Early Results from the 2010 Project Management Benchmark Report
Jan 13th
Heywood, Lancashire 13 January 2010
Arras People, the Project Management Recruitment Specialist have released early results from their 5th annual Project Management Benchmark Report. The annual report takes an in-depth look at current issues and hot topics within the Programme and Project Management (PPM) field; work/life balance, gender equality, public vs. private sector, training and accreditation, along with data points on salaries, remuneration and day rates.
Early Results
The data received so far suggests that a whopping 74% of Programme Managers work more than 40 hours per week out of which 40% put in more than 48 hours. This figure is up by 10.3% from the data collected 12 months ago. Over the twelve month period the Project and Change Manager spreads have shown a slight increase in hours worked. The support group however have seen two interesting moves which indicate additional pressure; firstly an increase in the numbers working < 35 hours by 2% suggesting additional part time roles whilst a 12% increase has been reported in those working more than 40 hours.
It would appear that we do have an increase in overall hours worked by the UKs PPM community; but what impact is this having on the perceived work life balance?
Looking back to the results of the 2007 survey the PPM community reported that 23.5% were unhappy with their work life balance with many stating long hours as the primary cause of this imbalance. Looking at the data collected so far in the current survey this figure has increased by a further 4% to indicate that 27.5% are now unhappy about their work life balance. When viewed against the hours worked a very clear picture is shown correlating longer hours with this dissatisfaction as can be seen below.
45% of our respondents who are working >48 Hours per week say they have an unacceptable work life balance compared to 15% of their peers who work between 35 to 40 hours per week!
Does Programme and Project Management have a Long Hours Culture?
From the data collected in this and previous years by Arras People for the Project Management Benchmark reports, an assumption can be made that, PPM does have a long hours culture. There are of course many other factors that come into play such as;
- Culture of the work environment
- Excessive quantity of reports, memos and e-mails to read and answer
- Frequent travel
- Ineffective time management or performance
- Lack of resources
- Organisational and management pressures causing unrealistic expectations
- Reluctance of managers to deal with the issue
- Training or professional development needs not addressed
- Unrealistic timescales
If 20% of any group feel the need to work >48 hours per week it would suggest that there are some ingrained issues that need to be addressed whether by the individuals concerned or the organisations that they work for. It can be seen from the data that long hours correlate to people having concerns about their work life balance and in turn this can lead to stress be it physical, psychological or behavioural. Whilst in the short term it may be a needs must situation it is surely not a sustainable long term solution. In PPM roles we cannot eliminate pressure but surely we have the nous to control excessive hours?
The Arras People 2010 Project Management Benchmark Survey is still open for UK based PPM practitioners to have their say. The online survey takes between 4 to 8 minutes to complete and will provide the data from which the Arras People Project Management Benchmark Report 2010 will be compiled. Those who complete this confidential survey can request their FREE copy of the report which will be published in early February 2010.
Arras People to Attend BPUG Congress
Jan 8th
Arras People, the Project Management Recruitment Specialist are delighted to announce they will be exhibiting at the forthcoming International Congress for Project, Programme and Risk Management 2010, taking place at the Royal Lancaster, London on 9th 10th February 2010. www.bpugcongress.com
BPUG Congress now in its third year, is established as the UK’s number one event for project, programme and risk managers who actively look forward to an intense 48 hours of meeting, networking and sharing ideas on project, programme and risk management. Arras People is particularly proud to be taking part in the BPUG Congress especially as it has become widely recognised for its impressive speakers and ample opportunities for delegates to actively learn about key Project, Programme and Risk Management issues.
Lindsay Scott Director at Arras People said; BPUG Congress is one of the best conferences you could attend in the Project/Programme/Risk Management field today. It has fantastic experienced speakers talking about the real project management themes which are important for project practitioners today. There is also great networking opportunities available to meet peers who work in leading public and private sector organisations.
ARRAS PEOPLE PROVIDING 1-2-1 ADVICE AND FEEDBACK
Delegates attending the Congress will also have the opportunity to meet Arras People. Arras will be providing 1-2-1 feedback sessions on CVs and advice on the current Project and Programme management climate. Arras will also share newly released information on issues PM professionals are currently facing from their 2010 Project Management Benchmark Report. Now in its fifth year, the 2010 Report takes an in-depth look at current issues and hot topics within the PPM field, issues such as work/life balance, gender equality, public vs. private sector, training and accreditation, along with data points on salaries, remuneration and market rates.
Whether youre a candidate looking for market information or a client who wants an informal chat on future business requirements and resourcing needs, Arras will be available between seminars sessions and talks said Lindsay Scott.
It really is a great event which makes the most of breaks and networking opportunities.
BPGU Congress highlights;
Building on the 2009 event run by BPUG, this years congress will be:
- Case study led – featuring actual project, programme and risk managers from leading public and private sector organisations
- Highly relevant – with focused workshops on key issues such as methodology refreshes, making change happen, adding value and making the most of your qualifications
- Inspiring – with keynote sessions led by practitioners on real, practical lessons learned, warts-and-all
- Immediately useful – covering the core topics that we are all facing: gaining stake holder buy-in, benefits realisation, change management and strategic risk management and many others
- Comprehensive covering all the major methodologies including M_o_R, MSP, PRINCE2, Agile, P3M3, P3O and OGC Maturity Models.
The opening keynote speaker on day one is Sir Nicholas Montagu who will lead a session on:
Lead & Manage in Complex Organisations
Lessons & inspiration for people at all levels A UK Civil Servant for 30 years, Sir Nicholas Montagu led the Inland Revenue through the greatest change in its 200 year history. This session will outline the key challenges he faced and how he confronted them, tackling issues such as bureaucracy and apathy, working with limited time and resources, and facilitating leadership at all levels.
Other impressive speakers include:
- Tony Smith, Regional Director, UK Border Agency – London and the South East, The Home Office
- Lucinda Garrett, Head of New Business and Change, Upstream Production & Development, Centrica
- Richard Tucker, Advisor to the CIO of the US Governments Department of Education, USA
- Amanda Comber, Head of Programme Office, Rabobank
- Glyn Evans, Director of Change, Birmingham City Council
- Keith Berryman, Managing Director, Crossrail
- Peter Taylor, EMEA Project Management Office Director, Siemens
Both BPUG congress and Arras People look forward to meeting project professionals in February
Project Management Benchmark Report 2010 – SURVEY OUT NOW
Dec 18th
This week saw the launch of our fifth annual Project Management Benchmark survey 2010. The survey takes a snapshot of the UK Project Management marketplace which is followed up by a report which is published in late January.
A massive 84% of Project Management Professionals believe they have a significant role to play in helping the UK economy out of its current difficulties 2009 Survey Highlights
The 2009 Project Management Benchmark Report explored how the credit crunch and economic down turn was affecting the project management community, their earning, their aspirations and professional issues.
This year we are taking an in-depth look at current issues and hot topics within the PPM field, issues such as work/life balance, gender equality, public vs. private sector, training and accreditation, along with the usual data points on salaries, remuneration and day rates so that we can add to the databank and provide comparisons to last year and predictions for 2010.
We need your help in building this report. We are now collecting data for the 2010 report asking all Project Management Professionals delivering in the UK to spare us some time to take part in our latest annual survey of the Programme and Project Management field. The data collected will provide the input into the annual Project Management Benchmark report 2010 which will be available at the end of January 2010.
Help us gain a realistic forecast for 2010; Take part in the Survey now
Last minute Christmas learning in London
Dec 16th
Arras Partner, Maven Training, the programme and project management training specialists, have a free Christmas training briefing (complete with mince pies!) on Monday 21st December in Central London.
Focused on project management, programme management and change management you can attend all three sessions or just pick which you would prefer to attend.
For more information and details on booking a place please visit the website
If you’re winding down the holiday season but still have the va va voom to start thinking about your development for 2010, you will certainly enjoy Melanie’s high energy and thought provoking style.
