"What's Up with Those Resource Management Statistics?"

August 3, 2020 | by Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin

Each time we do a webinar, it is always frustrating to run out of time (and sometimes, out of answers!) before all the attendee questions can be responded to. Our July webinar covering the finding from The State of Project Management 2020 was no exception. I’ve sifted through the questions that went unanswered and grouped them into categories. Looks like we have at least four blog topics, so let’s get started, and we will post a new response at least weekly until they are all dealt with.

Note: These blogs will address questions that were asked by more than one attendee. If you asked an industry-specific question, be aware I may be getting back to you individually. And, for one question about how Covid-19 has affected maturity improvement initiatives, I’ve reached out to my Linked In contacts with a poll, here.

Resource Management Puzzles Us All

Several of the attendees zeroed in on our finding that even High Performing organizations struggle with Resource Management. In the webinar, Bruce Miller identified this area as one of the top issues project management must address in order to meet the challenges of this decade. As to why organizations have been struggling with RM for decades without making significant progress (for 20 years, RM has shown up as a top challenge for study participants in all our research), we have some ideas on that, but no easy answers.

Some of the problem is in the terminology. Some of us, when we ask about Resource Management, are taking a narrow view of the topic, limiting our inquiry to the types of automated functions we encounter in PPM software. While these functions are important, however, they are not "Resource Management" in full. Our research studies inquire about a wide range of human resource-related practices and functions to get the full picture. These include hiring and training practices, rewards and performance measurement, mentoring and coaching, among others.

In the Research Brief just released, I pull together some data points that are suggestive of actions organizations can take to improve Resource Management:

Looking at the High-Performing organizations, they do, although by a slim margin of 7%, report fewer RM challenges. They are far more likely to have resource management processes in place, to measure resource costs, skills, and availability. Also, their leaders are twice as likely to be experienced in using PPM processes and practices ... including those related to resource management. It's important to note, however, that eight out of ten of the top challenges reported by organizations in the study are related to human resources issues, more broadly. These range from “lack of training opportunities” to “not enough project managers” to “team members with inadequate skills.”

Another research brief focusing on training and professional development tells us that training is the place to start. High-performing organizations provide training on a wider variety of topics than the average. They are especially strong in the areas of:

• Advanced PM Skills: 56% of high performers vs. 14% of low performers
• Agile: 66% vs. 31%
• Leadership: 56% vs. 25%
• PM Basics: 72% vs. 44%

These companies also provide training in topics nearly absent from low performers, such as benefits realization and project portfolio management. Of note: 28% of low-performing companies provide no training at all. Over on the PM College blog, Deborah Bigelow Crawford looks at the results of an interactive poll that we did during the webinar to see how attendees described their training programs.

A few years ago, we pulled together our thoughts about how to define and upgrade Resource Management in a white paper, Resource Management and the PMO. Check it out!

Missed the webinar? Here's the link to the recorded version.  And check back here next week as we answer more webinar attendee questions. Next up: Looking ahead to PMBOK® 7 and the State of PM.

About the Author

Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin

Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin is editor-in-chief for PM Solutions Research, and the author, co-author and editor of over twenty books on project management, including the 2007 PMI Literature Award winner, The AMA Handbook of Project Management, Second Edition.

View Posts by Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin

Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin

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