Managing complex engineering projects brings a range of challenges that can crop up across different parts of the organisation. While some issues are minor and can be handled by the delivery team or project management office, others are significant enough to impact key stakeholders and require leadership intervention. The quicker these challenges are addressed, the better the chances of staying on schedule and avoiding costly delays.
Project management consultancies are often brought in to help navigate these issues, yet sometimes working with a project management consultancy creates different challenges. And, as we at Coron have sometimes found, there may be some scepticism and objections on-site or from your internal teams. Below, we explore common concerns associated with hiring a project management consultancy instead of an in-house Project Manager (PM) and we look at how to address them:
1. Higher costs, if comparing day rates
When you calculate a cost for comparison, it may seem that a project management consultancy is charging more than the day rate cost of a staff or contracted PM. However, a consultancy will charge you a monthly retainer fee or a project cost because they provide all the resources you need to get the results, instead of people by the hour. (Read our blog on the cost of project managers versus a project management consultancy here)
There may be additional costs if you need specialised commercial expertise, or if the project goes through significant change requests or extended timelines. A good project management consultancy will take time to understand the gaps in your programme and work with you to propose up front how they’ll manage the resourcing to meet your needs. This means the rates you pay will offer you greater value and flexibility to deliver your project successfully.
2. Lack of integration with your internal teams
If you bring in a project management consultancy, they will need your support to learn about your company culture, goals, and internal processes, so they can align with those. Otherwise, your internal teams may view consultants as outsiders and resist their recommendations. Communication is often a challenge on complex projects and effective collaboration between consultants and employees requires even stronger communication. Engineers and technical teams may struggle to communicate their challenges effectively to project managers, no matter whether they are consultants or in-house. The solution is to implement structured reporting systems, regular check-ins, and clear documentation processes to bridge any communication gaps.
3. More time to build relationships with stakeholders
Your consultancy may need more time to build relationships with stakeholders compared to an internal PM who has worked with you and your clients for years. To your advantage, they will have experience of managing sub-contractors and main contractors in the supply chain. On the flip side, if your PM has worked for a long time in your organisation, they may struggle to get all the information they need because it is assumed that they already have access to it. With either a project management consultancy or a staff PM, they’ll need your support to develop the stakeholder map and nurture their relationships with great communication.
4. Not available full-time and unpredictable presence
Unlike a full-time PM, project management consultancies will be working on multiple projects simultaneously. This means they may not be available for every meeting when you need them, or they may change their days working with you each week. A good project management consultancy will make sure they’re still responsive to your needs and deliver the results for the project. If your project is fast-moving, it could be to your advantage that they are flexible and can provide more resources or send more than one person to site when there are changes to manage or milestones to hit. The key here is to communicate often and ensure your project management team understands exactly what you need and when. Then they can remain responsive while looking after all their clients.
5. Less control over performance, structure and workflow
Project management consultancies operate as an external entity, which means you will have less control over the performance management and work priorities of the people they bring in. That’s why trust is crucial – you’ll need to respect their decision-making authority when you ask them to work on your behalf. Although your influence may not be as direct as with managing an internal PM, a good project management consultancy will alleviate that stress of control because it’s a relationship of equals.
They focus on bringing ‘best practice’ into every project they work on. Your consultants may introduce new methodologies or systems to structure your workflows and support you to define responsibilities to avoid any project inefficiencies. At Coron, we help mid-size engineering firms build a project management system that suits their workflow.
6. Confidentiality and security risks with project management consultancies
You may have concerns about sharing sensitive company data, financials, or strategic plans with an external consultancy in case of security risks. Check what your project management consultancy proposes to do to protect your intellectual property and data. There is always a potential risk of consultants working with competitors in the future, however, that risk is true too, if a staff PM changes roles. There also may be an advantage for you if they have already worked in your industry – you are buying in their experience, no matter where it was gained. A robust interview or project briefing process under a non-disclosure agreement and defining contractual terms will protect your organisation to a certain extent.
7. Knowledge gaps or dependency on external expertise
When you bring in an external consultancy for project management, that may prevent you from developing your in-house project management capabilities. Or when they leave after the project finishes, you may find that there are gaps in your team’s knowledge. If issues arise, you may need to hire them again, creating ongoing dependency. That valuable knowledge should always be transferred back to the internal team and, for Coron clients, that’s why we ensure there’s a smooth transition. We can support the recruitment and onboarding process for our clients to hire a new project manager or help identify training needs for an internal recruit.
When to choose a project management consultancy
A highly skilled project manager will provide a holistic view of your project while managing costs and risks and anticipating issues before they arise. However, internal project managers often have limited bandwidth and may struggle to address all challenges simultaneously. Partnering with a project management consultancy provides access to a broader skill set and more specialised resources which you may not have or can’t build fast enough when you’re involved in a new, complex project.
Hiring consultants while you’re setting up the team to deliver the project gives them a chance to get involved in the initiation and may save you costly mistakes in the long run. They can be objective and bring a refreshing external perspective into your team, and they will stay beside you as long as you need them.
Similar to what you would need to do with a new project manager, you’ll have to allocate time to introduce your project management consultants to your other stakeholders so they can build strong lines of communication and good relationships.
With their experience, they’ll work to ensure the whole team understands the terms of the contract, so there are no accidental breaches. They’ll monitor project performance and keep you informed. They will also document the lessons learned, to help you overcome any knowledge gaps after they finish on your project.
Our approach at Coron is a little different in that we will openly and carefully plan our exit from your team. We won’t continue invoicing you if it’s best for your company to build the internal capability – we will help you do that and leave! Like with other project management professionals, you’ll feel the benefit of additional capacity and proactive problem-solving ideas to help your project stay on track and in budget.
Contact us if you’d like to hear more about our free Project Insights offer.
