I have spent 5 years working with a large IT consultancy. My new job might be working within an internal IT department in the retail sector.
What do people think will be the challenges changing to an internal role like this? I will have to manage my end users as my clients, so I expect discussions around scope will be more interesting.
How will being an internal project manager as opposed to a supplier PM be different, and how will managing relationships with business stakeholders be different?
Any guidance / recommendations people can make would be much appreciated.
Need a strong Retail commercial experience - retail is fast moving and demanding - this company will have high expectations. You need to be qualified to Prince2 or similar with experience managing big projects.
Internal IT is also policy and process driven there is a framework in place and needs to be adhered to.
You may need to manage cross-functional projects that include IT systems and development, new products and promotional initiatives and chairing and leading cross-functional project meetings, driving the agenda.
The biggest challenge is the organisational culture think about whether you would want to be part of a fast paced and very challenging working environment. It could be rewarding, but not for everyone.
It will be a culture "shock" for you. You will need to build long lasting relationships as you will not be moving on after the project has finished. So it is best not to burn too many bridges (or people) during the project. A more collaborative approach may be necessary rather than what I have seen in some external PMs where it is totally goal driven and who cares about people burn out just so long as the project is delivered on time and budget. If you do not think long term you will find that you will run out of people willing to work on your projects next time around, and then you will have to move on again any way! Saving Changes...
