company wants to know why PMP is beneficial to organization
Ravi ShankarProject Manager| Maersk Global Service Centres Pvt. LtdPune, Maharashtra, India
I have a friend who work for other company and his management wants him to show some benefits of facilitating PMP training for him and other employees . I helped him with some of the real facts and benefits how PMP certification will add value to their emplyees and their organization BUt his Boss reply was as below :
I understand your points, but the explanation is too vague.
Managers want to know how the company can get benefit by supporting its employees to take PMP course / certification.
The benefits to the company should be more concrete based on numbers etc.
Can you please help us to answer above question that can satisfy his boss and management . Saving Changes...
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arlene trimbleAssistant IT Director| Local GovernmentAlamo, Ca, United States
Hiring a PMP per se is not a bulletproof that it would be beneficial to an organization. Being a PMP means that the staff has the necessary education and project management experience and of course has passed the PMP exam.
Hiring managers need to look beyond the initials and make sure that the candidate can demonstrate the skills that match the job requirements that can be seen on the resume and job interview. Looking at the candidate's portfolio would be indicative also of the person's skill level. Having the candidate do some sort of exercise would help as well.
Being a PMP means that the candidate possesses the industry standard knowledge (process and tools) of project management according to the PMI which is helpful as well. Saving Changes...
Michael AdamsSolutions Architect| LANLLos Alamos, Nm, United States
To be honest, this sort of thing always irritates me. I'd suggest that your friend/colleague find another company to work for. This is incredibly short-sighted on their part. A simple google search illustrates the benefit of having PMP credentialed employees. They bring a level of project management expertise to bear that is hard to find without a credentialed employee. Many companies require all project managers to have a PMP, others require PMP for "senior" level job positions.
This company would benefit from having developed an employee in a domain that will benefit the company, and will encourage loyalty from that employee.
Can we say how much money that is worth to them? No! They have to look at the cost over-runs on their own projects, and the cost of retraining employees because their top talent leaves for greener pastures. Saving Changes...
Henry HattenrathProject Consultant| Tectonic Engineering MSA LLCNew York, Ny, United States
Your friend needs to do a lot of research to compile and estimate the benefits based on the business’ current performance metrics. Would the following sample be accepted by the manager:
The cost of the PMI training will have benefits in the 1st year:
- Shorten project durations by __%
- Organize and maintain knowledge on __ % of projects
- Improve project performance CPI and SPI by __ %
- Increase customer satisfaction from __ to __
- Reduce contract change orders/claims by __%
- Reduce NCRs and CARs by __%
Unless an existing PMI paper involves research obtained from a sample population of businesses similar to the core business or your friend’s, it may be a futile effort.
Based on the short story with limited input, your friend’s manager may have many reasons for the feedback including:
- PMI PMBOK and practice standards are not aligned with existing business management
- Existing management training provides certification in its own management processes
- Business and management processes can not be projectized or adapted to a project experience
But there may also be underlying factors, such as:
- There is no budget for training
- Workload does not allow staff to be non-billable or be away from the office
- Training will uncover shortfalls in existing management knowledge, skills and processes
But it does not speak well of your friend’s company or manager, if it can not be more specific about the vagueness, or to recognize and support the justification of benefits from management training whether with PMI for project management or other education organizations on business management and business skills.
Saving Changes...
I agree hiring a PMP is not the ultimate solution. A hiring manager have to see many other characteristics of the applicant in addition to PMP. Similarly, having employees certified as PMPs will definetely add to their knowledge and benefit organization, but selecting the right candidate with right attitude for PMP training is the key. Saving Changes...
Farid HasanEngineering Project Manager| Airbus GroupAshfield, Nsw, Australia
Reading the limited information above, it seems like the management team is asking for a business case to be put forward. I think treating this as a business case may be a good approach. You may outline the total costs such as training, course materials and indirect such as time spent away from work. Then you would need to outline both the tangible and non-tangible benefits. An example of a tangible benefit is more projects meeting KPIs, increase organisational maturity etc. An intangible benefit is a more engaged PM workforce and career development. Having a PMP means you have to maintain the certification which in turn leads to continued learning. Saving Changes...
LORI WILSONRETIRED - Technical Project Manager| RETIRED - LifePoint HealthClarkston, Wa, United States
I like the idea of creating a business case for Project Management. I currently work for a very large healthcare information technology services organization with a strong PMO. Recently we have been able to tie our financials to our project plans in an innovative software system. By doing this, we are now able to prove the effectiveness of having project managers. Our PMO saves us time - an example of this is replayed over and over again as PM's can now go out to the software system and view other project documentation. For example, if a hospital is interested in implementing a new cardiology software system - the PM can go out and look at business case, charters, project plans and lessons learned from another hospital who implemented the same system. We don't have to re-invent the wheel - we can learn from challenges other hospitals have experienced and can avoid the same challenges. The PM saves time by using the information available as teams build their charter, business case etc. There are also templates, forms, processes in place for auditing, etc. All these types of support create stronger PM contributions to projects. PMP certifications are strongly encouraged and supported. PMP certifications ensure PM's have the tools, knowledge and skills to provide excellent and efficient services for their companys. All these are ways to relate the value and benefit of Project Management and PM certification. Saving Changes...
