Having an effective freelance project manager (PM) in an organization is crucial, as putting the right person in this position allows all aspects of a company to run more smoothly.
PM’s can help different teams focus on their work, by keeping everyone free from distractions and mediating issues when they arise. Project managers also support projects from going off track or budgets from spiraling out of control.
A high-quality project manager also helps businesses realize their goals, objectives, and improve their bottom line. They also keep employees involved and motivated by showing them how their work contributes to company strategy. Once you’re ready to start the hiring process, be sure to familiarize yourself with the interview questions to ask a project manager so you can be confident when it comes to hiring the right person.
Keep in mind that beyond the job title of “Project Manager”, there are even more specific skill sets, so be sure you’re hiring the right kind of manager for the job. Check out our article covering the job description for a technical project manager to learn the difference between a regular manager and a technical manager.
With that said, let’s dive into some of the primary benefits of having a good project manager on your team.
Save Time and Money
By applying basic project management principles, project managers can forecast specific outcomes and efficiently allocate resources, avoiding delays and project overspending. A good project manager makes sure work is delivered on time and within budget.
Boost Internal Communication
We can all appreciate that working with other people can sometimes be very difficult, especially when you have strong personalities in the mix. Having an effective project manager in place can reduce the complexities of collaboration through transparency and accountability.
Promote Better Decision-Making Processes
With more precise records showing the progress of your project, you will get a clearer picture of where your resources are going, the areas you need to prioritize, and if you are at risk of going off-budget.
A good project manager can offer business owners a means of forecasting issues before they become detrimental, prevent bottleneck problems, and allow you to make smarter, data-driven decisions.
Resolve Problems
There are always issues in any given project; after all, projects usually involve a lot of moving parts.
A project manager can create structured means of organizing your work and help you nip various issues in the bud or at least notice them before they cause havoc on your projects—and business.
Provide Quality Control
Project teams are typically under enormous pressure to wrap up within specific constraints and time-frames. Without a dedicated and professional project manager, you can underestimate the requirements of particular tasks, schedules, and processes. This means your team may end up rushing, resulting in loss of revenue and other issues.
Effective project management keeps your project on time and appropriately uses resources at every stage, significantly contributing to achieving your organizational goals and objectives.
Foster Leadership and Direction
Project managers provide business owners with the control, vision, and purpose that will allow them to do their best work because PMs seamlessly integrate resources across different vendors, departments, and other relevant parties. With such a professional in place, you can also rest assured in knowing that there will be no confusion on who to address if things go wrong.
Effective Project Reports
A project manager can generate status reports for team members and department heads that offer remarkable insights into the progress of different projects. Such data will also show you the milestones, assumptions, risks, and scope of a project, all of which are key pieces of information to know when it comes to making decisions.
Final Thoughts
Project managers can help handle projects in numerous ways, such as making sure due dates are met, keeping the project within budget, and preventing scope creep from occurring as development gets underway. PMs also offer team members a means of achieving success or understanding why certain aspects failed.
Having a great project manager as a key member of business can take a weight off your shoulders, and free you up to focus on parts of running your business that only you can do. Here on Guru, we have a large number of dedicated, experienced freelance project managers who are ready to help take your business to the next level.
