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Assistant Project Managers: An Idea Too Good to Ignore

I have yet to work with a firm that had enough good project managers. It's a tough job and the really capable ones are in short supply. This creates a host of problems, not the least of which is limited capacity to pursue the quality new projects that demand the firm's top PMs. To make matters worse, very few firms have an effective process for developing the next generation of PMs from among their junior professionals.

There's a relatively simple solution to begin addressing these concerns, however—create the role of assistant project manager. This involves assigning a junior professional the responsibility for the more mundane, straightforward tasks such as tracking budget and schedule, monitoring work progress, coordinating activities among team members, and the other various administrative duties normally performed by the PM. 

These tasks typically involve the bulk of PM's time, yet don't really require the added experience and authority, especially when conducted under the PM's oversight. Delegating these tasks to an assistant PM allows the PM to devote more time to high value activities on other projects, client relationships, business development, or practice leadership. The PM retains those responsibilities requiring greater expertise, such as serving as the primary liaison with the client, developing project strategy, leading negotiations with stakeholders, providing technical oversight, ensuring adequate resource allocation, and responding to problems that may arise.

Obviously, the assistant PM is developing his or her project management capabilities, enabling this person to assume greater project responsibilities over time—further increasing the firm's project management capacity. 

Furthermore, many clients love this arrangement because they're paying perhaps $70 per hour for project management tasks that typically cost them $100 per hour or more. The savings can also allow principals or other senior managers to take a more active role in projects. As an operations manager, I promoted this arrangement on some major projects where one of our senior principals was able to assume the lead project management role (as opposed to a typical project principal oversight role) because of the savings created by the assistant project manager. This really strengthened those client relationships and enhanced project performance.

So if this makes such good sense, why aren't more companies in our business doing it? I suspect some simply haven't considered it. In some cases, PMs are reluctant to give up some of their responsibilities (although this works to their personal advantage). Some of the reluctance is the same as with any delegation of tasks. PMs may fear lost of control or added time having to oversee their assistant. But in my experience, these concerns are unfounded.

Another suggestion: It may be advantageous to rename the roles. I prefer the titles "Project Leader" and "Project Coordinator" instead of PM and assistant PM. This can help internally in transitioning from the traditional PM functions because rather than stripping duties from the PM, you've defined a new position. This can also be helpful in selling this concept to clients. The different titles give the client the impression of a fundamentally different (and better) approach, versus simply delegating some responsibilities.   

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