Your organization has decided to outsource a project to an external company. In some cases, the organization may allow its team to manage the project, but more often than not, the organization may want to reign supreme and manage the engagement itself. What does this mean for the project manager of the client organization? Depending on your company’s project management philosophy (i.e., do they view project management as a scheduling function or someone who actually manages the project and the risk), this type of arrangement may be more challenging than you think. initially. While external assistance can be helpful, it may require a change in your normal approach and project management role to provide effective support and oversight from the external team.

I’ve been in situations where I was the contractor who had clients educate me on the process they would like to use and others who allowed me to use my organization’s expertise to deliver the best result. I have also been in situations where my organization is the client that has outsourced a project and has been responsible for actually managing external resources and other situations where the contractor was asked to exercise full control over management, using their own approach and practices. .

While the specific approach needed needs to be tailored to your specific situation and organization, I think one of the most challenging situations is when you outsource an engagement, including project management/oversight and approach. While there are always opportunities for learning and growth, the latter scenario can be difficult and even confusing for a strong project manager. The level of authority and its role will largely depend on your organization’s view of project management. If you find yourself in this kind of situation, my suggestions are:

1. Clearly understand roles and responsibilities: Regardless of the setting, clearly defining roles is an essential first step. You will need to understand the role-specific expectations of both your organization and your contractor. It is also important to define what the contractor is responsible for until communication with your organization.

two. Be prepared to be a passenger: Not being accountable for executing the project can be difficult for strong project managers who are asked to interface with the external consulting organization, especially when there are deviations from their recommended approach or where they identify areas for improvement and their process is set in stone . Understanding the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved will help you understand where you can add value and where you can intervene. You may also need to prepare to be more of an administrative role than an orchestrator or technical one. Understanding who does what will help reduce the push and pull between organizations.

3. Make sure there is a solid climbing route: While you may not have direct authority, you’ll want to understand what types of items can be escalated and when. You will also need to ensure that you have adequate support within your organization. The lack of direct and indirect authority, in addition to the lack of support, does not contribute to a prosperous environment.

Four. use lessons learned: Reviewing past projects, especially those with many of the same variables, is helpful in educating the organization and can even help your contractor. Continue to collect intelligence on what is working well and what is not, even if you don’t have direct control over how to change the immediate situation. This information can be useful not only for the current situation, but also for future projects.

5. Educate your organization on the value of project management: Although you may not have direct control over the project or even the support it needs, never stop educating the organization and vendors on the value and best practices of project management. Hopefully the contractor will apply the same project management rigor that you would, but if not, there will always be a positive conclusion for you personally and hopefully professionally for your organization. Help educate your organization about your discoveries, the impact of these discoveries, and the lessons you’ve learned through previous experience. Project management is not for the faint of heart, it requires tireless perseverance. Show your organization why you are in their role and the tremendous value this role can bring to your organization.

There is always something to gain and learn from every situation. While outsourcing to an organization that owns the project management may not directly utilize all of your project management skills, it will certainly help develop new ones.