Are company project managers the real superstars?

As businesses develop and grow, it becomes increasingly important that they’re protected as much as possible against disruptions to their smooth running, whether this is from internal or external forces. Being able to operate smoothly, day by day, creates a stable environment in order to build and focus on the future. Efficiency is essential in order for growth to equate to profit, but as companies get larger it’s easy for work to get missed or even duplicated, for problems to go under the radar undetected and deadlines to be missed.

Project managers are therefore essential to growing businesses, providing a vital overview of progress, a point of contact for everyone in the business, solving problems and ensuring that the internal workings of the business are being seen to.

Driving efficiency

The processes involved in delivering products and services are a key way in which businesses can achieve competitive advantage – even with the best product in the world, if supply doesn’t fit demand, the product is not updated frequently enough or customer support is poor, people will look elsewhere. Making certain that these processes areas efficient as possible is a key task for project managers; understanding operational strategy, planning, quality and supply chain management amongst many other things in order to ensure that every level of operations is as smooth and profitable as it can be.

Improving communications

Projects often run across multiple departments and can even encompass the whole of the business, so having one single point of contact for a project is hugely beneficial. When businesses find themselves with complicated or unexpected operational queries, the ability to take concerns direct to the project manager can be very beneficial, rather than employees feeling the need to seek advice or solitude from upper management. This requires the project manager to not only have a clear oversight of the project and its impact across all departments involved, but also to have excellent people, communication and negotiation skills.

Getting things done

In a growing business, simply getting things done can become an issue. Much of the time the business may be outwardly-focused by concentrating solely on the product and the needs of its clients and customers. For a business that’s undergoing rapid growth, it’s exceptionally important to keep a critical eye on the operations and general wellbeing of how the company is functioning and coping with the changes. Employing a project manager who can ensure that maintaining a partial inward focus on the health of the business is prioritised means problems are solved more quickly, projects are delivered on time and overspend due to wastage or inefficiency is minimised.

In order to fulfil all of these vital aspects of the role, project managers need to be able to gain a high-level overview of the business they’re working in as well as intricate knowledge of the industry and its challenges. This is where upskilling and gaining a project management qualification can be hugely valuable. Wrexham University’s 100% online MBA Project Management not only develops the skills required for successful project management, such as operational knowledge and business analytics but also provides a holistic overview of essential core business skills like human resource management, innovation and strategy development.

The course is delivered entirely online, with materials accessible at any time and on a wide variety of devices, making it ideal for working professionals and those with family commitments. Of course, you’ll still benefit from Wrexham University’s excellent links with industry and its active alumni network. With six start dates you can choose to begin studying when it suits you and a pay-per-module option means there are no large upfront costs incurred.

To find out more and apply visit: https://online.wrexham.ac.uk/mba-project-management/.