Project Management: What Is It?
It seems that "project management" has become almost as ubiquitous a term as "unprecedented" since the onset of the pandemic. However, its interpretation varies among individuals. Some perceive it as merely a fancy title for an assistant, while others define it as the individual on their team responsible for overseeing tasks with clear start and end points. At 19th&CO we believe in the latter as we know with any interior design business there are so many tasks or small projects that don’t fall under any one job title but need to be done to ensure success. Project managers follow a project from ideation to completion no matter the size.
In the world of project management there is no one size fits all approach. Not all firms need a project manager and many do but don’t know if they can justify the expense. There is concern there won’t be enough work or a lack of confidence by firm owners that they will know how to manage a team member in this role. Rest assured that if there is a to-do list in your firm and items that no one on the team has been able to tackle there is room for a project manager. The good news is that many PM’s as they are affectionately known, work on a contract basis and so there is no long term commitment necessary from the start.
Does Our Interior Design Firm Need A Project Manager?
As stated previously, if there is an ongoing list of things to be taken care of, your business likely needs a project manager somewhere on the team. There are many approaches to hiring a PM to support you and improve overall efficiency. The first step is to consider the size of your firm, the work to be done, and reviewing any items you would like to do but haven’t had the bandwidth to tackle. Next, consider if this new role will be able to take on other work functionalities such as light accounting, business development or even human resources support? Perhaps it’s a combination of the two? If this is the case, work towards a job description that clearly states the core job responsibilities but then also list other areas they will be expected to support. This flexibility is what we like most about project management positions as it’s expected that the day-to-day work will differ and new projects will be added along the way.
If you are a small firm with a few items that need to be tackled then consider a fractional or on-demand approach. There are a plethora of agencies and consultants who support businesses either in a fractional role or project-by-project. The key is to understand what you are signing up for, however. Read the fine print, and jump on discovery calls to understand who will be doing the work, and whether there is a minimum hour requirement that you will be billed for even if no work was done for that invoice period. But, don’t let this frighten you because there are truly wonderful, experienced people out there who do good work, and you will wonder why it took you so long to get the additional support!
What Type Of Work Can I Give A Project Manager?
Project managers have likely seen and done it all so to speak. The sheer nature of the role means they are accustomed to executing on something that needs to be done for your business but may not rock the world when delivered. Typically no task is too small for PMs. They are there to support you and your team, and they know this. However, in most cases, PMs won’t take on administrative assistant responsibilities such as calendar management or answering phones simply because it becomes a distraction to the work they are doing, and we support this notion. An administrative assistant is a key role for firm owners and should be protected.
At 19th&CO we have seen and supported our clients with projects ranging from Asana board template creation to writing and submitting articles for publication. Our team has provided operational project management support by way of creating standardized processes for new client onboarding, established internal meeting agendas and protocol, supported internal change management and worked closely with firm owners for team leadership and motivational practices. The combined experience of the 19th&CO team also means we are a resource of information and optimal workflows for interior designers leading to our being called on for recommendations and implementation as needed. Our own internal rule of thumb at 19th&CO is if it takes you longer than five minutes to accomplish, add it to the project manager list.
Getting Started
You’ve identified the need for a project manager but you don’t know where to start. That’s very common. The good news is the PM can help here too! Allow him/her to guide you but the first step is usually a kick off meeting where priorities are established, and objectives defined. Before the meeting, you will need to gather a few items to share with the project manager so access to files, team members, logins is provided upfront allowing them to hit the ground running. The faster you provide them with the tools they need, the faster you will begin to feel the impact of their support.
Below are some quick steps to get started with your project manager.
Set kick-off meeting to establish priorities with due dates
Before the kick-off meeting:
Think through each item you have and determine what they will need to execute
Be sure to gather all files, logins, and other important information they will need to do the work - even better to share before the meeting so they can review and come to the meeting with any clarifications needed
You will also want to define objectives for the work they will be doing
Once priorities are set and due dates clarified, let your PM go to work
Conclusion
Hiring a project manager can take your interior design business to new heights. The key will be to determine how best this role fits within your team and long term goals. We recommend starting with a project-by-project or fractional approach and then as time passes allow the natural development of the work to guide you on whether this should be a full-time or contract position for the long-term.
19th&CO provides interior design business consulting for interior design and architecture firms of all sizes. As an extension of your team our cohesive group of seasoned operators can support you with interim positions in business development, recruiting, human resources and team culture, business operations (including financial projects specific to the industry), and project management.
