Page 21 - Straight Talk On Project Management IV

Covering shortages

The holiday period always presents challenges with covering annual leave shortages, but this year,
on top of that are unforecastable quarantines and sick days due to Covid and complications due to
remote working. How do you cover these resourcing shortfalls? The traditional route via the contract
market is available, and there has been a rise in available PMs due to layoffs, but you may only need
to infill resource shortages for a few days at a time?

Many businesses are turning to Project Management as a Service (PMaaS), to keep a tight rein on
overheads and resource. A relative newcomer to the Project Management Services market, PMaaS
offers a full range of project services available remotely or on-site and gives you the flexibility to dial-
up and down IT project resources quickly, to meet delivery needs.

Utilisation can be from 1 to 5 days per week and resources can be deployed to support just one
project, multiple projects, or a programme of projects in any geographical location. You can align
resources as and when you need them, on a cost-effective, full-time or part-time basis and you are
only billed for days delivered.

External support

Tourist offices and online UK booking websites, have seen a rapid rise in visitors looking for travel
information, as they assembled their own holidays. Businesses can also benefit from a fresh set of
eyes to examine their project delivery capabilities. As well as flexible resourcing, engaging with a
PMaaS supplier gives the double benefit of access to an external pool of expertise and skills, that can
be interchanged on demand, rather than just hiring additional headcount.

In conclusion, IT Projects over the Summer have always had their challenges, so too have holidays,
whether it was striking French air traffic controllers, or this year, miles of cones on the M5. The
secret is to flex, adapt and reset your goals. And seek external help where needed. After all, a
holiday can be anything you make it.