PM Network Magazine Aug 2015

To attract and retain young project talent, organizations must learn what makes the next generation tick.

BY SARAH FISTER GALE

WHO’S NEXT?

NEXT!GEN TALENT

PMN0815 C-First Features2-ok.indd 38 7/9/15 10:42 AM

AUGUST 2015 PM NETWORK 39

embers of the youngest generation in the workforce don’t seem to play by the rules. When a boss says, “Jump,” they don’t ask, “How high?” Instead, they ask, “Why?”

Most millennials, those born between 1981 and 1997, are interested in more than just

taking orders and earning paychecks and promotions. According to the 2015 Deloitte Millennial Survey, 60 percent of global respondents cited “a sense of purpose” as part of the reason they chose to work for their current employer. And they want organizations to place more emphasis on employee well-being, growth and development.

PHOTO BY TURSK ALEKSANDRA/SHUTTERSTOCK


While some may dismiss these ideals as the folly of youth, millennials are becoming too numerous to ignore. In the U.S., millennials will become the largest generation in the workforce by the end of the year. Yet, 53 percent of the country’s hiring managers say it’s di!cult to "nd and retain these young professionals. And as the global project tal-ent market tightens, this shortage may begin to hurt business results.

According to Arras People’s 2015 global Project Management Benchmark Report, 81 percent of project professionals say they would need to recruit more team members this year to meet increased demand. But one in "ve say they failed to "ll all their open roles last year, suggesting supply is not keep-ing up with demand.

“It will likely be a challenge that impacts both the cost and risk of near-term projects,” says John #orpe, managing director of Arras People, a proj-ect management recruitment and career consulting company in London, England. “As demand for project managers increases, the cost of labor will go up. And if organizations can’t "ll these roles, their ability to deliver projects successfully will go down.

“As demand for project managers increases, the cost of labor will go up. And if organizations can’t fill these roles, their ability to deliver projects successfully will go down.”

—John Thorpe, Arras People, London, England

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#at combination of skill shortage and premium pricing will be a double whammy.”

NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARYTo mitigate this risk, many organizations are ramping up recruiting and training e$orts, bringing in young college grads and providing them with a combination of training, coaching and on-the-job experience. #e "rst challenge is just getting them in the door, says Chris Jones, director of learning and development for BAM Construct UK, a construction, building design, facilities management and property development company in Hemel Hempstead, England.

“#e "rst step is to attract them to construction and educate them about the career opportuni-ties that are available,” he says. Fortunately, once they see the work they could be doing, “they are attracted to construction, and many aspire to become project managers.”

BAM helps new recruits understand their career opportunities by outlining a carefully designed development path that will move them toward project leadership. #e company uses classroom training and on-the-job experience to build young team members’ skills and help them develop exper-tise over a broad range of areas like engineering, planning and "nance. #is allows BAM to build a deep and diverse project management bench, Mr. Jones says.

#e company’s development program for project managers has been so successful that other compa-nies often try to poach its best people. “But we can’t just throw up our hands and give up,” Mr. Jones says.



“We need to continue to invest in them, and help them understand the opportunities they have with our company so they stay with us.”

One way BAM is cultivating a sense of loy-alty among younger team members is by o! ering work-study programs, so people can start with the company while they’re still in college. " is has now evolved into a project management apprenticeship program. Apprentices start working at the com-pany right out of high school while also studying part-time at a university for up to # ve years to earn a degree in civil engineering, quantity surveying or planning. BAM has relationships with a handful of universities near its regional o$ ces where appren-tices can enroll, depending on course availability.

“" ey start in a junior role and accumulate # ve or six years of experience while pursuing an academic certi# cation,” Mr. Jones says.

While these students may not move into project

THE MILLENNIAL MINDSETBusiness as usual won’t work for the millennial generation. To appeal to young project talent, organizations must tailor their talent management techniques. Here are a few insights into what today’s 20-somethings want from an employer.

Millennials say true leaders possess the following personality traits:

Source: Mind the Gaps: The 2015 Deloitte Millennial Survey

If millennials were at the helm of their organiza-tions, they would prioritize:

Ensuring the long-term future of their organizations

Employee well-being

Employee growth and development

Making positive contributions to communities and society

of millennials feel their current organization makes full use of the skills they have to offer.Only 28%

43%

37%

32%

27%

39% Strategic thinking

37% Being inspirational

34% Strong interpersonal skills

31% Vision

30% Passion and enthusiasm

30% Decisiveness

management roles for several years, they follow the same training and career path as college graduates and have the same opportunities as their skill sets develop.

“We # nd that the ones who are with us from the beginning often progress more quickly than those who join straight from university because they get so much on-the-job experience while studying,” Mr. Jones says.

WORKING TOWARD WORLD!CLASS" e promise of exciting projects and world travel is another big pull for young professionals, says Edwin Bolwerk, managing director at Vanderlande Industries, a global provider of automated material handling systems in Veghel, the Netherlands.

Mr. Bolwerk leverages small-scale global initia-tives to give young project managers experience in low-risk situations, while still keeping them engaged. “We might put them in charge of building a small carousel in Tunisia, where they can be in

“We need to continue to invest in [project managers], and help them understand the opportunities they have with our company so they stay with us.”—Chris Jones, BAM Construct UK, Hemel Hempstead, England


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charge of everything,” Mr. Bolwerk says. “It’s better to have them manage a whole project from A to Z.”

!e company also provides personalized devel-opment opportunities that keep young project managers moving forward. Vanderlande has seven project management levels, each of which has an associated title, salary and required training and capabilities. Employees receive twice-yearly reviews from their managers to determine whether they are ready to move to the next level and what training and experience they may need to close skill gaps.

!ese reviews give employees and managers a chance to identify weaknesses, like an inability to deal with con"ict or poor time management skills, so they can address them early on, Mr. Bolwerk says. “We always want to challenge them and help them move forward.”

!e combination of development opportunities, world travel and the chance to take on leadership roles early in their career has helped Vanderlande keep project manager turnover low.

“Project managers are highly regarded in our company, and very few of our people go elsewhere,”

Mr. Bolwerk says. “If projects are a core part of your business, then project managers have to be socially recognized as leaders in the company. It’s got to be a core value of the company.”

CAREFUL CULTIVATION!e Kuwait National Petroleum Co. works to cul-tivate a project management culture from the top down, starting with the project management o#ce (PMO), says Wael Aljasem, PMP, team leader of project management at the Ahmadi, Kuwait-based company. “Where we work in Kuwait, project man-agement experience is low in maturity,” Mr. Aljasem says, “though in the last three years people have become more familiar with the concept.”

!e organization’s PMO, along with the project directorate, demonstrates the value of the profes-sion by encouraging young employees to pursue project management career paths and providing formal training and on-the-job mentoring to help them develop core skills, especially around risk management, quality management and stakeholder management. “It’s not di#cult to sell the idea

The promise of exciting

projects and world travel

is another big pull

for young professionals.

—Edwin Bolwerk, Vanderlande Industries,

Veghel, the Netherlands



once they understand the value of good proj-ect management prac-tices,” he says. “In the next !ve to 10 years, we will reach a much higher level of maturity as the younger genera-tion gets the training and experience they need to succeed.”

Frederic Casagrande, PMP, faces a similar challenge in bolstering his company’s project management corporate culture. Mr. Casagrande is director of the corporate PMO for Transguard Group, a business process outsourcing, security services and facilities management provider in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. His PMO has been actively promoting the value of project manage-ment across the organization, from the executive team down to new recruits. The PMO sends executives a monthly report highlighting project successes and project management’s impact on the bottom line, and it contributes to Trans-guard’s regular internal corporate newsletter. The company is also in the process of projectiz-ing the whole organization. All these efforts are paying off.

“Our stakeholders recognize that good project management brings so much value to the business,” he says. And this is driving changes in the way the company recruits and trains new sta".

“Transguard has a large portfolio of projects in the pipeline. If we want to succeed, we need to

“It’s not difficult to sell the idea [of developing core skills] once [young employees] understand the value of good project management practices. In the next five to 10 years, we will reach a much higher level of maturity as the younger generation gets the training and experience they need to succeed.”—Wael Aljasem, PMP, Kuwait National Petroleum Co., Ahmadi, Kuwait

either hire an army of project managers, or build them ourselves,” Mr. Casagrande says.

Since there aren’t a lot of seasoned project man-agers in the marketplace, Transguard has turned its gaze inward. In the past year, the PMO has rolled out a project management training program open to anyone in the organization, even if they’re not on a project management career path. #e goal is to foster a project management culture enabling everyone to speak the same language around project delivery, Mr. Casagrande says.

So far, the program has been a huge hit. #e training course is in such demand that the PMO has had to roll out extra sessions.

“It has been a clear win for the business,” he says. Since implementing the project management train-ing and process, Transguard has seen signi!cant reductions in the time required to deliver projects, which translates to increased savings and $exibility. For example, it used to take 12 weeks for the company to set up a “work camp” facility to provide employees with room and board during long-term projects. Now it takes less than eight, thanks to streamlined planning and more e%cient use of resources.

Because of these tangible results, Transguard’s lead-ership is !rmly behind the PMO’s development of a strong project management culture. #at, in turn, allows the organization to attract and retain promis-ing practitioner talent. “#e quality of candidates and résumés we receive for every open position clearly shows a lot of interest in what we are doing,” says Mr. Casagrande. “#e 12-month rolling churn rate in Transguard’s project management discipline is sig-ni!cantly lower than for the rest of the company.” PM

“If we want to succeed, we need to either hire an army of project managers, or build them ourselves.”—Frederic Casagrande, PMP, Transguard Group, Dubai, United Arab Emirates


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PM Network Magazine Aug 2015