Posted on Nov 20th 2015
Construction Project Management
Hiring a Construction Project Manager is one of the most important tasks to seeing your project come to life from the design phase. You need someone who not only sees your vision for the project but also has the tools and expertise necessary to implement it.
Education and on-the-job experience play a large part in hiring a successful and efficient Project Manager, but don’t get blindsided by someone that looks good on paper but lacks the qualities needed to succeed in the field.
Here are some of the most important qualities to look for in a Construction Project Manager.
In order to lead teams efficiently and to communicate well with upper management, your construction project manager needs to demonstrate fluid, effective communication.
In your panel, include interviewers from multiple positions in your company. A good rule of thumb is at least three tiers of personnel. For example a company president, an excellent project manager completing a similar task, and a bright worker who will work underneath the potential manager.
A successful construction project manager will have graduated with Bachelor’s degrees in fields like Construction Management, Engineering, Construction Science or Architecture.
For a large project, formal study in the field should be a necessity for getting the job, as a degree ensures that your construction project manager has a broad scope of foundations knowledge that field experience may not necessarily provide.
If your candidate has 15+ years of experience working on similar projects with different companies, you can probably overlook a lack of formal education as they have already demonstrated their knowledge and skill-base in the field.
It may be tempting to hire internally, like promoting that manager armed with a fresh degree, excels in their current position, and embodies all of the companies’ ideals and principles. Stop right there. In a small construction project, this may be a smart hire.
However, in a large construction project, you have more room for error if you hire this way. Instead, look for the candidate with at least three years’ of experience on a similar project. If he or she has only overseen one large project, delve into whether the project was completed in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Ultimately, your Construction Project Manager is the person you trust to bring your construction work to completion under achievable timeframes and within set out budgets. These are the specific areas you want your new construction project manager to focus on.
An effective Construction Project Manager will know how to use construction software management tools to keep tabs on the current state of the project, as well as projections for the future.
The remaining quality that you should keep in mind when hiring is company fit. Look to candidates that possess a similar disposition to your most trusted insiders. Someone that embodies the ‘feel’ of your company is more likely to achieve success and may be useful for other projects that come up.
Of course, your candidate may well be moldable into the company image, but keep an eye out for mavericks, who like to play by their own rules, which can cause internal issues to arise.
With a solid knowledge base, proven track record in the field, and experience using the best tools available to ensure your project time and costs don’t blow out, the right candidate is out there for you. It is important to find the right construction project management team, so be proactive and don’t be afraid of conducting multiple rounds of interviewing.