Client perspective: what makes a good project manager?
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30 May 2024
Steph Fairbairn
Journal and Content Editor, RICS, London, UK
Ann Allen MBE FRICS, executive director of estates and commercial services at the University of Leeds shares her extensive experience of working with project managers.
What do you understand to be the role of a project manager?
A project manager on a construction project can have many roles depending on who they are representing. On any large scheme at the University of Glasgow we have two senior estates colleagues who work together: the development manager and the project manager.
The development manager works with the internal client: our academic. The development manager’s role is to shape and develop the brief, clearly articulating the benefits and then compiling the business case for the project. Up until the point of business case approval, the development manager is the key university lead collaborating with the design team.
The project manager works with the contractor or delivery partner to manage the construction and delivery of the project. At the early stages of design the project manager will support the development manager on buildability and cost, and will be responsible for the procurement process. Once the project has approval, the project manager will take over from the development manager and focus on delivery of the project. As a long-term occupier of our building and the projects we develop, a focus on time, quality and cost is important.
Which qualities and skills do you look for when appointing or working with a project manager?
The hard skills are obvious: a detailed knowledge of the construction industry, the complexities of construction and a good understanding of the building contract and contract law. However, it is the soft skills that make an excellent project manager.
“The hard skills are obvious... however, it is the soft skills that make an excellent project manager.”
A project manager must be able to find simple, clear solutions to what are often complex problems with multiple potential responses. They need to be able to facilitate discussions between relevant parties with diverse views, and to manage the expectations of all parties. Sometimes this can mean defusing difficult situations or relaying bad news to the client or design team.
They must be a good leader: authentic, trusted and a great communicator. Communication is pivotal: the university is a heavily governed organisation and therefore clear, accurate reporting is essential. A project manager who can communicate issues and opportunities to both the expert and the uninformed client will create an environment that allows for timely decision-making and good progress.
Can you give any examples of good or bad practice?
I can think of several occasions where experienced project managers lost the confidence of the client due to poor-quality reporting, or project reports being issued behind schedule. Simple things like this are important to the success of the project.
How do you see the role developing in the future?
There are many ways in which the construction industry is changing. Building information modelling, off-site construction and soft landings will mean that the construction process becomes more complex; but also more collaborative and, in some ways, more cohesive.
If a project manager is the person who glues all this together, then their role can only become more significant. With the increased emphasis on quality and partnership, the project manager will be essential to the successful delivery of a project. The soft skills will become as important as the hard skills.
- Ann Allen spoke to RICS Journal Editor Steph Fairbairn for an article originally published RICS Construction Journal June-July 2019
About the author
Steph Fairbairn
Journal and Content Editor, RICS, London, UK
Steph edits the Construction Journal and conservation-related material for the Built Environment Journal. What she enjoys most is the skills exchange involved in editing the journals – combining the technical knowledge of the authors with her understanding of writing, language and the publishing process. Her previous experience includes work on newspapers, magazines and medical journals.
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