42% of Project Managers Believe Remote Working Reduces Control Over Projects
PM Summit, Ireland’s premier conference for project and programme managers, has announced the findings of a new study which reveals that 42% of project managers believe that they have less control of projects when their project team is working remotely. Only 10% of project management professionals believe that remote working gives them more control of projects, falling to 8% among IT professionals.
Around half (52%) of respondents believe that remote working increases project success rates, but a surprisingly high 19% of respondents believe that remote working reduces project success rates. This is even more pronounced among IT project managers, with just over a fifth (21%) of project managers believing that remote working may hinder project success.
The majority (72%) of all project management professionals believe that remote working increases efficiency, falling to 69% for project managers working in IT roles.
The study, carried out with the assistance of Pan Research, surveyed a representative 331 Irish person sample of Ireland’s 50,000+ project managers. These come from a broad range of sectors including IT, Finance, Pharma, Architecture, Engineering and Construction.
The survey found that access to remote working was high across all industries, with 84% of project management respondents utilising remote working. The IT sector is where remote working is most prevalent with 95% employing this approach.
The results highlighted a disparity in attitudes to remote working between more senior project manager leads and their team members. The study found that two thirds (65%) of more junior project team members believe that remote work increases the success rate of projects. In contrast, half (50%) of senior project managers believe remote working is good for project success rates.
Some 85% of project team members report that they felt that they can work more efficiently when working remotely. However, just 70% of senior project managers report that remote work allows them to be more efficient.
Raymond Poole, CEO, PM Summit, said: “Our survey found discrepancies around attitudes towards remote working from project managers and team members. It seems that while team members find remote working to be a positive experience, more senior managers report challenges around managing teams and projects. Clearly many feel that remote working causes control issues. The key to improving this is clear communication, an established structure including timelines and defined goals. These practises are the core of managing remote teams properly.
“We were surprised to see that IT personnel – given that this group is most likely to work away from the office – was less positive about the efficiency, control and project success rates of remote working compared to all project managers.
“The survey highlights some concerns about remote working, and this is something that we’ll address at this year’s conference.”
The PM Summit is taking place at The Convention Centre, Dublin on Wednesday, 13th March. Early-bird tickets are now available at €275 for a single ticket, €250 pp for packs of two or €225 pp for a pack of three or more (Excl. VAT). The early-bird offer is available until February 15th. Refreshments and lunch will be provided throughout the day and delegates will also have the opportunity to interact and network with peers. For more information and to register for the event, visit http://www.pmsummit.global/register/.
CAPTION:
Pictured announcing results of a new survey, that reveals that 42% of project managers believe remote working reduces control over projects, are (L to R) Raymond Poole, CEO, PM Summit, and Vicky Poole, Co-founder, PM Summit.
