The Life of Project Managers How Project Managers in the Translation Industry Deal with the Daily Grind By Hélène Pielmeier, Donald A. DePalma, and Vijayalaxmi Hegde June 2013
The Life of Project Managers By Hélène Pielmeier, Donald A. DePalma, and Vijayalaxmi Hegde June 3013 Copyright 2013 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America. Published by: Common Sense Advisory, Inc. 100 Cambridgepark Drive Cambridge, MA 02140 USA +1.978.275.0500 info@commonsenseadvisory.com www.commonsenseadvisory.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Permission requests should be addressed to the Permissions Department, Common Sense Advisory, Inc., 100 Cambridgepark Drive, Cambridge, MA 02140, +1.978.275.0500, E-Mail: info@commonsenseadvisory.com. See www.commonsenseadvisory.com/en/citationpolicy.html for usage guidelines. Trademarks: Common Sense Advisory, Global Watchtower, Global DataSet, DataPoint, Globa Vista, Quick Take, and Technical Take are trademarks of Common Sense Advisory, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Information is based on the best available resources at the time of analysis. Opinions reflect the best judgment of Common Sense Advisory s analysts at the time, and are subject to change.
The Life of Project Managers i Table of Contents Topic... 1 Executive Summary... 2 Findings... 3 Survey Methodology and Demographics... 3 Environmental Factors Affect Job Satisfaction the Most... 3 Project Managers Report Fair Satisfaction Levels... 3 Geography Affects Job Satisfaction... 7 Satisfaction Varies Based on Years in Business and Team Size... 7 Title and Specialty Have Limited Impact on Satisfaction... 7 Project Manager Workload Predicts Job Satisfaction... 10 Project Managers Work an Average of 44 Hours a Week... 10 Job Satisfaction Diminishes When Hours Increase... 11 Deadlines and Workload Cause Overtime... 12 The Type of Work Tops the List of Job Satisfiers... 12 Stress, Workload, and Deadlines Stand Out As the Top Job Dissatisfiers... 15 Challenges Abound for Project Managers... 16 Project Managers Feel that Their Work Is Misunderstood... 16 Conflicting Demands Stress Project Managers... 16 Vendor Management Presents Challenges... 17 Project Management Is Not for the Faint of Heart... 17 Analysis... 19 Why You Should Care about Job Satisfaction... 19 Employee Turnover Comes at a High Cost... 19 Disposable Project Managers Make a Poor Business Model... 20 Understand the Sources of Satisfaction and Dissatisfaction in Your Team... 20 Know the Pulse of Your Team... 20 The Type of Project Manager Can Influence Job Satisfaction... 21 Burnout Comes with Warning Signals... 22 Know the Basic Job Satisfaction Theories... 24 Reduce the Sources of Job Dissatisfaction... 25 Review your Company Policies and Management Style... 25 Don t Allow Free Riders... 25 Provide Support for Your Team... 25 Evaluate Your Compensation Model... 26 Create the Conditions for Job Satisfaction... 27 Start at the Corporate Level... 27 Then, Move on to the Job Level... 28 Finish at the Individual Level... 28 Conclusions on our Analysis on Project Managers Satisfaction... 29 Implications... 31 Make Fair Trade Translation Your Standard Operating Mode... 31 Realize that Marketable Employees Are a Flight Risk... 31 Watch Out for Your Own Satisfaction... 31 Related Research... 32 About Common Sense Advisory... 33 Copyright 2013 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc. June 2013
ii The Life of Project Managers Figures Future Research... 33 Applied Research and Advisory Services... 33 Figure 1: Profile of Respondents of the Project Management Survey... 4 Figure 2: Two-Thirds of Project Managers Are Satisfied with Their Job... 5 Figure 3: Location Influences Job Satisfaction Results... 6 Figure 4: Years in Business Influence Job Satisfaction Results... 8 Figure 5: Project Management Team Size Influence Job Satisfaction Results... 8 Figure 6: Job Title Has Limited Impact on Satisfaction... 9 Figure 7: The Majority of Project Managers Consistently Works Overtime... 10 Figure 8: Job Satisfiers Mentioned by Project Managers... 14 Figure 9: Job Dissatisfiers Mentioned by Project Managers... 15 Figure 10: Questions to Ask Project Managers to Forecast Potential Burnout... 22 Figure 11: Unnoticed Burnout Signs Lead to Employee Turnover... 23 Tables Table 1: Job Satisfaction Based on Hours Worked... 11 Table 2: Job Satisfaction by Company Size... 12 Table 3: Project Managers Work Overtime for a Variety of Reasons... 13 Table 4: Different Types of PMs Can Have Different Sources of Job Satisfaction... 21 June 2013 Copyright 2013 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc.
The Life of Project Managers 1 Topic Your project managers always seem to have something to gripe about. Are their complaints the usual kind of workplace grumbling? Or do they really have something to complain about? If they do, what can you do to ease the concerns of those staff members who are so crucial to meeting your clients needs? In Common Sense Advisory s early 2013 survey on project manager roles and responsibilities, we also asked about job satisfaction and challenges (see The Responsibilities of Project Managers, Mar13). Here is what you will find in this report: Executive summary. We provide a concise review of the findings. Findings. We present the results of our survey on project manager job satisfaction, workload, the sources of job satisfaction, and challenges. Analysis. We provide an approach to help eliminate sources of dissatisfaction and then increase satisfaction. Implications. We offer insight on what this means for your company. Related research. We recommend other Common Sense Advisory reports and briefs on related topics. This report is designed for CEOs, managing directors, owners, and founders of language service providers, as well as their production managers and project team leads. In addition, anyone involved with project management at a language service provider (LSP) will find valuable data and guidance in this report. It will help you: Understand what makes project managers tick. This report allows you to see how your issues may be similar to those of other companies. Figure out how you can increase job satisfaction. Knowing what your options are will enable you to alleviate some of the pressures project managers encounter and, in turn, increase staff retention. Copyright 2013 by Common Sense Advisory, Inc. June 2013