In planning a move, re-design, or a major construction project, a typical question is: Should I hire a project manager? If you want the project to be delivered on time, on budget, and without risk to your company's bottom line, your answer will likely be “yes.”

You will likely need help with one or more of the following: assembling the right team, planning, budget/schedule development, building evaluation, departmental programming, benchmarking, move coordination, overall project supervision and quality control.

How can you plan ahead to ensure that you select the right project manager?

Charting Your Direction

First, consider your options. Should you outsource? Should you go with an independent project management firm? Or a full-service real estate firm? If you chose the latter, what criteria should you consider when evaluating real estate service providers?

Here's a checklist to get you started:

In-house project management.

This scenario may be worth exploring if you have on staff a professional who has the requisite expertise as well as the time to dedicate to this huge undertaking. Most often, this isn't the case. Typically, it is more efficient to outsource the work to a more experienced specialist, allowing in-house managers to focus on their core competencies and work with their advisors.

Independent project management firms.

A number of firms specialize in this discipline, or part of the overall process. Make sure you understand the scope of their capabilities, however (see list of project management services mentioned earlier). Also, since these firms aren't part of a corporate real estate team, you run the risk of not integrating the transaction and project management sides of the equation.

Traditional commercial real estate firms.

Some of the larger commercial real estate firms have a project management component. Be advised, though, that traditional firms represent both the landlord and the tenant, and this can present the potential for conflicts of interest.

Tenant rep advisory firms.

In this model, corporate real estate advisors work hand-in-hand with project managers in their firm, striving to ensure continuity, efficiency, and accountability. Since tenant representation firms advocate only on behalf of corporate space users, there is no potential for conflicts.

Another consideration: If you are national company, you will probably want to engage a real estate firm that has access to markets nationwide and worldwide.

Once you decide on a general direction, you will want to zero in on the perfect fit for your company. Make sure that:

• The firm and specific project manager you're considering has excellent references.
• The firm you're hiring has professional relationships with general contractors, movers, telecommunications firms, and other vendors.
• The project manager has excellent people skills and is a good listener, not just a talker.
• You're hiring a proven team leader who knows how to motivate and how to communicate, which means keeping you apprised of the project status, including problems, should they arise.
• You're selecting a professional who has a proactive versus reactive approach, which will result in greater piece of mind so that you can focus on other important matters.

Overall, a good project manager will set the tone from the onset. This includes mapping out the project's objectives and the expectations of all players involved. Indeed, a good project manager will inspire confidence and will make everyone's job a little easier.

Risks and Rewards

In the final analysis, the right project manager can mitigate risks, reduce your time involvement, and improve your ROI. Further, the right advisor can be your insurance policy to not only a successful construction project, but also to a continuing partnership in the future.

So, consider an integrated, start-to-finish approach to your real estate needs, beginning with site selection and continuing with lease negotiation (including a fair tenant improvement allowance), and project management. The right project managers will navigate around the thousands of potential pitfalls and squeeze savings every step of the way. They will plan intelligently and deliver everything as promised, down to assuring that even the last coat hook is in place.