PMO Trends for 2022

Sponsor as the star!

We anticipate a tightening of the purse strings in 2022 across all sectors. This means getting hold of investment capital will be particularly competitive. We would expect the PMO to be brought into driving processes around value articulation and capability uplift. We expect that we will be working closer with Sponsors that we ever have before. We will be advising our PMO community to prepare for interrogative questioning from Sponsors and to ensure good methodologies and processes are in place to bring reliable data points to value and capability discussions. Measurement systems will need to be well thought out, agreed and repeatable to really support prioritisation and drive optimal outcomes for organisations.

To understand the ask of PMO here, it’s useful to consider that Sponsors will be selling ideas. We are starting to see, even in the large organisations we work with, a much more entrepreneurial mindset brought to investment management forums. Teams will be expected to sell compelling business ideas to secure funding, driving the importance of clearly articulating short- and long-term benefit and having mechanisms in place for continuous monitoring of this.

Amp up of Agile

Most organisations that we work with are mature in their agile journey. Conversations in 2022 will not be around implementing agile or debating tools and techniques. We expect that PMO’s will be under pressure to service an executive level need for real time governance data to enable continuous monitoring, refinement and to assist with planning numerous start and stop decision points to provide the maximum amount of flexibility in value driven delivery. This particular theme will play out alongside the sponsor as the star. We predict we may see more shifting around of a pool of ‘resource’ to allow key initiatives to run concurrently and pivot against each other as sponsors make iterative prioritisation calls. PMO’s need to be mature in business acumen and stakeholder management to bring much needed under-pinning data and structure to this space.

Attracting and retaining top talent

We predict that the PMO’s role could become pivotal in attracting and retaining top talent. 2022 will see far more thoughtful and focussed discussion in exploration of what people need to perform well and what people need to have in place to make them want to stay. We are already seeing PMO’s remit extended in this area. A number of teams that we work with, where PMO is embedded within a portfolio are being asked to sit in on recruitment panels to assist with the assessment of cultural fit for new joiners and also to centrally manage recruitment, as approval to recruit is gradually becoming more and more of a challenge. A number of teams that we work with are getting ahead of the game and focusing on getting serious around retention as role approval channels elongate and, in some instances, close for extended periods of time. PMO’s are ideally placed to partner widely in the organisational structure and really make a difference in this space. We at AMO are exciting about jumping into this theme and making a real difference.

Tech complexity

We expect things to get wild on the tech front! Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, throw in customer appetites for beautiful digital solutions and a technical landscape that is in a cycle of hyper development, and we know this will continue to shape everything we do. Everything we know is up to be questioned, improved or completely revolutionised. PMO’s will need to get comfortable with new lingo, ways of working, rapid and large-scale development and the customer being centric always. Equally PMO’s will be expected to be engaged and responsive in the evaluation of how we work. When we say everything is up to be questioned, this absolutely includes the function of the PMO! We see this as an exciting opportunity for discovery and uplift.

Play nice!

A theme we also expect to continue to develop and gain traction in 2022 is that of personal development. We encourage our PMO community to ensure they have the necessary behavioural attributes to contribute in a holistic within the context of their role. Many in our community are searching out pathways to refresh and up-skill in areas such as building high performing teams, conflict resolution, trust building, impact building, motivation, productivity and communication strategy. Given the centralised nature of our roles we have much to offer by demonstrating good approach and technique in these skill sets. We can also contribute to collective community skill uplift. PMO’s have an opportunity to activate skill sets across teams and offer coaching and guidance. We consider this a great way to level up your role and do what you can to smooth pathways, reduce misunderstanding and encourage good energy and attitude within colleagues.

Thanks for engaging with this content. We hope that we have left you with something that resonated and that perhaps you can use this as a springboard to get curious and think about how you personally are going to set yourself up for a great 2022 in your PMO role.

If you have any of your own predictions, we would love to hear from you, so please reach out.