"Ultimately, as an organisation, you want to start using resources better and smarter"

Projects! This is a hot topic in many organisations. In this series of interviews, professionals from organisations in various industries talk about a pragmatic approach to project management and their cooperation with Improven Projects & Change. We kick off the series with Monique Scheffers, Programme Manager of the Homefashion Group.

At Homefashion Group puts the customer first

Homefashion Group. Perhaps reading this name does not immediately ring a bell with everyone, but this will change when you know that it is about Kwantum, the largest home discount retailer in the Netherlands and Belgium. Just some impressive figures in a row:

• Homefashion Group now employs more than 1,500 people in 112 branches, the head office and two distribution centres.

• 1 in 5 floors in the Benelux and 1 in 4 window decoration products are supplied by Kwantum

• Every week, more than 1 million customers visit Kwantum's shops and/or web shop

And to achieve all this, the following mission is central to the daily actions and thinking of Homefashion Group employees: Making contemporary living accessible to all!

Homefashion Group does this by always guaranteeing the lowest price and putting the customer first.

Project-based response to changing customer needs

Due to the changing market and customer demands, Homefashion Group is changing from a procurement-driven to a customer-focused organisation. This requires improving processes and introducing new services and products into the market. A thorough project-based approach plays an important role here, with many projects often managed by professionals from within the organisation, such as operations managers, executives from supply chain, procurement, the distribution centres and HR professionals, whose core task is not project management. For imaging purposes, around 35 projects run annually within Homefashion Group, which the management classifies as strategic projects. And in addition, at the departmental level, many large and small projects naturally run.

The Programme manager speaking

To manage the realisation of project deliverables, Monique Scheffers, from July 2016, took up the position of Programme manager within Homefashion Group. Project management is not unknown territory for Monique, which is related, among other things, to the position of Head of Process Optimisation & Quality, which she previously held within the Homefashion Group.

Introducing business: who are you and what do you do?

"I am Monique Scheffers and I have been working for Homefashion Group since 2009. Officially, I hold the position of Programme Manager within Homefashion Group, but actually the term Project Portfolio Manager covers the load better. Within the organisation, I am responsible for coordinating the entire project portfolio and I am also the project manager of a number of projects. I supervise the project managers, including the professionals who do project management on the side, keep the overview in relation to available resources and, together with the Management Board, monitor the coherence between projects and the strategic organisational goals."

Why did Homefashion Group choose Pragmatic Project Management as its PM methodology?

"As a project manager, I have learnt all kinds of project management methodologies over the years. Some methodologies add value and others do not or less, which of course also depends on the organisation and the changing environment. Based on this, I had a picture for myself of how we could best shape this within Homefashion Group. And coincidence or not, then I came across Improven's Pragmatic Project Management methodology. This was virtually a 1-to-1 translation of how I envisaged project management within Homefashion Group, based on my experience and vision. Yes, and then the choice is not difficult and we started discussions with Improven for the training and matching guidance.

This year, we first started by training the board and management. Then, over the past few months, the project managers, or 'professionals who do project management on the side', have been trained."

Within Homefashion Group, how is Pragmatic Project Management perceived by 'the professionals who do projects alongside it'?

" After the training sessions, I first got comments like 'Nice but that's going to cost us extra time again'. Now that we are actually using it, people see the added value of this approach to project management. The project phases with their templates are simple and clear and the interaction with the project owner and other stakeholders is clear. Apart from this, project managers also see the convenience, especially when doing projects right the first time from the start.

Another benefit I see from my role as Project Portfolio Manager. When everyone uses the same methodology, it helps to speak the same language within the organisation, from the shop floor to the boardroom. We also now have a clear picture of ongoing and upcoming projects, combined with the resources required. As a result, we now proactively create an overview for the project managers, so they know what awaits them in the coming year. As a result, project-based working is becoming more and more anchored in the daily routine. Managers have their plates more than full, only now they also know what projects are coming up and what is expected of them, so they can organise the projects around daily work. This is in contrast to the past, where projects came 'over the fence' and were added just as quickly with all the less positive consequences."

For Homefashion Group, what is the added value of Pragmatic Project Management in relation to achieving organisational goals?

"The ultimate goal is for projects to run more efficiently and effectively. This continuously linked to the question: is what we are doing smart? "

From the perspective of effectiveness and in combination with project portfolio management, this involves, for example, the go & no-go moments or "do we go ahead with a project or not?". These and other questions are discussed every month with the board members, who act as project owners in this. We call this the "drumbeat". The advantage is that, as an organisation, you keep a sharp eye on what you are doing and don't go ahead with the wrong things."

Within Pragmatic project management, in relation to decision-making and involvement, an important role is reserved for the project owners. How is this implemented within the Homefashion Group?

"Within Homefashion Group, the project owner is always a member of the management team. In addition, the portfolio of projects is on the monthly agenda of the DT meeting, including decision-making. This follows the drumbeat, which comes from the Pragmatic Project Management methodology. From my role, I join these consultations and take the DT along with me.

The monthly fixed rhythm contributes to support for this approach to project management at all levels. Incidentally, separate steering committees are set up for some projects. This is limited, however, because otherwise you get a proliferation of steering committees and we want to avoid that.

In any case, the management increasingly sees the importance of a pragmatic set-up of project management within the organisation, and you also see them individually taking up their role and getting on the soapbox when necessary. This is not because it is a 'must', but simply because they want to take the lead in this area."

What are the lessons learned, when it comes to the roll-out of Pragmatic Project Management within Home Fashion Group?

"The training sessions for the project owners (sponsors) and the 'professionals who do project management on the side' really helped to raise awareness of the methodology and create awareness. For the latter, think not only about the method but also, for example, within the management, about the connection between projects and resources (capacity) and the relationship with organisational objectives. Starting from a standard method also makes it clear what is expected of everyone.

However, we have just started and still need to gain experience. It is a matter of further development and securing. We will also take steps to anchor that this is the new way of how we handle project management within Homefashion Group. Part of this is that we want to start on-boarding new colleagues, so that they get this way of project management right from the moment they join.

What we also do more and better now than before is to look at the match between the project and the skills/qualities of the intended project manager. So no more ad hoc because someone has attended a training course or happens to have time. After all, as an organisation you ultimately want to deploy resources better and smarter, which affects the end result and also contributes to the job satisfaction of the project manager in question.

We have also decided that we want to build internal knowledge and assurance on project management and processes. We want to build and retain this within the organisation and be less likely to appoint external project managers. What we have noticed is that we have a lot of quality internally to bring our projects to a successful conclusion and, compared to using external project managers, this again saves induction time and knowledge leakage, after a project is completed."

From your role, what are the tips when it comes to applying pragmatic project management?

"My tip would be to look within the method at the possibility of differentiating more when it comes to the role of project manager. What you see now as in many other methods is that a project manager is appointed for the overall project. In real-world projects, however, it regularly happens that there are colleagues who rig the project (tactical), start up and drive it and are very good at this. Then comes a project manager who is more focused on management and the operational aspect. In short, you could take this into account in terms of roles (tactical and operational)."

Have we forgotten anything else?

"No, I don't think so. I am enthusiastic. The training is interactive, lots of variety and people get involved. And the method just suits Homefashion Group well. Pragmatic, efficient and effective."

This interview was conducted by Richard van der Lee, Senior Consultant Projects & Change at Improven, much read blogger on various platforms and also (co)-author and originator of several management books on topics such as leadership, organisational change and talent development.ng. Separately, on behalf of Improven, organisations in solving complex issues using serious gaming-workshops. He does this from his role as Certified Facilitator LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY.