Imagine a janitorial lead at your local gym whose name is Tyler. He walks in the door everyday at 10am in the local gym filled with beefcakes, average Joes, rookies, new timers and old folks. He signs in on a check in notebook where he gains satisfaction from noting that he has only been 5 mins tardy once in his year of working as a janitorial lead. Tyler knows that he has made a good impression and sets a beeline for the supply closet where he knows that it will contain the extra bleach that he just ordered.
“Hey Tyler good job yesterday on the wax in the dance room and basketball court, the Zumba instructors were so happy.”
“My pleasure Mr. Chris, I noticed signs of mildew in the ceiling near the track and field entrance and I have drawn up a plan to address it. It should be resolved by next week.”
“You’re the best Tyler. Keep up the good work and I’ll have something for you by the end of the quarter.”
Tyler nods appreciatively and heads for the supply closet knowing that Mr. Chris, the club’s general manager, would likely add a bonus of a few hundred dollars as he does every few weeks. That helps with the mortgage he has signed for a new house in the suburbs with his wife and new born. He wonders what it would take to move into a management position.
We may have heard of a situation like this at our work. Tyler’s work is tedious, it requires attention to detail and excruciating, hard, laborious effort. It is very valuable however. Tyler’s work requires a soft touch, a keen eye for planning and investing in the right tools and techniques to maintain the new gym facility. So why doesn’t Tyler know when and if that management position is within reach? Why doesn’t Tyler, an excellent janitorial lead know when and what it would take for him to move up in the ranks? Arguably, that is what would make the difference between the great 85th percentile work he is doing now and the masterful top 99.9% work that he could be performing if he knew when that raise was coming.
The difference in Tyler’s understanding of his work and his achievements with the gym organization he is working in, is benefits realization management.
Benefit realization management is a gain (value – costs) realized by the organization and beneficiaries through portfolio, program, and project outcomes (PMI Benefits Management Guide 2019).
There is a gap with Tyler in the appropriate tracking of his work plans, work effort, and realization of benefits to his organization. There are 11 significant factors of benefits management that would help common workers and persons like Tyler. These are called the critical success enablers of benefits realization management.
There are 11 significant factors of benefits management that would help common workers and persons like Tyler. These are called the critical success enablers of benefits realization management.
- Net benefits justify use of resources (Tyler knows what products to order for each maintenance project)
- Commencement of work is driven by benefits identification (Mr. Chris authorizes work on wax procurement planning in new regional gym facility and Tyler understands the need to travel)
- Planned benefits are identified in authorizing documents (Planned benefits of new maintenance projects are drafted by Tyler and Mr. Chris and shareable with coworkers and his colleagues)
- Benefits realization is holistically planned and managed (When Tyler was hired to when his is promoted or transitioned to another company)
- Governance and adequate resources are essential to BRM success (Salary and benefits portfolio for Tyler is salary + bonus structure)
- Establish clear roles and responsibilities (Organization charts)
- Develop the right BRM culture (How are benefits discussed and determined in the gym organization?)
- Build and develop the right skill sets (How are skills maintained? tribal knowledge? group think? research based? or certification?
- Embrace Flexibility (Goals are defined and tasks to achieve goals are flexible)
- Strengthen governance and risk management (create escalation policies that make sense)
- Establish benefits tracking (Track Tyler’s milestones, such as the basketball wax achievement)
Benefits realization management is the difference between doing something because it has to be done and doing something because you recognize the significance. Tyler, the janitorial lead, should know when that raise is coming and if that organization uses more benefits realization management using certified project managers to manage the benefits transition, maybe someday he/she will.
Emi Akiode, PMP curated this content and is available for consulting through PMI.org, LinkedIn, and Instagram at @project_insider. Please feel free to comment or subscribe.
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