As your business grows and projects become more complex, things could start falling through the cracks without strategic and dedicated oversight.
Recognizing when to hire a project manager (PM) will keep your business growing and scaling smoothly, all so you can maintain efficiency, quality, and timely delivery.
Unsure about when to hire a project manager or if you need one at all? Keep reading to discover some of the advantages of bringing a project manager on board, along with ten indicators that suggest your team could benefit from their expertise.
Why Hire a Project Manager?
A skilled project manager ensures objectives are met on time, within budget, and to quality standards. Their expertise goes beyond overseeing projects. Their skill set includes understanding project goals, managing stakeholders, mitigating risks, and strategic resource allocation.
Whether you need an IT project manager, a utility project manager, or any other area of expertise, they are indispensable to a project-driven organization.
Your project managers will develop comprehensive project plans and strategically align project objectives with organizational goals. They will also lead cross-functional teams, fostering collaboration. They will identify and mitigate potential risks while communicating with stakeholders at all levels.
Here are some advantages of having a project manager on your team:
- Streamlined workflows for improved efficiency and productivity
- Focus on crucial details to ensure consistent quality and stakeholder satisfaction
- Proactively ask the right questions upfront for clarity and alignment
- Utilize structured approaches and methodologies to meet project deadlines
- Control costs throughout the project lifecycle

When to Hire a Project Manager
With a small volume of work and an agile team, a project-based business can thrive without a project manager. However, many companies handle this level of work with a task-based system that does not effectively scale.
A project is an interconnected web of tasks tied to the three pillars of time, budget, and skills. Without project management, your team will likely be ticking off tasks from a checklist.
As the business scales or projects become more complex, tasks handled in isolation lead to avoidable inefficiencies. A project manager will take a strategic, project-based approach.
Not sure when to hire a project manager? Here are 10 signs that it’s time.
1. Your Team Is Disorganized
When disorganization impacts project outcomes, it’s time to hire a project manager. In addition to chaos and disarray, signs of disorganization include miscommunication, missed deadlines, or misplaced priorities.
2. Tasks Aren’t Getting Done
Forgotten tasks and missed deadlines are clear indications that your team is struggling. This issue often stems from unclear task assignments, inadequate resource allocation, or a lack of accountability.
A project manager specializes in creating detailed plans that clearly outline each task, assign responsibilities, and establish timelines. They also actively monitor task completion and can quickly address any bottlenecks or resource shortages.
3. There’s No Clear Point of Contact
Without a centralized point of contact, your team, stakeholders, and clients may get confused about who to contact with questions, updates, or concerns. Information may be siloed or lost without a clear communication hub, delaying project progress and execution.
Having a project manager to field queries and coordinate responses streamlines operations, enhances transparency, and improves overall project efficiency.
4. Your Projects Experience Scope Creep
Projects that are always expanding beyond their initial scope may be a sign that it’s time to hire a project manager. A good PM can implement change management processes to prevent or strategically control project drift.
5. Employees Are Confused About Their Responsibilities
Overlapping efforts, gaps in task coverage, and general inefficiency are all signs employees may be confused about their roles.
A project manager can address these issues head-on by clearly defining each team member’s role within the context of a project. They ensure everyone understands their duties, how their work contributes to the broader goals, and where they can go for guidance.
6. Your Business Has High Volume or Complexity
You may need to hire a project manager if your organization handles a high volume of tasks or manages complex, multi-faceted projects. Complex projects require sophisticated coordination and meticulous attention to detail to ensure on-schedule progress. Without someone to prioritize, delegate, and track progress effectively, a high volume of tasks can quickly become overwhelming and disintegrate into disorder and chaos.
A project manager breaks down complex projects into manageable parts, efficiently distributing the workload among team members. They tend to the big picture and the granular details.
7. Employees Are Pulled Away from Their Primary Roles
When team members are spread too thin, juggling multiple roles, or stepping in to fill gaps in project coordination, their productivity in their primary roles can suffer. This can lead to a decline in work quality, increased stress, and greater job dissatisfaction.
A project manager takes on the responsibility of managing projects from start to finish and allows other employees to focus on what they do best. With a project manager overseeing logistics, each team member can dedicate their attention and expertise to their designated tasks.
8. Your Teams Are Not Communicating Well
When teams operate in silos without a central figure to bridge communications, important information can be lost, leading to misalignments and inconsistencies in project execution. This lack of coordination can be detrimental, especially in complex projects where interdependent tasks need to be synchronized across teams.
A project manager is a linchpin, ensuring seamless communication and coordination between parties. They establish regular check-ins, utilize collaborative tools, and set up integrated communication channels that keep everyone informed and aligned.
9. Your Projects Aren’t Getting More Efficient Over Time
If your team is operating like a well-oiled machine, it will get more efficient over time. Each project is an opportunity to learn and implement best practices. If you’re not progressing in this area, your team may stagnate or lose ground.
This is an excellent reason why to hire a project manager. They will seek ways to optimize and streamline processes. They collect and analyze data from each project to pinpoint bottlenecks and inefficiencies.
With this insight, they can adjust workflows, refine strategies, and introduce new tools or technologies to enhance productivity.
10. Employees Are Dissatisfied
Employee dissatisfaction can sometimes be traced back to project management-related issues, like unclear expectations, lack of recognition, or poor workload distribution. If you notice a trend of growing discontent among your staff, it might be time to consider hiring a project manager.
A project manager can improve employee satisfaction by clearly defining roles, evenly distributing workloads, and recognizing milestones and achievements.
They facilitate transparent communication and provide a channel for employees to voice their concerns or suggestions. By fostering a more organized, respectful, and supportive work environment, a project manager helps improve morale and reduce turnover.
READ NEXT: 6 Skills IT Project Managers Bring to Teams
The Strategic Advantage of Hiring a Project Manager
Knowing when to hire a project manager safeguards your workflow against common pitfalls like miscommunication, lapses in quality, and customer or employee dissatisfaction. With a project manager on board, your organization can expect smoother project flows, better team dynamics, and enhanced productivity.
At Insight Global, we have extensive expertise in helping clients find the right project manager to transform operations, especially in critical sectors like IT. Our vast network and keen understanding of industry-specific challenges allow us to identify and recruit project managers with the skills, experience, and cultural fit to thrive in your organization.
Connect with our team today to ensure your projects are set up for success.