Hybrid project management and workplace model key to project delivery in the MENA region

Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 6 March, 2024: Organizations in MENA are anticipating a shift to hybrid project management approach to accelerate outcomes for project delivery, reveals a flagship annual report by Project Management Institute (PMI), the world’s leading authority for project professionals.

PMI’s 15^th annual Pulse of the Profession® report, which details key findings of its annual survey of project professionals and project leaders around the world, has found that 77% of organizations surveyed in MENA are expecting an increase in the flexible and adaptive hybrid management practices over the next 5 years. 72% organizations in MENA currently use the linear-run or traditional project management methodologies.

The Future of Project Work: Moving Past Office-Centric Models, found that globally, since 2020, there has been a 57.5% increase of survey respondents reportedly using hybrid management frameworks. Its growing popularity demonstrates that organizations see the advantages of using different approaches and of combining practices, tools, and techniques to get the job done.

The annual report also shed light on another critical aspect fundamental to organizations’ ways of working: hybrid work arrangements. The survey results of 2,246 project professionals and 342 senior leaders around the world provide compelling evidence that organizations can provide work location flexibility, agility, and empowerment without affecting project execution and performance.

Since COVID-19 transformed the world of work nearly four years ago, there has been much debate about the most effective work arrangement, and many studies have attempted to argue that the negatives of remote work outweigh the positives. The survey found that in MENA, the in-person model is the preferred way of working, with 23% of organizations adopting the hybrid model while 3% are following the remote path. However, data from the report found projects perform equally well, be it in an in-person, hybrid, or remote way of working.

The findings suggest that organizations should focus on empowering flexibility that optimizes team collaboration, innovation, agility and efficiency to gain and maintain competitive advantage. And they can do so without worrying about negative impacts on project performance. For many teams, that is a fit-for-purpose, hybrid management approach – one that blends both agile and predictive tools and methods. Organizations need to create an environment of continuous learning and support that makes this possible.

“This report underscores the importance of organizations not only reevaluating their work location policies and optimizing how they operate, but also prioritizing the development of essential skills within project teams to enhance their adaptability,” stated Pierre Le Manh, President & Chief Executive Officer of PMI. “Empowering project professionals and teams with the autonomy to determine and implement the most appropriate ways of working —irrespective of their physical location—positions them for greater success in navigating uncertainties, evolving business landscapes, emerging challenges, and project demands.”

At the industry level, different enablers show correlations to higher levels of project performance. For instance, the top three enablers associated with higher project performance within the construction industry include employee resource groups which enhances project performance by 78.9%, mental health resources by 77.2% and coaching and mentoring by 76.7%.

Enabling Teams Drives Project Performance

The research found that enablers – specific supportive programming that helps individuals and teams learn new skills and competencies – play a much larger role in driving project performance than work location or project management approach. In fact, providing teams with enablers is crucial in today’s dynamic business environment to navigate the demands for flexibility and agility.

The three most common enablers organizations provide are coaching and mentoring, training on new ways of working, and communities of practice to share knowledge and expertise. Organizations that offer employees at least three enablers reported significantly higher project performance rates. However, those that do not offer any enablers were more likely to experience scope creep challenges and increase budget losses on failed projects.

In the UAE, 46% of organizations are enabling project professionals plan and achieve professional development through coaching and mentoring; 43% have strong communities of practice to enable employees to share knowledge and expertise; and 29% of organizations offer training opportunities to project management professionals to adapt to the new ways of working.

In Saudi Arabia, project performance has been positively impacted with 49% of organizations offering training opportunities to adapt to the new ways of working and help project professionals plan and achieve professional development through coaching and mentoring. 39% have dedicated communication channels for employees to ask questions regarding changes and 37% of organizations in the Kingdom are building a competitive edge through strong communities of practice to enable employees to collaborate, share knowledge and learn from each other.

As for project outcomes, 69% of organizations in MENA met business goals, compared to 75% in North America and 71% in Europe.

Pulse of the Profession® seeks to understand key trends and identify new insights that can help project managers and organizations drive better project performance and make informed decisions about how they operate.