Smartsheet Future of Work Management Report 2023 (A SUmmary)

​A Summary of Smartsheet Future of Work Management Report 2023

The emergence of ChatGPT serves as a reminder that the world is undergoing a transformation and advancing towards the age of AI. The crucial question that remains unanswered is whether human beings will be replaced by AI in the future. To prevent this catastrophic outcome, we must strive to keep pace with the world's evolution by adopting new technological tools and integrating them into our daily lives. This not only ensures our survival in an AI-dominated world but also facilitates our productivity and adaptability in a rapidly changing environment.

The Smartsheet Future of Work Management Report survey was conducted in September 2022 among 8,000 employed adults aged 18-74, evenly distributed among the United States, UK, Australia, and DACH. All respondents self-reported that they engage in project-based work, and they represent about 60% of the adult employed audience who work in companies with 50+ employees. The respondents span a wide range of industries, titles, and levels within their organizations, including C-suite and senior executives, upper and middle management, individual contributors, administrative support staff, frontline workers, and those who define their work as "other.

Project-based work has become the norm in today's business world, and many people find themselves managing projects even without formal training or a title as a project manager. In fact, over 80% of respondents in a survey said that project management is being done by someone whose title or job description does not include "managing projects." Therefore, everyone in organizations that handle project-based work is essentially a project manager.

Distinct groups of project managers
The survey revealed that while many people manage projects, they do not have the same level of project management experience. The survey identified three distinct groups of project managers.

• Title project managers - directly associated with project management, such as a project manager, project coordinator, or assistant project manager.
  
• Expected project managers - do not have a project management-related title, but their official job description includes project management activities.
  
• Citizen project managers - not expected to manage projects based on their job title and description but in practice, end up managing projects.
  

65% of the citizen project managers say they do so because no one else takes on the project management role or because team members leave the company or need a temporary replacement. Additionally, 45% of citizen project managers say they manage projects because their supervisor asked them to handle it, highlighting the ad-hoc nature of this responsibility.

Pain points endure across project management groups
All three groups of project managers identified in the survey report similar challenges with project management, including:

• Employee shuffling (45%) 
• Remote work (40%) 
• Extended time leave (34%)​

​91% of respondents report facing project management challenges, with 85% feeling overwhelmed by project pace and deadline. Negative emotions like frustration, burnout, embarrassment, anger, and apathy are commonly experienced when projects break down, leading to direct career consequences for almost 30% of respondents.
​
​​Pain points reflected across regions and company size

The challenges in project management are not unique to a particular region or company size and are reported at similar rates across demographics. The survey conducted in seven countries and four markets showed that the challenges remained consistent across all.

Three key findings to make project management more manageable

         The day-to-day project work is what matters most

• To ensure project success, it's important to focus on the day-to-day execution work that happens in the middle phase of a project, such as establishing reliable workflows, completing smaller tasks, communicating effectively, and collaborating as a team. This work is more critical than just meeting the project's deadlines. While deadlines and planning are important, how a team carries out this middle work is a better indicator of project success.
  
  The team needs more tools and resources to be successful
• Only 35% of respondents use project management software to do their job, which is a missed opportunity for organizations of all industries and sizes. This can lead to time, money, and resource savings by implementing project management software. Among citizen project managers, only 11% use project management software. According to 78% of project professionals who use it, using dedicated project management software can support work-life balance.
• Project management software can automate tasks, reminders, and updates, freeing up time for the team to focus on more impactful work. More than 50% of those using project management software have shifted to automated processes, compared to only 30% of those without software.
  
  Projects are only as good as the processes they’re built on
• To build strong processes, it is important to have visibility into the learnings from past projects. To prevent information silos, one approach is to use project management software that enables teams to see all the work happening in the organization and archive past project information. According to the survey, 70% of those who use formal work management software reported that they can regularly gain insight into what works and what doesn't.

Conclusion
Effective project management is essential for achieving company objectives, and it involves everyone, not just official project managers. Citizen project managers, in particular, benefit from strong project management software that provides real-time visibility and promotes cross-team collaboration. To be successful, project management requires a shift toward continuous, integrated, and collaborative project-based work, which can be achieved through three key imperatives.
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For more information may refer to:
https://www.smartsheet.com/future-work-management-report 


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