United States
Hong KongHiring your first project manager
A project manager takes the contract administration off the person running the work. The trigger is usually not job size but the volume of documentation, and most contractors hire one late.
The hire that decides whether a growing contractor can take a second commercial job.
What the role actually does
- Contract administration, including change orders and correspondence
- Submittals and requests for information
- Payment applications and lien waiver collection
- Schedule maintenance and look-ahead planning
- Subcontractor buyout and scope management
- Closeout documentation
None of that is building. All of it decides whether the building gets paid for.
The trigger
Not a dollar threshold. It is the point where the person running the work is doing paperwork at night and the paperwork is still late.
Late submittals delay material. Late payment applications delay cash. Both compound and neither is visible until they bite.
In a growing contractor the owner estimates, sells, runs the job and does the paperwork. Every one of those is a full role at commercial scale, and the paperwork is the one that is easiest to hand over and the last one people let go of.
What to hire for
Contract literacy over field experience. A project manager who can read general conditions and write a change order is worth more than one who knows how to frame.
The field knowledge can be supplied by your superintendent. The contract knowledge usually cannot be supplied by anyone in the company.
Cost against risk
A salary is a fixed cost against a variable workload, which is why contractors delay. Set against one unrecovered change order or one liquidated damages assessment, the arithmetic usually favors hiring earlier.
Before you hire
Write down the processes you currently hold in your head. A project manager arriving into an undocumented company spends the first months reconstructing what you know rather than doing the job.
Common questions
When should I hire a project manager?
When contract administration is being done at night and is still late, rather than at a particular job size.
What does a project manager do?
Contract administration, submittals, requests for information, payment applications, schedule and closeout.
What should I hire for?
Contract literacy over field experience. Field knowledge can come from your superintendent.
Why do contractors delay this hire?
A salary is a fixed cost against variable workload. One unrecovered change order usually outweighs it.
What should I do before hiring?
Write down the processes you hold in your head, so a new manager is not reconstructing them.