Why I Launched Purple Impact Strategies

I take the science of Project Management seriously. Organizations that fully invest in Project Management from the stakeholders to the team members are the best run companies. Organizations that don’t believe in Project Management usually face predicaments that result in unrealized project expectations.

A project professional role, whether it’s on the project or program level, is a critical position. Whether the project enhances the organization internally or is developing a new or existing product or service, a good project manager can be a lifeline for a company. A good project professional can be the difference between a company surviving and thriving.

It is for this reason that I am surprised to see so many stakeholders and members of upper management delegate the duties of running important projects to administrative staff or engineers. I am further concerned with so many high-level organizations relying on online resume searches. Internet staffing algorithms only get you a high quantity of resumes, not the highest quality of candidates. Many times, the resumes collected don’t even come close to meeting the job requirements.

Another common staffing pitfall can be using recruiters that have no experience in sourcing project management professionals. Why are organizations putting the lifeline of their business in the hands of people who don’t know project management or understand it?

I started Purple Impact Strategies to be a disruptor in the staffing industry. Purple Project Professionals are a dedicated group of people unified around one goal. That goal is project success. Our candidates are certified and continue to obtain additional education to keep them abreast of the latest trends and techniques. They work in various industries and have worked on small and large projects with varying degrees of complexity.

Purple’s project professionals are responsible for aligning projects with an eye toward future strategy, delivering projects on time, within budget, and according to scope. They are looking for great companies to challenge them…thereby making the company more successful.

I created Purple to be more than just a recruiting firm. In fact, we are not recruiters. We are certified project managers. Our leadership team boasts over 35 years of project management experience. Purple does not use the traditional route to source for project professionals. Purple is plugged into the project management arena. We belong to seventeen different project management associations. We don’t use keyword searches to find candidates. Purple uses a robust and connected referral system and its proprietary consultant questionnaire gives us the ability to find the right fit for the client.

We even interview the client…yes, the client. We ask stakeholders and management about the project management opportunity, and we use the information we glean to inform the hand-picked candidates we present to you. A simple job description will not determine who will apply for the opening.

I started Purple Impact Strategies as a niche consulting firm to match great clients with exceptional project professionals. Purple understands the value of project management, and we understand what value our Purple consultants can bring to your organization. We help organizations execute the projects that actualize their corporate vision.

If you think sourcing the BEST talent is paramount, think Purple Impact Strategies.

The Pitfalls of Using Online Recruiting: Why Non-Project Professionals Aren’t Ideal for Project Management Recruitment

Let me tell you about a phone interview I had a while ago. I was applying for a Project Management position and submitted my resume to the recruiter. The recruiter calls the next day and we begin to discuss the opportunity. We go over everything that is on the job description and asks me about my experience on each of the bullet points. Easy enough. I start to go through my experiences and why I would be a good fit for the opportunity. I then started to delve deeper into the role and responsibilities of the position; the what, when, how’s and other details of the position that will evidently come up based on the responsibilities.

Within five minutes it dawned on me, she didn’t understand project management at all. She could discuss what the duties were on the job description and understood “surface” project management responsibilities, but she did not understand Project Management. I asked her, have you ever managed a project or been on a project team where you had to deal with budgets, schedules, risk management, scope integrity, worked in a PMO environment, understand how an angle methodology in different than a waterfall environment. Have you experienced being on a successful project or even a project failure?

She said, “can’t say that I have”. I’m a recruiter, not a Project Professional. I started to wonder if the recruiter does not understand what a project professional does how can they source the right consultant for the job? If you open up the hood of a car, I can tell you many of the parts of the engine. But if the car breaks down, you don’t want me working on your car. Why, because I’m not a mechanic.

This is one of the reasons I launched Purple Impact Strategies. I wanted a “home” for project professionals to work with other Project Professionals who could match their exceptional skills sets to great organizations. A place where they can talk about their career goals, a hub where they can exchange ideas and questions about where their next role should be.

The best Project Professionals don’t work with recruiters. They have had similar experiences with non-project professional recruiters and love Purple’s philosophy and approach to working with organizations with opportunities. Purple is a niche Project Professional consulting/staffing firm. We don’t do administrative, clerical or industrial staffing. We don’t use keyword searches via an algorithm software Purple uses a robust referral program. Our singular focus is the Project Professional.

If you value the role of a project professional and understand the benefits of what they can bring to the organization give Purple Impact Strategies a call.