5 KEY BENEFITS OF A CTRM PROGRAM HEALTH CHECK

Making time for a CTRM program health check is perhaps not top of your list of priorities right now. Running a CTRM program of work can be an all-consuming job. That’s exactly why it’s worth putting some time in your schedule now and give your CTRM program of work an independent review.

Let’s look at 5 of the top benefits you’ll get from a CTRM Program Health Check.

1. You Get A Benchmark

One of the primary reasons to do a CTRM Program Health Check is to find out where you are. It might sound strange: business leaders should know what their departments are capable of, shouldn’t they? In reality, it’s because Program Leaders are so involved in the detail that they need to make the time and space to do a thorough review of whether the program is continuing to meet its objectives, and whether those objectives are still fit for purpose.

A health check is a way of making sure that period of reflection actually happens, and that something useful comes out the other side of the process.

The benchmark data about where you are helps you and your team establish what changes and improvements you want to make next.

That leads us to…

2. You Can Road Map Where To Go Next

Your health check results are invaluable in helping plan the next evolution of your CTRM Program. The output of spending time assessing where you and what you could be doing differently is that you get clarity on what to invest your time and resources in next.

You’ll be able to work through the recommendations, prioritising which are the things you want to address and focus on today, and which form part of a longer-term transformative effort for your CTRM Program. Better still, the road map you produce gives senior leaders a clear statement of what you have achieved so far and how they can support you going forward. And of course, what the benefits of that support will be.

3. You Improve Alignment

By understanding where you are and where you want to go, you can improve the way you align the Program’s activities with business drivers.

The questions we ask when we do a CTRM Program Health Check help business leaders find out exactly how well their programs and projects align to business drivers today. That’s the first step in understanding how to broach any gap and deliver better, closer, working relationships with the people delivering the strategic initiatives of your CTRM Program every day.

4. You Deepen Understanding

A CTRM Program Health Check doesn’t just look at what activities your teams are managing. It also reviews the processes used to do the work. Typically, the health check would look at initiation, planning, monitoring and control, and closeout processes. What is uncovered here can give you real, actionable insights into how better to support the entire program.

You’ll also get a better understanding of how the outputs of the CTRM Program are used by senior management to make decisions. The knowledge of what happens to data produced from the health check can make it easier to deliver better business value. It puts you in a position to provide more targeted and relevant information. It also helps build better relationships with the stakeholders you serve.

This is the kind of information that will help your team understand. Why they do their jobs and how they are contributing to helping the business meet its overall goals and objectives.

5. You Get An Independent Assessment

Finally, a huge benefit of a health check is the opportunity to talk to an independent party. There is no axe to grind or hidden agenda. 

Using an experienced third party to perform a CTRM Program Health Check is a great way to find out how you compare to organisations similar to yours. It’s a great opportunity to draw on their wealth of experience. This is because they’ve seen all kinds of CTRM Program’s in all kinds of situations, and they know what works.

Even if you are an experienced Program Leader, having someone look at your set-up with fresh eyes and no judgement will give you a much-valued independent opinion. It’s a truism that the closer you are to something, the harder it is to see the bigger picture. That’s why someone else should always proofread your slide decks before a presentation! Being too close to the detail means you won’t be able to spot the typos even if they are staring you in the face.

The person running your health check is there to help you succeed and to help your CTRM Program succeed. As someone coming new to your business, they have a unique opportunity to spot things that others can’t. And they’ll provide you with actionable, relevant steps that you can put into practice to move on the maturity of your CTRM Program.

Final Thought…

Just like your car service, it’s worth taking the time to run a health check on your CTRM Program. It’s painless and the insights it delivers will help you take your team to the next level of productivity and performance. Why don’t you book some time for one in your calendar now?

How can we help?

Talk to us about how we can help your organisation conduct the right level of health checking on your CTRM Program. Making it real is what we do.

How can you connect with us?

We’d love to hear about your journey. Did reflecting on the benefits of a CTRM Program Health Check help?

About the Author

Jason Novobranec is Implementary’s Chief Operating Officer.

With over 20 years of Consulting, Program Management & Senior Leadership experience, Jason has delivered initiatives for large multi-national / multi-regional organisations as well as SME’s and is an expert in shaping solutions to fit a customer’s project needs.