The 2018 Pulse of the Profession®, a global survey conducted by PMI, reveals that around Rs. 6.5 crore is wasted every 20 seconds collectively by organizations around the globe. This is due to the ineffective implementation of business strategy because of poor project management practices. The second report, Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey, shows that, among survey respondents, practitioners who hold the Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification earn an average of 23 percent higher salaries. It is a direct measure of the importance that organizations attach to project management certification.

According to the 2018 Pulse of the Profession®, on an average, organizations globally waste 9.9 percent of every dollar spent due to poor project performance. India is the third lowest among 11 countries and regions in terms of the amount of money wasted on projects. China reported the lowest average of 7.6 percent, followed by Canada and India with 7.7 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively, of every dollar invested. The report puts Australia on top of the list with 13.9 percent.

“The cost of building a competent workforce is far less than managing an incompetent one. Get certified. Transform,” says Aravindan Chandrasekaran, Director, Robotics Process Automation Sutherland

Of the total 40,000 certified project professionals in India, as many as 55 percent belong to the IT industry. India’s favorable ranking in the report has a direct correlation to this section of project professionals, since 34 percent of the survey respondents are from the IT industry.

“It’s true that time and cost delays exist in government and construction projects. However, increasingly, even public sector companies are considering training programs and strengthening their project management units and professionals,” he adds.

The Pulse of the Profession® also reveals that around one in three projects (31 percent) does not meet its goals, 43 percent are not completed within budget, and nearly half (48 percent) are not completed on time. However, executive leaders seem to be out of touch with this reality, as 85 percent surveyed said they believed their organizations were effective in delivering projects to achieve strategic results. These factors are leading to colossal financial losses for businesses around the world, with a significant broader macro-economic impact.

On the positive side, there has been a 27 percent decrease in the amount of money organizations are wasting due to poor project performance. The 2013 Pulse of the Profession® had reported 13.5 percent waste.

The findings over the years have reinforced the fact that strategic change happens through projects and programs. And that those who recognize the criticality of project management fall into the category of “champion organizations” – or organizations with 80 percent or more of projects being completed on time, on budget, meeting business intent, and having high bene?ts realization maturity.

These champions continue to display increased maturity in terms of talent, capabilities, and culture. They enjoy higher project success rates, recording 92 percent success rate as compared to 32 percent in the case of underperformers. They also enjoy more successful business outcomes and waste signi?cantly less money due to poor project performance.

You can download the report here.

The 10th edition of Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey shows an earning advantage among those with PMP certifications. Survey respondents holding the PMP certification reported higher median salaries than those without a PMP certification. On average, these professionals earned 23 percent more across the 37 countries surveyed.

“By hiring a PMP certified professional, you are hiring someone who has some hunger to learn and upskilling himself/herself, and always keep himself/herself up-to-date with market trends. You are hiring a professional who has the right talent, right attitude, and clear market forecast,” says Prabodh Gupta, program manager, IBM

Earning Power: Project Management Salary Survey is a comprehensive biennial salary survey that offers insight into the value of project management skills, experience, and certifications. It is an industryleading source of data that gives project management practitioners greater awareness of their earning potential.It also helps employers, compensation committees, human resource departments, and executive recruiters to better determine salary ranges.

The other key findings of the report are around increases in compensation. As many as 70 percent of the participants have had pay hikes in the year prior to the survey period. About one-quarter (26%) reported increases of at least 5 percent over that period.

Below are some of the highlights of the study:

2. In general, median salaries increase alongside number of years of experience in project management

3. The majority of respondents (82%) participating in the study hold the PMP certification. The PMP certification appears to provide a significant advantage in virtually all countries included in the study.

Certification status	Median salary
PMP certified	₹1,800,000
Non-PMP certified	₹1,327,026

You can access the detailed report here.