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The John Hardy Group Research Identifies Project Management Selection, Success Criteria

[Atlanta]--In an effort to better define the project management discipline, including company selection and success criteria, The John Hardy Group, Inc. [JHG] undertook a comprehensive two-phase primary research effort among industry influentials including developers, owners, architects, interior designers, lawyers, consultants and real estate brokers.

According to JHG President & CEO John Hardy, "First and foremost, the number one Project Management company selection criteria was industry experience, with a firm's reputation for integrity running a very close second." Also cited in the first phase of the survey, a series of depth interviews with decision makers, were relationships with the client, overall value delivered, supporting systems and processes, project quality, risk profile and project results.

To validate the findings and better target marketing activities, JHG sponsored a full day seminar which further explored the role of project management companies in the hotel development arena. Seminar outcomes included the finding that selection and success criteria were essentially the same, since success was defined as delivering against pre-determined expectations.

Hardy summarized, "Seminar attendees made it clear that project managers need to be cognizant at all times that they're dealing with 'other people's money', and treat it as their own. The stakes are high and the deadlines are tight, so it comes down to expertise and trust."

Seminar participants included: Bill Kuzel, vice president, Diana Kite, senior accountant capital control and Tom Palmer, director of finance capital control, all from The Inter-Continental Hotel Group formerly Six Continents Hotels; Rob Kline, president, Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group; Jim Culpepper, principal, Culpepper, McAuliffe & Meaders, Inc.; Michelle Finn, publisher, Hospitality Design Magazine; Claude Amar, president, Immobiliere Hoteliere and managing partner of JHG International; and Lee Blair, principal, Marko, Blair International.

The workshop was conducted by Tripp Design, a Chicago-based, corporate branding and design agency.