Having a Project Management PMP certification shows that you meet a foundational framework of knowledge but how do you get your employer to pay for your certification? Here’s a few tips on how to convince your employer to pay for your Project Management certification. Your New Skill & Knowledge Can Save Your Employer Money You have to paint a picture of how the certification will help you be an even better employee, whether it’s a class that will hone a particular skill that you use on the job, or provide you with a greater understanding of the inner workings of the industry. The simplest and most powerful way to do this is to show them their expected return on investment. Explain to them how you will be able to add more value thanks to your training, say for example, “With my PMP certification, I will be able to create more stability and reduce risks in our projects – and both of these are key goals of our organization.” Support your justification of why your employer should pay for your Project Management PMP Certification by speaking to how you being certified will help your employer avoid becoming one of these four 2015 statistics One in six IT projects have an average cost overrun of 200% and a schedule overrun of 70%. (Source: Harvard Business Review) 75% of business and IT executives anticipate their software projects will fail. (Source: Geneca) Fewer than a third of all projects were successfully completed on time and on budget over the past year. (Source: Standish Group) An astounding 97% of organizations believe project management is critical to business performance and organizational success. (Source:PricewaterhouseCoopers) Also be sure to let your employer know that having employees with specific and pertinent certifications can help distinguish the company from less-certified bidders and bring in new accounts. Whether one believes in the intrinsic value of PMP certification or not, the economic reality is many major companies and entities are simply demanding it. If your company has bid on a government project over the past several years – be it federal, state or local, or even with a Fortune 1000 company, they have likely encountered the PMP certification requirement. So for example if your business sub-contracts to Government or a larger company, it’s of value to those that you are certified in Project Management. Further remind your employer certification programs are a great way for them to ensure that their employees’ skills don’t become dated and go stale. For example Project Managers (PMP) certification requires continued learning and earning a specific amount of PDUs per three-year certification cycle. By recertifying employers are assured that the skills of their employees remain fresh. Research the Time and Cost It’s very important to assure your employer that when they pay for your PMP Certification training and you are in the course it will not take any time away from your current work. For this point, do some research into the cost and time taken for this certification? Answer questions such as: How much will the exam(s) cost? Are there any PMP training courses involved? How much will they cost? (contact us here at Guruface and learn the price for live online instructor led compared to prerecorded courses). Do I need any books to study from? Do I need to take any time off? How long will it take me to complete? This can show the company when they can get the benefits of it. We of course can help you with many of these points however once you know this information, you should be able to prepare a final dollar amount for the certification. That makes the decision making process clear and complete, you have a better chance to get the approvals required with a clear view of the cost to your employer. Be mindful here at Guruface we offer two e-learning options, live instructor led training and prerecoded courses where the course costs are slightly lower. Regardless of your schedule, we know you are busy and have learning options that can adjust to your schedule.
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