Think that a project coordinator sounds like a superfluous, “nice-to-have” role? Think again: Once you hire one or assign one to your team, you’ll never want to go back to not having one. A project coordinator knows the details of a project intimately. They are involved in the day-to-day intricacies of progressing the project in ways that team members with a narrow scope or high-level project managers are not.
Project manager vs. project coordinator
If you’re wondering what the difference between a project manager and a project coordinator is, it’s all in the scope of their work.
Project managers are responsible for the overall success of a project. They might set goals and create high-level operational processes to ensure the smooth execution of a project.
A project coordinator supports the project manager in that execution, from organizing and managing administrative tasks to keeping communication lines open between different project stakeholders. They make sure everything goes smoothly and address issues as they come up. They might relay information between the team and the project manager, while the project manager reports directly to senior stakeholders or clients.
The job of the project coordinator complements the project manager’s role, and vice-versa. They are not one and the same.
Benefits of having a project coordinator
According to Travis Lindemoen, Managing Director of the IT staffing company Nexus IT Group, who has 15 years of recruitment and career consulting experience, there are three core benefits of having a project coordinator on your team: better workflows, improved budget management, and stronger information flow.
1. Better workflows
“Workflows are typically set up and implemented by a project manager at the start of a project. What tools will be used, how long it will take to complete, and who is responsible for each step of the workflow will all be decided by them,” he says.
“Project coordinators, on the other hand, are in charge of ensuring that everything goes according to plan once the initial work is completed. Before bringing a problem to the project manager, the project coordinator will try to find a solution if a tool is causing problems or if a team isn’t meeting deadlines.”
So a project coordinator makes the project manager’s job easier, but it also makes the job of team members easier, since they won’t have to fix workflow issues on their own and can simply flag them to the coordinator. The coordinator understands the day-to-day reality of a project’s execution and might also recommend workflow tweaks and improvements to the project manager.
2. Improved budget management
Better budget management is another reason every team needs a project coordinator. The project coordinator may be tasked with keeping an eye on the budget and managing resources.
“In order to save money, they’ll monitor spending and look for places where money can be saved, which will then be used for other purposes,” says Lindemoen.
The project manager can then focus on making higher-level decisions about the budget without stressing about detailed spending breakdowns. And the team feels more accountable about the budget knowing the project coordinator is responsible for tracking it.
3. Information and documentation
Finally, working with a project coordinator allows your team to not only have better communication, but also proper documentation — a practice that often gets pushed to the side due to a lack of resources.
“There will be a literal and figurative avalanche of documentation for each project. Documents like design briefs and status reports, as well as enabling documents,” says Lindemoen. According to him, all the messages that get exchanged within and across teams are also a consideration. If something happens, you’ll need to track them down, so it’s good to be organized.
“When a project manager needs to locate a specific document or email, the project coordinator will be responsible for doing so. The task of finding an effective way to collect and organize all of the project’s documents and correspondence usually falls on the project coordinator,” he adds.
From organizing Google drives to creating reporting practices, a project coordinator can play a crucial role in keeping your team informed and up to date while giving all project stakeholders easy access to important resources that they may need to work effectively.