Securing Business Transformation: The Case for a PMO
From Design to Delivery: The Hardest Phase of Transformation
You’re on the hook to deliver a business transformation.
You have completed the first phases:
Defined the objectives
Identified transformation initiatives
Created workplans and progress indicators
At this point, you have a transformation program with dozens of initiatives clustered into workstreams: Finance, Logistics, Purchasing, and so on.
In other words, you have gone through the first three of five phases of a business transformation.
The five phases of a business transformation
Now comes the hardest challenge: executing the transformation and delivering the expected business benefits.
Why 70% of Transformations Miss Their Targets
According to a 2024 BCG report, nearly 70% of transformations fail to meet their objectives.
Why? Based on my consulting work, three causes stand out:
Insufficient resourcing. Companies underestimate the effort required to execute transformations. For example, they do not realize that some initiatives need to run as projects, separate from “business as usual.” As a result, they task employees with transformation initiatives on top of their existing responsibilities. The result is predictable: little changes.
Lack of integration across workstreams. The initiatives in different workstreams often progress in silos. However, the interdependencies across workstreams mean that delays in one have knock-on effects on others. If this is not properly managed, the transformation slows down and can even stop entirely.
No tracking of business benefits. What gets measured gets managed. Without regular tracking of business benefits, they fall short. By the time leaders notice, months have been lost.
The PMO: Your Transformation’s Operating System
To secure the execution of your transformation, you need a Program Management Office (PMO).
PMO often conjures images of heavy reporting and thick binders no one reads. That is not what I propose.
For our purpose, a PMO is a temporary structure that secures and accelerates the delivery of a business transformation and the realization of its business benefits.
A PMO enforces execution discipline. It is the operating system for business benefit delivery.
According to the BCG report mentioned earlier, a PMO can boost value creation by up to 50%, accelerate delivery, and improve accountability and transparency.
A PMO typically does the following tasks:
Provide transparency on progress
Track the progress of the different initiatives in the program
Track the realization of the business benefits of the program and update their forecast
Prepare regular progress reports for a steering committee
Manage risks and remediate issues
Proactively identify and mitigate the risks that a delay in one initiative impacts another (especially in another workstream)
When an initiative faces an issue, attempt to remediate the situation with the initiative leader; escalate only if needed
Lead the steering committee meetings, where senior executives are informed about program progress and make decisions to remediate issues (that could not be remediated by the PMO)
Communicate
Inform stakeholders about program progress
Three Ways to Build a PMO That Works
Setting up and running a PMO is best done by someone who has done it before, several times, in multiple industries. That person can use this experience to tailor a PMO to the needs of the transformation, put in place solid governance and processes, and deploy the tools for tracking and reporting.
If you have such a person on your team, with the bandwidth to manage the PMO (ideally supported by analysts), you are ready. If not, you need outside help. Here are three options:
Option 1: Outsource to a traditional consulting firm
You outsource your PMO to a traditional consulting firm, e.g., a Big Four or one of the three big strategy firms.
These companies hire the best graduates and spare no expense to get the job done. Some of them have proprietary platforms for tracking progress and business benefits. They deliver, but at a high cost. Moreover, a PMO run by these firms will be partly staffed by junior consultants, rotating on a regular basis, which can create resistance in your company. Nevertheless, for very large transformations, these companies and their large pool of consultants are a good fit.
Option 2: Outsource to independent consultants
You outsource your PMO to a small group of experienced independent consultants. On top of their experience as independents, these consultants often have been “trained” in a top strategy firm and also have line experience. They bring the maturity that comes with decades of experience at a lower cost than traditional consulting firms. This is often much better value for money, and the consultants’ credibility reduces resistance in your company.
Option 3: Train your teams to run the PMO
If your budget is tight, you can ask independent consultants to set up your PMO and train your teams to run it. The consultants will provide tracking tools and run a few reporting cycles (report preparation and steering committee meetings) with your team. Once your team is ready, they take over the PMO, and the consultants step down. With this option, you keep costs low while upskilling your teams and securing execution discipline.
Conclusion
Business transformations succeed or fail in execution.
A PMO is not an administrative add-on. It is the structure that secures the delivery of business benefits, enforces discipline, and keeps your teams aligned. Without it, even the best-designed transformation risks drifting into the 70% that fall short. With it, you create transparency, accountability, and momentum.
If you are leading a transformation today, ask yourself a simple question: who is making sure execution turns into measurable business benefits? If the answer is not clear, then setting up a PMO should be your next move.