5 Reasons Why Employers Think M&E Skills Are Essential To Any Project

Over the last several months, Cecilia’s inbox has been filled with questions related to monitoring and evaluation skills. She is the M&E training coordinator and has been interacting with project managers and professionals who work in NGOs. Some of the queries include ‘What are the benefits of having M&E skills in my career? Why do employers keep asking for direct M&E-specific skills and experience? The question continues “why is M&E an essential skill that employers look for because I have missed many opportunities due to a lack of M&E skills?’

I thought it better to discuss with her to find out why M&E skills are essential and why employers think they are essential to any project.

“M&E is essential to any project because the organizations can collect and analyze data, determine the project’s progress and ensure everything runs according to plans. Without M&E you may not able to keep tabs on a project” Cecilia said.

Project monitoring and evaluation is used to measure a project’s progress and it’s important because it lets you keep tabs on a project and identify potential problems.

Here are the 5 reasons why employers consider M&E skills essential;

1. Early Problem Identification

Sometimes problems may arise and professionals with practical M&E skills can identify the best solutions. M&E keeps the project on track such that if the project is run against the plan, it is easy to assess where the problem is and take necessary measures to solve.

I have interacted with project managers who claim that M&E enabled them to identify the mistakes that would have ruined the success of the project and they will replicate some of the things in the future.

2. Transparency and Accountability

One of the ways the stakeholders can contribute to the achievement of the project objectives is to be directly involved in the process because they have a right to know what is happening in the project.

This enables the project team to provide evidence for their actions and allows stakeholders to acquire the information that helps them make informed decisions about project operations.

3. Effective Use Of Resources

For a project to be successful, people, time, and equipment are among the essential resources. Finance allocated for a project determines the number of people who will work on a project.

“Most of our projects were not completed successfully initially because I lacked M&E skills but when I developed M&E skills through the training, I conducted all the projects successfully according to the plan” Mark a project manager said.

3. Performance Improvement

When employers are recruiting for any role, they have a problem that needs to be solved. Professionals with effective M&E perform better than those who don’t have the skills.

When we were recruiting for the role of M&E officer, one of the key roles was to improve program quality, and monitor results and impact of the project.

If Mark had developed M&E skills, he would have stood out from other candidates but lack of this essential skill preventing him from being considered for various roles.

4. Better Organization and Informed Decision Making

Cecilia mentioned that M&E processes provide the essential information needed to see the big picture and decision-making is influenced by what was learned through past monitoring and evaluation.

Developing M&E plans requires organizations to decide on desired outcomes, measure the success, and adapt the new strategies that make the outcomes to be a reality.

Finally

M&E skills are essential for any project and it is crucial when making decisions. Without strong M&E, organizations aren’t sustainable; they’re more vulnerable to failure.

At Corporate Staffing, we are offering Monitoring & Evaluation training that will help you carry out end-to-end project lifecycles successfully.