3 days ago
The Case For Moving Capability Building From HR To PMO
Peter Beven, CEO of iEC Professional and a leader at the intersection of education, technology innovation and organizational transformation.
This may upset some human resources HR leaders, but I believe that for too long, capability building has been miscategorized as an HR function. Because of this, it often ends up sitting quietly in the corner of the organization, far from the action. It gets packaged as employee retention, training plans, learning management system (LMS) completions—training programs that tick boxes but don't shift performance.
But here's the uncomfortable truth I have come to realize: In project-based organizations where execution speed, delivery performance and adaptability are everything, this model of HR-run capability building isn't just outdated—it may be holding you back.
Shifting From HR To PMO
If capability is the engine of delivery, why isn't it embedded where delivery actually happens—the project management office (PMO)? My underlying rationale for this argument is that HR is designed for consistency, whereas the PMO is designed for performance.
This isn't a dig at HR. HR plays a vital role in managing workforce systems, policies and employee life cycle processes that support organizational stability, compliance and culture. But let's be honest: HR is geared for consistency and control. It's designed to support the employee life cycle, not the delivery life cycle.
The PMO, on the other hand, is designed for movement, for execution, for impact. It works at the sharp edge of strategy: turning ambition into reality through coordinated delivery. It sees firsthand where the capability bottlenecks are, which tools are underutilized and which teams are underperforming.
Capability As Both A Delivery And A Development Issue
Projects fail when skills don't match the work to be done. In complex project environments, this issue can become even more profound. In my experience, many missed milestones and blown budgets come down to one thing: The team didn't have the right capability at the right time.
And yet we still treat capability building as something separate from delivery. Teams wait for annual training plans, generic courses or slow approval processes. Meanwhile, the work keeps moving.
I believe capability building needs to be in the hands of the PMO because they are already embedded in project planning, performance tracking, milestone reviews and delivery risk management. PMO typically finds out, faster and more clearly than HR, where capability gaps are emerging and what's needed to close them.
Shifting capability building from HR to PMO may not work for everyone, but I highly recommend it if your organization is heavily tech-centric or has high digital maturity. I have found through working with my own company that embedding capability building into the PMO of a project-based organization can lead to teams being more agile, responsive and equipped with the vital skills needed for productivity transformation—particularly in increasingly complex environments. This can help you consistently deliver projects and services on time, on budget and with outcomes that matter.
Five Steps To Make The Shift For Project-Based Organizations
1. Reframe capability as a delivery asset. Stop talking about training plans and start talking about delivery enablement. Position capability as a lever for delivery excellence and not as an HR 'initiative.'
2. Relocate or co-locate the capability function. Move the capability function into the PMO. Create a dual operating model where the PMO drives delivery-focused capability while HR supports foundational and enterprise-wide needs.
3. Measure what matters. Put performance over participation: Adopt a capability measurement model that links skill growth to project performance and productivity metrics, including timelines, quality, cost and customer outcomes.
4. Build just-in-time, embedded learning infrastructure. Replace generic training with project-embedded, microcredential learning that is aligned to priority competencies. Build content libraries, enable expert coaching and create systems that deliver learning in the flow of work.
5. Build a competency-based workforce. Redesign your jobs based on the skills needed for each role, and align all roles, skills and development to clearly defined capabilities.
Utilizing AI For Just-In-Time Capability Building
AI can be one of the biggest enablers for shifting capability-building duties from HR to PMO. Forget the narrative of self-styled gurus that say AI is just the copilot to jobs; it can do so much more. It stands to totally transform jobs, not just at the periphery but across the board.
For example, earlier this year, Moderna announced its move to merge technology and HR into a single function under the CIO office to align with changes brought on by AI technology. This is just one of the latest signs that artificial intelligence is bringing big changes to the workforce.
Here are several ways you can utilize AI to help your PMO deliver in capability building:
• Use project delivery analytics for real-time capability gap detection.
• Develop and deliver role-specific expert learning content, on demand and derived from industry best practices.
• Verify and validate skills in all training and by all providers.
• Enable dynamic skills mapping and personalized learning-pathway generation, especially for capability uplift.
• Embed AI coaching within project management tools.
• Use project metrics and performance data to drive learning.
• Implement workforce capability forecasting and delivery-readiness simulation.
Final Thoughts
Let's be clear: This shift may ruffle feathers. Traditional HR and L&D leaders may see this as a land grab.
It's not. It's about recognizing that transformational capability building shouldn't be managed as a support function anymore—not when delivery is on the line. This is a call to elevate capability, not sideline HR. I believe the future is collaborative, but it's also urgent. In project-based environments, capability should be owned by those closest to the work, the performance and the results.
This shift is about repositioning capability as a strategic, embedded and responsive engine of delivery excellence. And that requires bold change. The PMO has evolved from a governance body to a strategic powerhouse. It's time to go further and make it the beating heart of organizational capability.
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