Adding a project manager is the most expensive way to buy back project manager time. Before you post the job, find out how much of your team's week is judgment and how much is paperwork.
Before hiring another project manager, find out how your current project managers spend their week. If much of it goes to documentation - RFIs, submittals, change order paperwork, schedule updates, selections and client emails - moving that work to a project coordinator or assistant project manager can add capacity faster, and for less, than another PM. If the constraint is judgment - buyout, subcontractor performance, schedule risk and client relationships - you need another project manager.
Most general contractors and remodelers skip that check. Project managers are working late, jobs are slipping, and a new PM is the obvious move. Sometimes it is the right one. It is also the most expensive way to buy back project manager time.
Ask each project manager to log one normal week, then sort the hours into two columns.
| Judgment: needs a project manager | Production: needs someone competent |
|---|---|
| Buyout and subcontractor selection | RFI logs and follow-up |
| Schedule strategy and recovery | Submittal packages and tracking |
| Negotiating change orders with the owner | Change order documentation and backup |
| Client relationships and difficult conversations | Meeting minutes and action items |
| Subcontractor performance problems | Schedule updates from field reports |
| Cost-to-complete and risk decisions | Insurance certificates, lien waivers and compliance documents |
| Site walks and quality calls | Closeout documents, warranties and manuals |
If the second column is eating the week, you do not have a project manager shortage yet. You have a production problem sitting on project managers' desks. If the first column is still overloaded once the second is gone - too many clients, too many decisions waiting, not enough experienced people to make them - another project manager is the right hire.
Check one more thing while the log is open. If project managers are also estimating new work, the bottleneck may be preconstruction rather than delivery, and a remote estimator takes that off their desks without adding a PM.
Start with work that recurs every week, follows a clear format and has an obvious definition of done. For most firms the order looks something like this:
Our list of 25 tasks construction companies can delegate goes wider, across estimating, accounting and administration.
| Project coordinator | Assistant project manager | Project manager | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carries | Information and documentation | Delegated responsibility, within limits the PM sets | The project: cost, schedule, quality and the client |
| Typical work | Submittals, RFIs, logs, minutes, schedule updates and closeout documents | Cost tracking, procurement follow-through, change order preparation and subcontractor coordination | Buyout, negotiation, risk, client relationships and final decisions |
| Decides | Nothing on the project's behalf | Routine matters inside agreed limits | Everything that matters |
| Hire when | PMs are buried in paperwork | PMs need a second in command, not only paperwork help | There are more decisions than experienced people to make them |
A remote project coordinator is the earlier hire for most firms. A remote assistant project manager makes sense once there is enough delegated responsibility to justify it, and the role is a common path to developing your next project manager rather than recruiting one. For company-wide paperwork that is not tied to a single project, a construction administrative assistant is often enough.
If the choice you are really weighing is between more estimating capacity and more delivery capacity, see estimator or project coordinator: which do you need first.
Yes. Commercial general contractors are buried in submittals, RFIs and pay applications. Remodelers and custom builders are buried in the client.
A residential project manager often spends the week answering homeowner questions, chasing selections, explaining change orders and repeating schedule updates across several smaller jobs at once, frequently while also being the owner. The delegation list shifts accordingly:
The principle is the same on both sides of the industry. The client relationship and the judgment calls stay with the project manager. The documentation that supports them does not have to.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $114,990 for construction managers in May 2025, from $98,390 in residential building construction to $126,690 in nonresidential building construction (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). That is before payroll taxes, benefits, a vehicle or allowance, software and recruiting, and before the months a new PM needs to learn how your company runs.
That cost is justified when the constraint is judgment. It is hard to justify when the constraint is paperwork, because you would be paying a project manager's wage for work that does not need one, and the new PM will soon be buried under the same documentation as everyone else.
If the handoff does not actually happen, no hire will fix the problem. A coordinator added while project managers keep doing the same tasks ends up underused, and the wrong conclusion gets drawn about the role.
A project manager is responsible for the project's outcome - cost, schedule, quality and the client relationship - and makes the decisions that affect it. A project coordinator supports the project manager by managing information and documentation, such as submittals, RFIs, logs, meeting minutes and schedule updates, without making decisions on the project's behalf.
There is no standard number. It depends on project size and complexity, how far apart the sites are, how demanding the clients are and how much documentation support the project manager has. The same person can usually carry more work with a coordinator handling the paperwork than without one.
Much of the role can. Cost tracking, procurement follow-through, change order preparation, documentation and subcontractor coordination happen in software and by phone. Site walks, inspections and in-person meetings stay with your local team.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $114,990 for construction managers in May 2025. Medians were lower in residential building construction and higher in nonresidential building and heavy and civil engineering construction, and pay varies widely by region and project type.
When the judgment work is still overloaded after documentation has moved: too many clients needing attention, too many decisions waiting, or not enough experienced people to run jobs without the owner stepping in. Support roles make project managers more productive. They do not replace the experience it takes to run a project.
Within a maximum of approximately two weeks we can normally present two to three pre-screened candidates who meet the requirements of the position and are ready to be interviewed. The final hiring time depends mainly on how quickly your own evaluation and decision process moves.
One consultation is enough to define the role, agree the requirements and start the search. Most companies have a shortlist to interview inside two weeks.
