Fortunately, we are not reporting on the progress of one of Tandem’s projects. But what we are referring to is Tandem itself. Because it is ten years since we ‘put pen to paper’. 
Describing it in terms of ‘writing’ might seem odd coming from a construction project management business. For Tandem it is spot-on because, from day one of our business and to this day we start with drawing a strategic plan. Often informed by interactive workshops with our client, whether we are their supplier for an individual project, or their ‘virtual’ in-house team working across all their projects. Of course we started off small, or at least the team was. Not so true of the projects, as we initially worked on a contractual basis for other larger project management practices. It wasn’t long before the phone rang and we got our first opportunity with a direct client at The Belgrade Theatre in Coventry – a relationship that we still have today. Not long after we made our first appointment – and doubled the size of the business! Jason Fretter (Project Director) and Graham Black (Managing Director) had worked together for years and between them, knew the value of human interaction for managing projects successfully. A value that remains with the business and continues in our approach today. Within 18 months we had moved into The Chapel and things were motoring for Tandem Projects. Contract work continued but the direct to client work started to grow. Delivering projects for the likes of the NHS, advanced manufacturing facilities, local authorities and universities. By 2018 Tandem Projects had grown to 5 people. In fact our adeptness at project management in construction had been so recognised that we were approached to manage projects outside of the world of construction in areas such as logistics, branding, HR and business organisation. So six years in, but who’s counting? Well as it turned out Tandem Projects were. Namely in the sphere of quantity surveying (QS). We are comfortable supporting and managing all the consultants that make up a successful project team: architects, engineers, health & safety etc. It became plain that the management of costs was most tightly integrated with project management, whether we were managing all the consultants or just one of them. Developing our QS service was a natural progression and enables us to add value to every project whether we are formally commissioned to deliver QS or not. We asked Graham Black what was next for Tandem projects – “Well aside from celebrating our 10th Anniversary with some of the clients and team that have made it all possible, we are now in a position to focus on growth in a way that we haven’t been before. Rather than relying on organic growth we are going to actively market our services. Which is one of the reasons, of course, we have added QS to our armoury. Mainly, though, we are keen to take our human, agile and accountable approach to as many like-minded clients as we can.” Proof of Tandem’s staying power is that it was as the pandemic hit that the business shifted into entirely direct-to-client work, making what was already going to be a tough year into an even tougher one. Not only did Tandem survive but in year two of the pandemic began thriving and are now in a strong position to strive for growth. To have a conversation with Graham about your challenging project call: 07717 580 291 or email: gblack@tandemprojects.co.uk.
