It takes work to manage project delivery in an agency. You always have something to do. You manage risks proactively, but you also accept that there are things you cannot control. There are no two days that are alike.
The allocation of resources is one factor that can affect your organization’s capacity to deliver quality projects. Do you make it a priority or not? Is your strategy for allocating resources meticulous or more “Depends on who’s available”?
You may think it’s just another thing to do, but allocating resources to projects before considering all the details can get you into trouble. It can not only damage team morale but also jeopardize client relationships. This can also eat into project margins and hinder your agency’s growth.
Allocating Resources to Projects
Resource allocation is a critical component of project management. Your agency’s greatest asset is your team. You must schedule the right people at the correct times to complete projects and satisfy your clients.
Let’s look at what it takes to allocate resources in project management effectively:
Consider the project plan when planning resources, paying particular attention to project scope and task dependencies, which limit the flexibility of a project timeline.
Monitoring the availability of your team during resource scheduling
When planning future projects, knowing your resources’ available capacity is essential.
Identifying the skills required for a project and whether they are the same or different resources is essential.
Create a solid short-term and longer-term strategy for resource allocation to execute projects.
You’re not alone. You can now find software to help you improve your human resources allocation strategy in the digital age. You can use them to track resource availability, capacity, and utilization.
What is the tip of the iceberg
More than identifying those available for work is required regarding project resource planning. There are many other factors to consider when creating a resource plan. You should take a closer look at the situation.
The iceberg principle warns against relying too heavily on aggregated metrics and data regarding your project’s resources. We can lose sight of the differences among the resource pool members.
Here are a few examples.
Skills
All team members will likely have different skills and knowledge.
You may have three available front-end designers. Their relative expertise with different programming languages is likely to differ. There may be areas where they excel and others where they could be more experienced.
You’ll also need to have a good understanding of how the project is technically structured.
Cost
Variable rates are a source of resourcing problems. For example, it makes sense to charge a higher rate for a senior developer’s time than a junior’s. What if the junior developer is unavailable at a crucial point in a project’s timeline? Hiring a senior developer to finish the job may be necessary, but this will increase the project’s cost.
What do you do now? You can either charge the client an extra fee for a senior developer to work on their project or keep mum and absorb the costs. The project may end up costing more than anticipated.
Why is it important to allocate resources correctly
It’s sometimes apparent how resourcing details can affect your agency’s profit. Resource management can make your agency more efficient, deliver high-quality work on time, and ensure you’re paid for your efforts.
The positive effects of resource allocation go beyond the obvious benefits. The distribution of resources will also:
Uncertain roles can lead to duplicate functions and underutilization of resources.
Accountability, both as an individual and a team
Save your team from burnout and stress by avoiding overtime and heavy workloads
Employees aren’t overworked so they can deliver better-quality work
Encourage better communication between team members and project managers as well as between them.
Booking PTO is now easier. This will boost employee morale.
Improve your workplace relationships.
How can you ensure that all factors are considered when allocating resources
Project Resource Management relies on an efficient resource allocation process considering all factors – availability, skill proficiency, workload, and more.
Three tips to help you plan your resource allocation and ensure that you look beneath the surface:
Use a resource management solution
If you are using a manual system, it can be challenging to keep track of everything. All-in-one software for project management can replace piles of paper, post-its, and spreadsheets.
Working with an innovative platform such as Runn allows you to get a bird’s eye view of your agency’s resources, including your employees’ availability and utilization rates. You can also track your billable hours.
Plan with confidence
You can plan your projects with the help of resource allocation software, knowing that you will have a clear picture of your team’s availability. Runn gives you detailed information on your team, including their leave schedule, their assigned projects, and their workload.
This information can be gathered in a resource schedule, allowing you to plan your work for the future without having to assign and reassign team members.
Sorting resources by other factors
Sorting your resources by their level of experience, seniority, and skills will help you to account for hidden factors.
Runn allows you to assign specific skills and experience levels for each team member. Project managers can filter tasks by skills and experience to create an efficient resource allocation across multiple projects.