What Is Resource Management?
Resource management entails planning, scheduling, and allocating people, technology, and money to a program or project. The overall goal is to divide organizational resources in such a way that they bring the most value to the business. When there is proper resource management, resources will be available at the right time and when needed.
Resources form the basis of your organization reaching its goal. That can be anything from a project or task or assisting analyze what is supposed to be done.
Through resource management, you get to come up with the best combination of your resources that delivers requirements. At the same time, it gives you a picture of the demand for resources elsewhere.
According to Gartner, the successful completion of an initiative calls for a strong balance between available resources and demand for the same. Leaders ought to understand aspects of project prioritization to stop resource overload and promote flexible completion of pending tasks for maximum value from the resources.
Visibility of demand and capacity plays a central role in guiding the best way to make the most of shared and limited resources.
You have to consider factors such as budget, schedule, and overall alignment with corporate strategy to get the most value for your resources. All these aspects fall under the general classification of resource management.
Why Is Resource Management Crucial for Organizations?
The following are some of the reasons why organizations find resource management to be important:
#1: Efficiently utilize your resources
For you to utilize your resources efficiently, you have to track the utilization. Doing so helps you to understand the amount of time your people and tools are involved in a certain task. With this information, you can make the most of the resources available to you.
When you think of resource utilization, view it as a percentage of the resource’ working time during a specified period. In other words, it is the percentage of Busy Time during the Available Time. The below calculation is used to get resource utilization:
Resource utilization = Busy time / Available time
The information that you get from this metric helps you to determine whether or not your resources are working at maximum efficiency.
When your resources are efficiently utilized, it means that there is a better match between tasks and resources. So, there is no risk of boredom and burnout, while at the same time, you get better forecasting.
#2: Detailed view of your project and portfolio
Project management is a tricky undertaking, especially when you have offices in different locations and numerous projects are going on at the same time. That means you have numerous resources being assigned to different tasks.
If you lack proper resource management measures, you will essentially be waiting for disaster to happen.
Adopting effective resource management strategies through tools such as Smartsheet resource planning means you are in control of everything that’s going on.
When handling project management, always focus on getting a detailed overview of everything. Doing so empowers you to see exactly the current state of the project, what needs to be done, and timelines for the same. Such an overview helps you with better team management and introduces efficiency.
Sometimes you may find yourself using ancient methods to handle resource management.
However, you are better off adopting modern software which would take care of the heavy lifting. Smartsheet resource view is an example of a modern tool that gives you a bird view of your projects. It delivers better visibility, which translates to higher efficiency.
#3: Avoids communication mishaps
When you talk of resource management, you have to remember that even humans are a resource. Therefore, part of your Smartsheet resource planning would involve giving them access to a system that lets them view and act on their tasks.
On the other hand, project managers can see resource allocation. Thus, both parties involved get to feel that there is transparency.
Transparency is one of the most important elements of project management. When you lack it, you will have a situation of all work and no play. You risk exposing your team to fatigue due to overworking.
A good number of projects often struggle with misunderstandings. That will likely happen in an organization that has multiple projects and managers. In the long run, miscommunication leads to work not getting done.
Having dedicated resource planning software minimizes the risk of miscommunication, which translates to better chances of project success. Better communication that results from resource management ensures the team, bosses, and stakeholders are on the same page.
#4: Gives you control
A project manager is not just interested in seeing what is happening in different parts of the project.
You also want to be in control of what is going on, which would empower you to direct the project as envisioned. Even as you track your resource progress, the right tools will enable you to control and manage what must be done.
Smartsheet legacy resource management is one of the many tools that assist with resource organization and planning.
Such tools help you see who has more downtime and who could be reallocated to assist where there is a shortage. You may also base what you see to determine whether you need to hire someone new.
The information you get makes you feel in control because you can now make practical decisions.
How Smartsheet and PPM Express Provide Integrated Resource Planning
Whereas Smartsheet can help with resource management, integrating it with PPM Express gives the software power to deliver more.
PPM Express is an integrated project portfolio management software that even resource workload, prevents under-allocation and overallocation, and avoids conflicts.
Integrating Smartsheet and PPM Express means you get to know when your project started, who can handle certain tasks, make hiring plans, and the effect of schedule changes on resource utilization.
When your project is at the initiation stage, you have to create a detailed project plan that guides you in the right direction.
PPM Express Integrated Resource Planning fosters seamless resource management. Your resource plan can instantly show overallocated resources and utilization conflicts.
As you look into Smartsheet and PPM Express integration for resource management, you may be interested to learn more about Smartsheet resource management license types.
Resource Management has two types of users – Managed Resources and Licensed Users. Licensed Users can log in and access Smartsheet depending on their permission level. Managed Resources cannot log in. These are the people you assign to projects and manage their resource schedules.
You have the option of paying the license fee under the monthly or yearly subscription.
Additionally, the license types you could go for are Pro, Business, and Enterprise. These are determined by the number of maximum users as well as editors needed. Do not forget to check on the resource management trial Smartsheet while evaluating the Pro and Business license types.
How To Achieve Visibility within Proper Resource Management (Case Study)
We want to share with you some practical experience in building a clear and intelligent resource management system by our client – Invatron.
About the Invatron Systems Corp
Invatron Systems Corp is a leading technology company from Mississauga, Canada providing Fresh Item and Scale Management software solutions for the food retail industry.
There are two solutions Invatron provided: Periscope and E-Plum, which are deployed collectively in over 20,000 supermarket stores worldwide, actively supporting the in-store execution of Fresh operations across order replenishment, production planning, scale management, inventory management, and compliance & regulations.
Initial Project Management Environment Faces Lack of Visibility
All Invatron`s teams, projects, and especially resources need proper control – that is a fact.
With this task in mind, the Invatron team has chosen Microsoft Planner (one of the Smartsheet alternatives) as a system where they plan and manage most of their work.
Invatron team appreciates it as a lightweight, easy-to-use solution with a short adoption period. But there are some pitfalls like:
- A plain report in Microsoft Planner;
- A lack of budgeting/cost management features;
- No way to build PPM (Project Portfolio Management).
“…we were looking for a solution to integrate multiple Microsoft Planner projects in one consolidated view to help with Resource Allocation…” — said Paola Bobbio, Senior Project Manager at Invatron
Spend Less Time on Reporting but Get More Resource Insights
Invatron’s executive team added PPM Express to the existing MS Planner as a budget and cost management tool to plan project budgets and be confident there are no overruns in resource usage.
The total result is that Project Managers and Executives spend less time on project and resources administration reporting, which makes it possible to focus on the products, clients, and new business opportunities. The exact same results you can achieve by using Smartsheet and connecting it to PPM Express to develop the proper resource planning system.
Here is more information about our cooperation with Invatron Systems Corp, designed as a Case study.
How Is PPM Express Contributing Time Tracking, Reporting, and Data Insights?
If you find manual time reporting tiresome, this would be the perfect time to shift to automated time tracking with PPM Express.
Automating time tracking, reporting, and data insights minimize your efforts. You usually leave digital footprints in business software such as Azure Boards, Office 365, Zendesk, and Outlook. PPM Express analyzes these and suggests entries for time reporting.
You do not have to worry about your personal privacy when using PPM Express for time tracking, reporting, and data insights. The software does not deploy any agents, and neither does it spy on what users are performing on their workstations.
Instead, PPM Express identifies what users worked on in business apps and suggests time entries.
When you deploy this system, it gives you the freedom to focus on what matters, which is growing your business.
You will not worry about micromanaging your team members. On the contrary, your focus would be on making your team members more efficient, as PPM Express takes care of all the boring tasks and remembering.
Conclusion
Resource management is the cornerstone of your project management initiatives. Your organization cannot afford to ignore this vital element if it needs to achieve success in its undertakings.
When you have the right software for resource management, you benefit the company, project, and team. It takes away boring, repetitive tasks, gives you an overview of your project and resource allocation, as well as empowers you to confidently make decisions regarding your project.