What is Resource Allocation, and Why is it Important?
The corporate ecosystem thrives on dynamism. From the high-octane hybrid workforces that have
amalgamated the finesse of cubicle culture and agility of remote work to automation, a lot
has changed in the enterprise landscape in the last decade. However, one thing that’s
still the same is that organizations scramble to manage resources. There’s no denying
how enterprises try the hit-and-trial method and dabble in different technologies for
managing resources. However, so far, using strategic resource allocation with
automation has proven to be the most effective. How? Here’s a guide to help you get
started!
Resource Management Challenges:
Where it All Started?
A report by Deltek suggested that 49% of agency leaders were open and prepared to allocate
substantial funds for hiring more talent in 2022. However, did that solve employee
retention and productivity issues entirely? No!
HRs and Project Managers think acquiring new talent is the key to solving resource scarcity.
However, even when you have the budget and scope to accommodate new employees, resource
management won’t be easy. Why? Because you are already missing a detailed definition
of relevant skills and a mechanism to distribute workload, acquiring new talent makes little
to no sense. That’s where automation comes into the big picture. Using resource
allocation software can solve a major chunk of issues associated with resource
allocation.
But are organizations prioritizing it? No!
According to the PMI or “Pulse of the Profession” survey, only 26% of
companies use resource management to allocate and estimate resources. The
result? Cluttered data pools with issues of time theft, missed deadlines, employee burnout,
and whatnot.
There are many challenges associated with resource management that careful allocation can
solve. These include:
• Budget Constraints:
Budget constraints aren’t a new problem hovering over enterprise operations. They have
been there since the dawn of business. Businesses of all sizes struggle to manage limited
resources within confined budgets, and mismanaging resources due to budget constraints can
be a massive blow for businesses because this can lead to potential delays in project
delivery due to insufficient funding, low-quality work, and client dissatisfaction.
• Resource Optimization:
How do you know the best person in your organization to do a certain task? Organizations
often miss out on potential opportunities because they do not assign the right people to the
right tasks or projects. In addition, leveling out resource distribution isn’t a
cakewalk either. At different points in time, while some resources are idling in their
cubicles, others are overworking. Tracking employee work hours and using the data from
resource allocation software can help troubleshoot resource optimization issues, but until
you do it, it can lead to inefficiencies and employee burnout.
• Skill and Talent Management:
Acquiring and retaining skilled talent is a perpetual challenge for resource managers, and
matching the required skillset with existing resources is also daunting in large teams.
Although training and development programs play an indispensable role in bridging skill
gaps, they require time and investment. On the other hand, using an efficient resource
allocation mechanism can help manage skills and talent without any disruptions or impacting
project continuity.
• Technology and Tools:
Implementing and integrating suitable technology and tools for resource management is an
enormous challenge for organizations in the 21st century. Many organizations struggle with
outdated systems or disjointed tools that hinder effective resource tracking, allocation,
and utilization. Introducing new technology like a resource allocation tool can
help improve productivity in the short as well as long term.
Resource Allocation 101
To understand resource allocation, let’s consider this simple analogy:
Cooking for your family of four can be easy. However, when you cook for a lot of people,
it’s challenging to comprehend how much everyone will eat and will be throwing stuff
out when you cook with extra ingredients.
However, when you don’t cook enough, someone else might go hungry as well. Undoubtedly
some people will offer to help, but how are you supposed to know who’s a good cook and
who’s more likely to burn a dish or two?
Well, if this riddle of confusion feels familiar to you, you might be scrambling with a
classic resource allocation debacle. If cooking is your work project, you must identify
people with certain skills (who can cook and who’s good at setting the table), what
resources you require (ingredients), and if you can allocate enough time to finish the
project on time (having enough food on the table when everyone’s hungry).
Definition of Resource Allocation
In the work environment, resource allocation is all about figuring out how to make the best
out of the resources at your disposal to maximize business success. If you have questions
about what allocation is , it can mean a whole lot of things. From evaluating who has
the most expertise to handle a new project to assessing who took on what and assigning work
with a buffer time, strategic allocation invariably and implicitly means efficiency.
In today’s tech-driven era, outmoded workflow methodologies have no place. Businesses
that use a manual approach for budgeting, employee workflow management, or workload
distribution don’t just struggle with siloed workforce and poor resource management,
they lose a lot of money in the long run and fall prone to the risk of compliance issues.
Resource allocation has numerous benefits; however, before we dive into the benefits
of resource allocation , do you know who or what counts as a resource, and what are
the challenges to skillful resource allocation? Here are the answers!
Who’s a Resource?
The simplest answer to this question is that anything you can use can be termed as a
resource. Whether we are talking about people, time, money, space, technology, or skillset,
anything that’s beneficial for your organization is termed as a resource in the work
context. Even departments and teams can also count as a resource depending on what your
analysis is based on.
What Challenges Do
Organizations Face with Resource Allocation?
• Inadequate communication: When information isn’t shared
universally, it becomes challenging to allocate resources effectively. A lack of insight
into project specifics leads to uncertainty about resource requirements.
• Resource awareness: Team members facing ambiguity about
available resources encounter difficulties in requesting what they need or utilizing
resources efficiently. Assigning tasks that mismatch skills or lack necessary resources
leads to disengagement and subpar performance, emphasizing the importance of clear
communication in resource allocation.
• Resource scarcity: These are the instances where there's a
shortage of time, finances, or personnel, or difficulty in determining priority resources.
This often occurs in environments with numerous concurrent projects or high demand for
specific skills, emphasizing the significance of effective prioritization.
• Scope expansion: Scope creep is where project boundaries
continually shift, demanding more resources than initially estimated. Managing this ensures
avoiding excessive resource consumption on projects that expand beyond their scope.
Advantages of Tactful Resource Allocation
If you value the significance of teamwork, you probably already know what it’s like to
do all the work on your own. Undoubtedly, working with a lot of people at once can seem
challenging, but for complex tasks involving more than one responsibility, it’s
crucial. How?
Imagine lugging a giant pile of groceries from the car to your doorstep in one single trip,
all on your own. In the process of doing so, you will most probably hurt yourself; there
might be a messy aftermath of spilled milk and a bag of mashed fruits all over your
driveway, and a bag will most definitely break.
However, imagine the same scenario when you split the work with one or two people. The job
can be done skillfully in one trip with shared effort between you and the other people and
you will also mitigate the chances of waste, spills as well as injuries. Now, that’s
what we call a win-win!
This simple analogy is just an example of the advantages of resource allocation . When
you tactfully distribute resources by understanding what allocation is , your
resources can help you be more efficient, reduce the waste of time and funds, and get things
done according to an immaculate quality.
There are several advantages of strategic resource allocation . Some of them include
the following:
• Amplify Efficiency and Productivity:
When you run an organization, some people might be good at some things, whereas others have
their own strengths. If you are in a leadership or managerial role where you are delegating
tasks, it’s always clever to play to people's strengths. resource allocation is
all about putting people who are best at coding in your team when you are handling a
development project. They can finish the work quickly, using less money and of course
limited resources. However, if you divide your team into 60-40 coders and designers, you end
up paying for their billable hours, when the delivery time stretches beyond what you
committed. You waste time and resources on a project when you could easily have achieved
maximum efficiency and productivity if you understood what allocation is .
• Reduce costs:
Do you know the amount of money organizations blow on static resources? Yes, you heard it
right! While many companies are downsizing to save resources, some businesses are blowing a
huge portion of their yearly budget on recruiting new talent. This simple issue can be
handled with resource allocation . How? By automating the allocation of tasks,
organizations can make the most out of talents they have readily available on deck and stop
wasting money on hiring new employees. The budget you save on hiring more people can then be
reallocated to a project that needs more resources. Simple as that!
• Keep Your Team Happy:
Let’s picture a scenario: You have 2 content writers in your marketing team. While one
writer handles the social media strategy as well as content for a bunch of your renowned
clients, the other one is just a trainee. However, you are still paying the intern and
making the experienced writer do all the work for nearly the same amount you are paying the
newbie. The reason? You think someday you might need the communication skills and creativity
of the new intern. If you don’t want to lose your resources and avoid employee
burnout, resource allocation can be a great idea to level out workload distribution
without causing more stress on employees.
So, the question is: how do you do it? resource allocation is no child’s play,
and especially in a large-scale organization or a budding startup, you always need a helping
hand to distribute resources properly.
Tips for Resource Allocation
Most people wonder why they should invest in resource allocation software when it
is all about considering the available resources for a project at a certain duration. Well,
let us tell you something, your project might be a short-term goal for your business, but
the resource allocation software or the technique you use can have long-reaching
effects for your organization.
Although most businesses have moved to automating their pre-existing resource
allocation approach, you can deploy other techniques along with software to allocate
resources efficiently in a realistic time frame.
Highlight the Scope of Your Project:
No chef starts putting random ingredients together before deciding what to cook.
resource allocation is no different. When you have to allocate resources for a project,
outline the scope of your project and define:
• Essential tasks and determining what falls beyond the project's
boundaries.
• Restrictions imposed by project limitations such as financial
constraints and timeframes.
• Structure of the project's timetable, including key checkpoints and
timelines for achieving specific stages.
• A clear idea of the project's expected results or end products.
The insights you gain from the project scope can help you to understand your project at a new
level. You can always use the information to:
• Level out workload distribution and dice up one gigantic project
into smaller tasks.
• Decide how you are going to assign tasks to your team members.
• Plan the number of resources you might need to complete the project
within the destined time frame.
Assess Your Available Resources:
Just like choosing pizza toppings requires knowing what's on hand and everyone's preferences,
selecting the right resources for a task demands understanding each person's strengths and
preferred tasks.
In project planning, it's crucial to grasp your team's abilities and the quality of available
resources, as this enables you to allocate resources where they will yield the highest
impact. Identify their strengths and specialized skills, and align your project needs with
resources capable of fulfilling those requirements.
Track Time and Performance:
You have a clear plan of action in front of you, and you understand your team’s
capabilities. However, how do you know if everyone on your team is working at their most
efficient version? That’s when you start tracking the time and performance of everyone
on your team. When you track who’s handling what and which employee has how much work
on their deck, it can immensely help you to reduce burnout and increase productivity.
By doing so, project managers can get a clear view of the team or employees falling behind,
when the team is at its peak hours of productivity, and if there’s a need for a new
resource distribution strategy to improve overall productivity. In addition, when you are
using resource allocation software to analyze time and resources, it can also help you
to set goals better and determine realistic deadlines for future projects without causing
overload in your team.
Review to Optimize:
The amount of time employees spend on non-billable work stuff is insane. How can you forget
about those hour-long meetings with agendas that could easily have been an email? Besides
there are also team activities, brainstorming hours, and employee break sessions. If you
want to cut out inefficiencies and see through the time data, continue to review where your
employees and spending data are and stick to the blueprint you made at the start of the
project.
How can eResource Scheduler Help?
There are several ways in which eResource Scheduler can be a game-changer for resource
allocation. This includes:
• Streamlining Resource Allocation
Whether we are talking about manpower, equipment, or facilities, one of the biggest headaches
for organizations is ensuring resources are optimally used. Managing resources manually can
be daunting. However, with eResource Scheduler, businesses can orchestrate this process and
get a bird’s eye view of their resource pool to make allocation efficient. From
managing project timelines to assigning tasks with leveled workload distribution blueprints
and structured timesheets, eRS can do it all!
• Real-Time Visibility
How often has your organization faced the issue of resources clashing or overbooking? Well,
if you are managing a large team, eResource Scheduler can offer you a crystal clear view of
who’s sitting idle, who is swamped with work, and who’s just on the brink of
being overloaded. With the real-time data from eResource Scheduler, you can improve
decision-making, and analyze your most efficient resource base.
• Enhanced Productivity and Efficiency
Using eResource Scheduler can be a game-changer for businesses because it helps them master
resource allocation. Instead of working with cracks in the workflow, the software can help
you get a remarkable boost in productivity by simplifying workload distribution. You can
assign the right task to the right person and this ensures all your tasks are completed
within the pre-specified timeframe and with precision.
• Cost Savings and Budget Management
Are you over-recruiting employees in your organization to combat the issue of resource
unavailability? Well, with eResource Scheduler, you can avoid issues like overhiring or
underutilization of resources, so you don’t extend the annual budget set for your
company.
• Balancing Workloads
As a project manager or team lead, do you ever feel like some of your employees are drowning
in tasks, whereas others have nothing to do, or are sitting idle? Well, if this bothers you,
eResource Scheduler can help to bring balance to your workforce. The software can enable you
to distribute workloads evenly and keep your top performers motivated without any hiccups.
• Seamless Collaboration and Communication
Around 80% of conflicts in the organizational landscape arise due to miscommunication.
Irrespective of the hierarchy, miscommunication can burn bridges of productivity between
employees, teams, or between employees and their superiors. However, when you have a tool
like eRS that acts as a centralized pool of data for everyone to collaborate effortlessly,
communication gaps will be less frequent. From notifications for resource allocation to
updates on availability, the software can streamline everything for better teamwork.
• Flexibility and Adaptability
In today’s business ecosystem, organizational needs are changing like a rollercoaster
ride. No one can tell when they have to shuffle priorities or move to another task midway
through a project. However, with eResource Scheduler, adaptability won’t be an issue.
The tool helps you to pivot resources swiftly, so your workflow can be flexible for sudden
changes without breaking a sweat. In addition, you can also use the data from the software
to analyze historical allocation patterns, resource
utilization trends, and performance metrics for smarter, data-driven decisions.
Features of eResource Scheduler
Wondering what makes eResource Scheduler a revolutionary technology for streamlining resource
allocation? Well, the answer is its features, that include:
• Custom Scheduling:
You can make scheduling easy with convenient and easy to understand Gantt charts. eRS allows
you to swiftly view existing schedules according to resource availability, so you can track
the number of resources in your organization and the resources you will need. You get a
clear overview that illustrates overlaps and dependencies for setting realistic deadlines
and expectations and balancing multiple projects at once without any setbacks.
• Drag-and-Drop Simplicity:
If you were searching for software that’s easy to use and can effortlessly align your
workflow with your productivity objectives there’s no better option than eRS. You get
the drag and drop scheduling feature that makes it easy to schedule resources on tasks and
projects and you can effortlessly shorten, expand, and reassign bookings across different
resources. Shift schedules, make quick adjustments or uproot an entire resource base for
another task without any hassle with the simple drag and drop feature.
• Comprehensive Reporting and Analytics:
If data is power, eRS helps you wield this power with real-time resource availability. With
the schedule charts, you can instantly get the overview of resource availability getting
updated in real-time, so you can create and modify schedules as per the requirements of your
scheduled project work and resources and fine-tune allocation strategies.
• Resource Overload Indicator:
Want to identify the resources that are overworked at best? eResource Scheduler can help you!
With its resource overload indicator, reorder assignments and instantly alter an existing
schedule or create a new one. You get the flexibility to schedule work in any month or hour
view and the split bookings work like magic for last-minute transfers, inclusions and
alterations.
Conclusion
It’s a wrap! Resource allocation plays a substantial role in handling organizational
dynamics and if you understand what allocation is and why you need it, it’s high time
you switch to automation! Searching for an intuitive, easy-to-use, and efficient resource
allocation tool? Contact the professionals at eResource
Scheduler today and watch your organizational efficiency reach new heights!