Resource planning

The benefits of a proactive resource allocation management

Tuomas Mikkola
Tuomas Mikkola
Project Business Consultant

Do you think that resource management has no impact on the successful execution of projects? Or do you think that project resource management has a notable impact on everything regarding projects? I gave a presentation about proactive resource allocation management and I summed up the main points to this article.

For starters, I’d like to present my idea of the concept about proactive resource management. The unofficial description could be something like this: “With the help of proactive resource allocation management, it is possible to manage all resources on different projects and be aware of the real-time status of the projects from the resource management point of view. In addition, it is possible to view the overall situation of the company’s resources.”

What kind of benefits does proactive resource management generate then? I’ve listed few of the main benefits here for you:

  1. Projects are not delayed due to challenges or problems related to human resources
    Resource promises are given to projects meaning that they are promised with a certain skill at a certain time, which is critical for executing the projects on time.
  2. Ability to see where the project is heading
    When resource allocations are up-to-date, the resource promises are trustworthy. By comparing the realised hours and allocations to the budget, it is possible to see where the project is heading. 
  3. Human resources have even allocation loads
    With the help of reasonable resource management, one can avoid over- or underload of resources, which is something that both the top management and the individuals value. The top management likes high utilisation rate and the individuals like bearable workload. In addition, it is easier to recognise lack of certain skills. 
  4. Bring back the sense to resource managers’ work
    When resourcing is managed in a reasonable way, resource managers will have more time on the substantial work, in other words productive work. 

Sounds sensible, doesn’t it? There are many ways to achieve the benefits mentioned above but one essential thing is that the resource data should have one joint repository where the data is in a form that it is easily collected. If there are multiple different resourcing solutions, you can guess how much fun it is to try to combine the data and scratch an output for an overview. If the data is not in the same place, getting real-time data is almost impossible. In addition to joint repository, it is crucial to get all the different counterparts committed to generate and update the resource data. If the data is not up-to-date, the resource promises can’t be trusted upon. A coherent resource management culture and mutual rules are much needed. 

One important thing regarding proactive resource allocation management is comparing the realised hours with allocations. Hence, it is easier to monitor where the projects are heading and will they follow the budgets. In addition, one can utilise the knowledge of learning from the past in the future project resource management. 

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