Do I Need a Resource Planner? Answer: Yes!

Whether a business is starting or looking to expand, it can be difficult to anticipate all the resources the company will need. Even if the organization is clear about what it wants and how it intends to achieve it, it’s a challenge fitting all the pieces together and forecasting for the future. This is where a resource planner document is vital.

Before a manager can assign resources, it is their responsibility to know all the details to ensure availability and scheduling. Resource planning and management tells us what resources can be used on a project, when to use them and under what capacity you can use them.

What is resource planning?

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Resource planning is a strategic way to ensure that resources are used effectively and efficiently across a single project or a group of tasks. When used in the correct way, resources add value to projects and helps employees better manage their time.

Resource planning technology allows organizations to adapt to changing markets and new projects. When new disruptive technologies hit the market at an ever-increasing rate, companies need to be able to quickly change direction.

Business goals that were important yesterday may not be as important today. Companies must be flexible enough to manage change when their plans and strategies change.

 

What is the point of a resource planner?

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A resource planner identifies, categorizes and creates a list of everything needed to start and finish a project. Since most organizations’ actual costs are related to resources, it’s important to use these details as effectively as possible.

A resource planner is like a blueprint that helps ensure a team completes a project and work is done on time and within budget. But that’s not an easy thing to do, especially when there are a lot of resources and projects going on that call for different skills.

What should your resource planner include?

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The goal of a resource planner is to figure out what resources are needed to do the work and assign them. Almost every comprehensive resource scheduling has the following five parts:

Resource allocation

Assuming that the manager understands the skills and experience of each team member, he or she will compile this information into resource planning software. This information is then used to plot the internal and external resources needed to complete the job.

Resource procurement

Once the manager understands all the needs of the project, they’ll need to decide which resources to use in the operations. In either case, remember that this strategy will be fluid and prone to change. Team schedules change, situations change, and some resources divert to higher-priority work or are assigned to cross-functional teams. Plan modifications are an ongoing aspect of the process.

Process visualization

To effectively plan your resources, it’s a good idea to visualize the process. Many managers still use Excel spreadsheets, but a resource management tool makes the process easier by putting all the information in one place that is easy to get to and look at. With a resource planner, managers can dig deeper into specific resources to learn about their current roles, skills and availability. Time on task helps to improve performance and achieve goals with fewer resources. Poor task observation on time promotes poor task performance.

To help monitor time on tasks in a seamless way that promotes transparency, TimeTrack Timesheet tracks everyone’s time and output. Managers have constant access to a big picture view of project deadlines and can quickly gauge where a project is in the timeline. TimeTrack automatically creates a timesheet out of the time employees have worked. The timesheet can be downloaded anytime as a PDF, CSV or Excel.

Resource management

Being able to see resources and their properties makes it easier to manage them. When you have priority conflicts, you must be aware and focused on your duties and manage your time accordingly, giving importance to some over others.

As high-value, high-priority multiple projects come up that need the help of people who are already booked; it may be necessary to reposition these resources.

This is another reason why it’s important to have a tool like TimeTrack to consider how effective scheduling software can enhance employee engagement and reduce burnout.

Resource monitoring

After putting together a team of resources to work on a project, resource managers switch to “monitor and adjust” mode. During this phase, they respond to changes in the need for resources while keeping a close eye on the team’s capacity and use. Also, they learn from the plan by recording the necessary changes and its rationales.

Examples of typical workplace resources

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People/Labor

People are the most important part of your business and the best thing you have. Also, they are one of your most expensive resources. As a result, it is important to know who you have in your organization, when they are available to work on projects, programs, or “keep the lights on” work, and their specific skills.

Materials

This category includes the parts that make up the finished product. These include building materials, databases, promotional material etc. During the resource planning stage, the finished product must be carefully considered to ensure that all of its parts are known.

Skillsets, capacity, availability & resource utilization

Managers should have the ability to know who they have on their team, each person’s strengths and skills, and if those skills are rare or in high demand. Experts in many fields can be hard to find and cost a lot of money. This means knowing how much each person can do with their skills. For example, if a team has only two developers with very valuable skills, managers need to know how and when those skills will be used.

Time tracking

Keeping track of time is a way to measure progress, and it goes hand-in-hand with planning resources. Time tracking assists organizations in setting reasonable goals and managing deadlines.

Facilities

All projects need some space in which to do their work. This is an important factor to consider for many projects. Is a small office or big factory necessary? Can people work remotely? Facilities are often rented or leased, and the cost is placed on the project administration or a separate budget for facilities.

Data

Data is the key to making a project work in the long run. It’s used to ensure projects stay on track and within budget, using the available resources. Data from past projects can be used to estimate how much work will cost and how long it will take. It’s important to collect the right data and use it in the best way possible to get actionable intelligence.

Tips to improve your resource planner

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Most of the time, the pathway to success of your project will depend on how well you plan your resources in your calendar, so you’ll want to do it right. And it doesn’t have to be as difficult as you might think.

Predetermine all roles

Who is doing what and how much time will they need? Is the person available for the entire project? Will you need outside help? Record everyone’s role and skillset in your resource planner well in advance.

Create a draft pool

A little mental roleplay is a creative way to start if you’re unsure of who should play what role. As in a sports draft, you need to give the team options. Understand the basics of agile goal-setting, which is more dynamic, intuitive and flexible.

Create a catalogue of skills

A manager must ensure that employees have a good career journey and grow in experience and skills. Using a skill and tasks catalogue is a great element to add to your company policies. It helps employees learn and find fulfilment in their daily roles. You’re not just doing projects; you’re creating specialists!

Implement time recording

A lot of what resource planning is about is figuring out how much time, energy, output is needed. Having a clear idea of how long each resource takes to do a certain task can help with planning and allocating responsibilities.

Make a centralized schedule

Have the resources been spread too thinly across too many projects? We know that moving things around to keep things going can be monotonous. A centralized schedule can ensure everything goes well. You’ll have a great way to get an overview of the resources at any time and see where they are being used, which will greatly help with planning. TimeTrack’s Online Duty Roster allows you to define and create work areas and locations.

Conclusion

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If you’re still using spreadsheets and whiteboards for planning and scheduling, you’re probably not using your team’s time well or tracking capacity. This is exactly how projects get behind schedule and go over budget.

With a tool like TimeTrack, you can save invaluable hours a week by creating a resource planner for your team’s time tracking and scheduling resources.