Effective Resource Management Strategy Guide - Fileroom

As a manager, you are constantly under pressure to get projects complete quickly, efficiently, and to a high standard. As the complexity of completing tasks continues to accelerate, and unplanned changes threaten to affect productivity it becomes clear you need to implement proper resource management. But what is resource management? And, how do you identify the best tools to use for your project?

Managing your resources starts with acknowledging that a resource is anything you require to plan, execute, and complete a project. It most likely will include a competent team of individuals with a unique skill set, perhaps machinery or even other resources such as software. One thing that is foundational in resource management is a well-equipped and knowledgeable manager, you, adept at understanding the importance of resource planning and digital business strategy.

What is resource management?

Resource management is the role of bringing together the right people, processes, and tools in union with a common goal, which is often the successful completion of your project. Resource management is part of your role as a manager, and some would say it is one of the most difficult aspects of your position. The difficultly lies in that a strategic resource management plan is essential for you to plan projects and ensure they run smoothly, efficiently, and remain financially viable.


The very nature of resource management is fluid which means your resource management strategy is not something that you work on once a year in a workshop but rather something that needs to stay agile and dynamic to remain purposeful to your workplace.

Why do I need a resource management strategy?

As a manager, your goal is to achieve performance optimisation in your projects. To do this, you need every element of your project to be working effectively. A well planned resource management strategy is your key to unlocking this optimisation. Utilising an effective resource management strategy will:

• Help you avoid issues throughout the life of your project. Your ability to understand the re-sources needed and how you plan to use them will enable you to foresee any gaps in your plan or problems with the project before they arise.
• Prevent overusing a resource. Resource burnout, or over allocation, is a thing. By employing a resource management strategy you will avoid over-relying on any one resource and effectively disperse the workload resulting in higher productivity and a better result for your project.
• Peace of mind. We know a project can sometimes be unsuccessful due to a lack of resources. Proper resource management illustrates that you as a manager did everything you could to effectively manage the resources that you did have to work with.
• Efficiency is king. As a manager who knows how to execute effective resource management, you will have a good understanding of exactly what is needed to roll out your next project. This knowledge and experience will enable you to plan and measure the effectiveness of the project at hand.

Now we know what a resource is and what resource management entails its important to acknowledge the detrimental effects poor resource management can have on your project. These include poor productivity, delays in project completion, decreased quality of work produced and more mistakes, higher costs, missed opportunities, and the big one, low staff morale.

Remember, one of the key components of resource management is recognising that high resource utilisation is not necessarily an indication of good resource management. More importantly, you want to ensure your resources are working effectively and efficiently on projects that match their skill sets.

Why your resource management strategy begins with your most dynamic resource…

The key to effective resource management lies in your utilisation of the team of individuals you have selected to work on your project. This resource represents the core of your resource management framework and the success of your project depends on their capacity and your ability to manage their skill sets effectively. If you are familiar with the Agile Methodology {Link: to blog post on Agile Marketing yet to be published }, you will know that people are people, and not re-sources, who work best in self-organised teams where creativity can thrive. When compiling and evaluating the capacities of your team before you start a project it is important to:


Take a good look at your people. A good manager knows their team inside out. They know what makes them tick. Take the time to learn about each member of your team so you understand their skill set, what elements they love about their job, what they excel in, and what motivates them to achieve in their role. Perhaps they enjoy working in a team environment with markers and a whiteboard or maybe they prefer the solitude of working from home online. Only once you have an understanding of your team can you then be aware of the limitations that may impact your project timeline.

• Evaluate capacity. Utilise resource levelling to identifying team members within your reach that are undervalued or underused. The result of effective resource levelling is that every re-source is used to their capacity and in ways that enable them to utilise their skill set to the best of their ability. For example, if you have a brilliant graphic designer who has indicated they have an interest in copywriting, take the time to nurture this interest and develop their skill level. One of the most important components of resource management is ensuring every re-source you have access to is working collaboratively to drive the productivity of the project.
• Forecast. This is a big one as it enables you to predict your future resource requirements before the project begins. Sure, this part of the process can seem like you need a crystal ball, but with time and experience, you will learn to make predictions based on past project lifecycles and objectives to plan out projects with a level of predictability. As a bonus, forecasting breeds an environment of flexibility for your team as this encourages staff to upskill and grow with your business as the project evolves.

What other factors should I consider for my resource management strategy?

While your people are your prime focus for effective resource management, other factors contribute to a successful strategy including:

• Get used to planning. Resource management is a whole lot of planning and evaluating to en-sure you are maximising your resources and carefully managing their utilisation to ensure a successful outcome for your project. When first employing a resource management strategy, it may seem like you spend a good deal of your time planning. This is to be expected. Planning is a vital part of creating and implementing your resource management strategy. Planning should be the first thing on your to-do list when you take on a new project. And, it is through this thorough planning process that you will be able to evaluate exactly what you need, who you need, and for how long to get the project complete on time and budget. Planning induces transparency and control which are vital for the successful outcome of your project.

• Get visual. As our businesses undergo digital transformation, our teams are also seeking online tools to help understand and manage workflows. There is an abundance of online resource management tools available online, all of which enable you to streamline your resource management efforts. If you don’t know where to start, check out Monday , Hive or Forecast. These online tools can help plan, allocate, manage, and track your resources effectively and therefore, are worth your consideration. When selecting an online resource management tool be sure to evaluate its suitability for your business and be prepared to undergo a trial period to ensure its capacity to achieve your project goals.

  
  

How to implement your resource management strategy…

Now you understand what resource management is and why it is important, it’s time to implement this important element into your business. Start at the beginning with a plan and get to know your resources to utilise them more effectively. If you understand a resource management strategy is vital for your business yet you don’t have the time or capacity to do it yourself then finding a specialised team to implement your strategy can help get your projects on track.

Fileroom is all about your business growth and future-proofing your sales revenue. We work with you to achieve this through purpose-fit content at every stage of your journey, paired with digital enablement, deep-data, and artificial intelligence so you can focus on what you do best for your customers. We can help you to identify the best tools that fit your needs and implement it on your path to digital transformation.

If you would like to discover how implementing a resource management strategy could change up your business, fileroom is here to help. Start a conversation with fileroom today.