What are the criteria for a good resource planning ?

Building a high-performing and committed team remains a challenge for companies today, and more specifically for consulting firms and ESNs. How do you identify the right talent? Recruiting the right people for the right jobs is a big decision that can impact projects. Recruiting new subcontractors, or resource planning of your employees on projects remains a strategic move. You are looking for skills in your talent that will add value to the company's productivity.

What criteria should be used to select the right candidates?

The right questions to ask yourself to make your resource planning

I - A solution from resource planning for more visibility on talent skills

What experience do they have in this type of mission?

When you start your search among your employees and subcontractors, you are faced with a wide range of possibilities. Your management of resource planning can be made faster and more automatic by using Stafiz software. The tool allows you to identify the right people for your projects based on their experience and skills.

Stafiz is the most complete software you will find on the market thanks to the Smart resource planning algorithms that make it possible to optimise your resource planning. Your research work could not be easier! You have full visibility on your database and on the different profiles of your employees, subcontractors and freelancers.

It is important to make sure that the people you select for your assignments already have experience in this field at a higher or lower level.

Have they ever worked with this type of client?

The ability to see each person's past experiences also allows you to see if they have worked with the type of clients you have before. This is an important and decisive element in the choice of the composition of your team for a project.

Your decision depends on your goals. Is it an opportunity for one of your junior employees to gain more experience? Are you short on time and need someone very experienced to ensure a better result and success? What does your customer expect from you?

The answers to these few questions will guide the choice of the right employee for this project and for your company's long-term goals.

Do they have a specialty?

The talent search engine available in the resource planning tool will make your life easier. In addition, the tool allows each user to update their CV. This update can also be done automatically, according to the different missions on which each person works.

This feature more accurately indicates the skills and specialty of each employee, based on the tasks they are most often assigned to.

II - The availability of staff in your resource planning management

Where are your employees loaded?

Before you start spreading your resources across different parts of your project, you need to find them. Sometimes, you will find some employees suitable for the missions available, but they will not be. In your management of the resource planning, have a vision of the workload of the people you want to work with.

They can already be loaded on a mission at a client's site, which is inappropriate. Indeed, you cannot ask this person to leave his responsibilities with his clients to work with you. You have two options: wait until this person is available or staff someone else on this task. This of course depends on the deadlines imposed on you.

If one of the resources you are interested in is in charge of an internal mission, the stakes are different and less important. It is possible to postpone your tasks if they are less urgent than your project. In which case, you can staff her where her skills are required.

What workload do they have?

With the assistance of a resource planning, you will have the visibility you need to know the workload of your employees. Whether they are overloaded or underloaded. Based on this information, you will be able to make a decision about which team you are forming. Do you want employees who are 100% available and operational, or do you want to work with people who are already in charge of other missions, who can give a little less time and energy to the tasks you allocate to them?

The second possibility should not be eliminated, on the contrary. Many people are quite capable of working on several things at once and prove themselves. Just know that the resource planning is just the beginning. Your ability to manage your project successfully will depend on how well you collaborate with your team. If one of the people is overloaded, the responsibility to advise accordingly will rest on your shoulders. Taking care of your team members is part of project management.

How to notify:

• Delegate certain tasks to other team members
• Staff additional resources
• Negotiate project end dates (add extra time)
• Remain available and attentive to your employees: sometimes, this is all it takes to give them the energy and motivation they need to deliver their deliverables on time.

The workload of your employees is not always visible on a resource planning tool. Take into account that this workload is sometimes subjective, it represents what each person considers to be his workload (his own feeling). It is not always the prescribed or real workload, which is really achieved according to the objectives set. A tool cannot account for the total dimension of workloads. This is even more true today, when many of your employees are teleworking. Therefore, whenever possible, talk to your employees and assess their situation.

When are they absent?

Other things to check at resource planning are the holidays and absences of staff. They may be on holiday, sick leave, maternity leave or other. If the dates of their return do not coincide with your project, you will have to continue looking for people for your assignments.

 

III – For a resource planning even more powerful

Location

The resource planning is not just about finding the best skills or checking the workload of employees. There are other details to consider that can be a game-changer. Ensuring that the people concerned are close to the mission location is important.

But it is fair that today many projects can be carried out remotely, especially in the digital sector. It's up to you.

Appetites

This element is a plus that can bring value to your project and its quality. Taking into account the employees' appetites by exchanging with them is often positive. They are more committed to projects that they are passionate about and on which they have talent and experience.

However, it is not always possible to staff an employee on a task according to his or her interests.

Know the professional project

Just like with appetites, being aware of your employees' future projects and what they expect in terms of type of experience, can strengthen their commitment and motivation to the project if they are taken into consideration.

Again, it's not always possible to have these discussions beforehand or the opportunity to assign each person where they'd prefer to be.

IV – Why take these criteria into account in your resource planning ?

Benefits for the employee and the company

The success of the project is guaranteed if the team is properly constituted. Your company will meet its production and profitability objectives if each competent person is staffed in the right place at the right time.

The employee will feel at home and motivated. He will be able to use his skills, and acquire new ones. The experience he will obtain will strengthen his CV and allow him to be staffed in the future on similar projects that will be adapted to his abilities and that will train him.

Employee retention

As you can see, your employees will be more productive if the resource planning is effectively carried out. They will be more proficient if you pay attention to the small details. The goal is to ensure that they stay and commit to working on new projects afterwards.

To conclude, your resource planning represents the search for and assignment of employees who share a common vision for the achievement of the company's objectives and the success of the projects on which they are staffed. An effective team is a complementary team, where each talent has its place and fulfills its mission. A resource planning remains the most effective way to look for the right people by having visibility on their schedule and skills. It allows you to optimize everyone's workload and centralize your recruitment requests. The tool's automatic suggestions and assignments will make your job easier.

However, there is no perfect solution for measuring everyone's activity and workload. When possible, it is therefore advisable to adapt and adjust your objectives by prioritizing the well-being of employees while ensuring the quality of projects.

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Stafiz helps professional services to gain visibility and effectively manage their teams' work schedules. Optimize your resource planning and your profitability with a resource planning dedicated to your business.

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