Imagine turning up for work at a building site, but finding that there are no bricks to build with. Or arriving at an important meeting, then finding out that critical team members are working on a project in another continent.
Research from the Project Management Institute tells us that 14% of projects in the IT industry fail entirely. 31% of projects don’t meet their goals, 43% go over budget and 49% don’t hit their deadline. And this is just in the IT industry!
If resources are managed properly, it’s much more likely that projects will be successful. But what is resource management? Read on to find out more about the planning and allocation of resources, to maximize their efficiency and achieve your business goals.
The Importance of Resources
Why are resources important to a business? Quite simply, without them, it wouldn’t be possible to get the job done. You can describe resources as being anything that you need to complete a project or task.
Some resources are tangible, such as raw materials, tools, and equipment. Other resources are intangible. These include the skillsets of employees and the time that they have available to work on a project.
What Is Resource Management?
We can define resource management as the process of planning, scheduling, and allocating resources. This needs to be done in the best possible way, to maximize the efficient utilization of each of those resources.
Resource management helps you to control where each of your resources is and what it’s doing at any one time. It’s a strategy that helps to foresee and solve problems and supports decision-making for optimal business success and growth.
Resource management is a critical aspect of the wider project management toolkit. You can see here how resource management strategies support the workload of any Project Management Office.
The Importance of Resource Management in Projects
Projects involve multiple resources, often across a number of different locations. Proper planning is critical to ensure that all these resources are being efficiently utilized at all times.
Some of these resources will be employees who are working across several different projects. While people need challenges to stay motivated at work, it’s also important to protect employees from burnout. Good resource management helps to prevent overbooking or over-stretching valued employees.
Machinery also needs downtime for repairs or parts replacements. Planning this ahead of time reduces unforeseen delays in projects and ensures that deadlines are met.
Good resource management also engenders transparency within organizations. If good systems are in place for managing resources, then everyone across multiple teams can see what’s happening. This also helps to build stakeholder trust.
Resource Management Gives You Control
So, what is resource management? It’s a tool for success. To make the right decisions, you need the right information. Do you have the resources you need to complete your project on time, or do you need to hire extra people or get hold of another machine?
Resource management gives you this information, so you can foresee problems and solve them before they put a spanner in the works and delay your project, costing you time and money.
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