The thing about any industry is that it's a people business. Organizations are challenged with ensuring the right people are on the right projects, but how are they able to do this effectively you may ask? The truth is - having a smarter approach to resourcing will guarantee success.
Few organizations give project managers the visibility they need to know what's happening in the business. Without a centralized system in place, it's simply not practical. This whitepaper identifies those areas of improvement when it comes to resourcing and how a centralized project and resource planning system can provide the visibility to help with long-term resource strategy building.
Introduction
The thing about [INSERT YOUR INDUSTRY] is that it’s a people business. No, that’s not a misprint. It’s a simple reflection of the fact that whatever professional services sector you’re in, it’s a people business.
Customers come to you because of the calibre and reputation of your people. You deliver through the advice and skills of your people. And to stay ahead of the competition, you need to keep attracting and developing the right people.
So given this universal truth, why are professional services businesses routinely so poor at managing their people strategically? Not in terms of rewarding or incentivizing them, but making best use of their human resources, across multiple projects, to drive on-time, on-budget delivery and secure client satisfaction.
The battle for resources
In a recent Aberdeen Group report, 38% of professional services organizations cited “contention for specific limited resources” as a top project-specific pressure.
Put in more simple terms, time after time, professional services projects are delayed because key resources – key people – aren’t available when they’re supposed to be. Or more accurately, they’re not available when the project plan said they should be... regardless of the fact that they’re actually doing exactly what another project plan requires of them.
The result? An unedifying squabble between project managers – and more importantly, a project hitting the rocks because of a lack of visibility and communication that goes back as far as the initial planning stage. With luck, a whole lot of cajoling and a big budget for late-night pizzas for the team, you might get it back on track. A significant proportion won’t.
