Knowing how to manage your company’s resources is crucial. A significant part of managing resources is managing workloads for each team member.
Hire too many people and you’ll go over budget, don’t hire enough, and your employee engagement will burn out from being overworked. Dissatisfied employees lead to high turnover (yes, even in this economy, dissatisfied employees are quitting their jobs) and decreased productivity.
Capacity planning helps you properly staff your projects and efficiently manage your resources so that you aren’t overworking your employees but also aren’t under-utilizing them. Here are three ways to start:
1: Measure Resource Productivity by Tracking KPIs
KPI tracking is a valuable tool that allows companies to measure the productivity of their resources and identify areas for improvement. To truly understand what resources you have, you should look into how employee hours are being spent.
Metrics you could be tracking include:
- Utilization rate or the percentage of time that an employee is working on billable projects
- Billable hours
- How long does it take to hire for a new position?
- How long does it take for a new hire to get up to speed?
- How much time do managers spend overseeing projects?
How many employee hours are spent on tasks that could be automated? How much is turnover costing you? Hiring has a significant cost to it, so you want to make sure it’s necessary.
2: Avoid Employee Burnout by Prioritizing Health and Wellness
“Burnout” may not be an official medical diagnosis, but it affects an estimated 89% of employees. With that statistic you can assume it’s present in your organization as well.
The symptoms of burnout include fatigue, insomnia, and a lack of motivation. It affects an employee’s overall well-being and it affects your company. Burnout leads to decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and a higher turnover rate.
What are some causes of employee burnout?
- Unclear job expectations. When assignments, deadlines, and expectations aren’t clear employees are unlikely to feel comfortable at work.
- Extremely chaotic or extremely mundane work environments. Working in a monotonous or chaotic job can lead to fatigue and burnout due to the amount of energy required to stay focused.
- Lack of control over decisions such as schedule, workload, or resources.
- Lack of work-life balance. If deadlines aren’t thoughtfully assigned, employees may have to work overtime to meet them.
Knowing that these are the things that cause burnout, you should increase communication and prioritize capacity planning so that you can prevent burnout before it occurs—instead of trying to fix it after it’s too late.
3: Know Your Team
One of the best ways to prevent burnout is to ensure that employees are engaged and motivated. Getting to know your team doesn’t just mean company parties or retreats. It’s knowing each team member's:
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Career Goals
- Frustrations
To get to know your team better, you should:
- Hold regular one-on-one meetings. Meet with each team member to check in on their progress, discuss any challenges they are facing, and provide feedback.
- Encourage employees to provide feedback on their work and the company. This can help you identify areas for improvement and show employees that their opinions are valued.
- Work with employees to create career development plans that align with their career goals. This can help them feel more motivated and invested in their work.
If you are already doing all those things, try changing your approach. Every team member is an individual. Some may be motivated by career advancements and challenging tasks while others might be looking for more work-life balance.
Why does it matter?
Happy employees mean less turnover and more productivity. Effective resource management is essential for businesses that want to remain competitive in today’s fast-paced economy. By tracking KPIs, prioritizing health and wellness, and fostering engagement, companies can prevent burnout and create a more productive work environment.
Forecast resource management tools help balance workloads, anticipate future demand, and optimize company resources. Companies that implement Forecast see a decrease in the amount of time employees spend on menial and repetitive tasks and onboarding. Plus, it looks at data from your projects to help you create customized plans based on the resources you have. Businesses that prioritize resource management will set themselves, and their employees, up for success and satisfaction.
