5 Organizational Resource Management Resolutions for 2019
to Achieve Success in all your Projects

As a business owner, team manager or team leader, you cannot predict everything that this New Year will bring your way. However, what you can do is "Be Prepared for anything that comes your way." Be it embracing new management trends, adopting new technologies or altering your business practices – staying prepared is the key to success.

With that in mind, here are the top resolutions you need to take in 2019 to ensure that you utilize your organization's resources in the best possible way.

1. Plan to Plan

   Planning is the first step to utilize organizational resources in the best way possible. Before you begin any project, dedicate time exclusively for resource allocation and management.

   Only by planning, you will get a clear idea of the resources required. Very often, business projects end up in failure, because of investing in too few or too many resources.

   Once you have created a list of all the resources required for the project – both human and other non-human resources, the next step is to divide the project into different phases.

   Here's a quick guide of what to do in the Planning stage:

   • Identify the total resources required for the project, right from start to finish.
   • Divide the project into small, manageable phases.
   • Analyze and allocate resources for each stage. Estimate the time required for completion of each stage.
   • Decide on the role played by each resource at each stage of the process.
   • Finalize this resource list, before you start the project officially.
   • Have the list handy and circulate it among the entire team, so everyone has a clear picture of the roles, responsibilities and the timeline of the project.

2. Take a Systematic Approach to Resource Planning

   All these years, you may have allocated resources haphazardly. Allocating resources at the last minute, based on who is available, shifting resources from one role to another halfway through a project, may work in the short-term but isn't the best approach in the long-term.

   This year, take a resolution to have a more systematic approach to resource allocation and management.

   This can be done by practising the following methodologies:

   1. Define your baseline : Use the performance and output of your previous projects as the baseline. Your goal here is to improve on this baseline for each subsequent project.
      For instance, if a previous project was delayed by three weeks due to lack of resources, then your goal should be to ensure that your current project doesn't get delayed more than two weeks. As you get better with resource management, your ultimate goal should be delivering a project well within the deadline comfortably, without any last-minute panics.
   2. Benchmark your Performance : Compare your performance with that of your immediate competitors and global leaders. Find out the areas where you are lacking and make it your goal to improve.
   3. Build an Action Strategy : Once you have identified the baseline you want to improve and the performance areas that need improvement, the next step is to build an action strategy.
   4. Fix Targets and Assign Responsibilities : Having overall goals is of no use if there is no solid action plan behind it. You need to set micro-goals for each sub-team or team member. Make sure that you define and assign responsibilities. This gives people a clear picture of what they should do and the target they are aiming for.
   5. Observe, Report and Review : Instead, of measuring the performance of the team at the end of the project, you need to measure it at regular intervals. This helps you to find out if the team is on track and if some resources require extra help to achieve their targets.
      The idea here is to keep on learning and improving throughout the project so that the entire team keeps improving at all times.

3. Focus on Collaboration and not Competition among Team Members

   Very often, team members forget that they belong to the same team and are working on a common goal. With appraisals, incentives, promotions in the mix, it's common for team members to exhibit a competitive streak with the rest of their team.

   Aim to build collaboration within the team. Only when the entire team collaborates and works with each other, it fosters team spirit. And, a team that has a positive attitude shows an increase in productivity and creativity, both of which are crucial in the success of a project.

   Ensure that team members can discuss their feedback, and bounce back ideas among themselves to improve performance in real-time.

4. Be Prepared for the Worst

   You would have heard this saying, "Hope for the best, but be prepared for the Worst." That is very true in resource management. Anticipating potential disasters and having fallback plans to deal with unexpected challenges is one of the secrets to successful resource management.

   Make sure that you have back-up resources in hand if the main resources in your project are unable to contribute. This can be an internal team that is working on a less important project. Or you could even have a pool of external resources that you can rely on in emergencies.

   You are better suited to handle your organization's resources when you have back-up plans to deal with potential curveballs.

5. Use Technology for Resource Management

   If you have been handling resource allocation on spreadsheets for so long, it's high time you make a switch to resource management software. Technology plays a crucial role in optimizing all processes, including resource management.

   Investing in a resource management tool offers you ample benefits. It not only frees up time and manpower but also ensures that you make the optimum use of available resources. Look for resource management software with the following features:

   • Project scheduling in real-time
   • Generating a work schedule for each resource
   • An easy-to-use dashboard that offers different views
   • Database with a centralized pool of resources and projects
   • Utilization reports to measure and optimize performance in real-time
   • Resource planning, rescheduling, conflict resolution and more

Resource Planning – The Key to Project Success

Keep these resource organizational goals in mind, or bookmark this list and revisit it often. Do you have any other "managerial techniques or resolutions" that you have taken this year? Share it with us in the comments below.

And, here's wishing you a successful and organized 2019!