Do you ever get the feeling that something is wrong with your project, even if you can't seem to put your finger on exactly, what's wrong? Have you noticed team members getting frustrated of late? Do you have to make simple requests multiple times, before anyone acts on them?
As a project manager, you need to spot the early warning signs. If left untreated, these grow into major organizational issues, that cause project delays, budget overshooting and poor performance.
If you are wondering how to spot these early signs and what to do to resolve them – continue reading.
Team member engagement is a difficult factor to measure, especially when you've got new resources on the job. When you notice an employee quiet and reserved, it may be they are introverts in nature, or it may be that they are unhappy about the project assignment.
When you notice that team members seem to be off than usual, you need to ask questions to gauge their interest in the project. If you receive less than enthusiastic responses, then it's time to revisit task allocation and shuffle roles and responsibilities.
It's common for enterprise managers to include contract workers, hire freelancers and allocate overtime while dealing with resource management. Usually, this is done as an emergency measure when your regular resources are taken sick, or you have to deal with last-minute client requests.
However, if you are relying on your contingency resources frequently or for regular tasks, then it's a sure indicator that something else is amiss.
As a project manager, you would know that team collaboration is vital for the success of a project. By now, you would be using a team collaboration tool in your workplace. If you notice that, your team is rarely using this tool or not using it the way you expect, then it's time to change it.
Take a look at your calendar. Are you conducting team meetings frequently than normal? Are you scheduling additional team meetings to follow up on task assignments? Or to resolve communication issues among team members?
If yes, then there's something wrong with your project allocation and management. You are likely experiencing a fundamental problem with team structure, resource allocation, task assignments and more.
Even if your project seems to be running well, if you notice signs of unease among senior stakeholders, then it indicates that something is wrong. Though senior stakeholders may not be responsible for the everyday operation of the project, they have a vital role in the overall strategy.
If you notice that weekly status update meetings with senior partners don't go as you hoped, then you need to reconsider project scope, requirements and resource allocation.
As a team manager, you don't want to end up micro-managing every member on your team. At the same time, you must ensure that the workload is fair and equally distributed. This is a delicate balance to strike.
Worry not. We give you a 5-step approach that will help you distribute the workload fairly among your team members while ensuring that every person gets allocated the right task that is a perfect fit for their aptitudes.
Start from scratch. Begin by reviewing the current workload allocation of your team. You can use a spreadsheet to record the number of weekly work hours allocated for each member of your team.
However, this is easier said than done. This is where resource allocation tools like eResource Scheduler come into the picture. With just a few clicks, you can quickly find out the current workload for each team member at a glance.
Using the report you generated in the previous step, identify team members who are over-allocated. Usually, these resources are given more work than they can handle in the given time frame.
A general thumb-rule to follow is – allocate tasks to resources for only 80% of their weekly work time. The remaining 20% should be left unallocated to deal with team meetings, answering customer complaints, and other issues that crop up.
However, remember that the unallocated 20% shouldn't be concentrated on a single day. It should be spread evenly over the week. The eResource Scheduler lets you implement this rule easily, thereby avoiding over-allocation of resources.
This is not possible, just by looking at team members. After all, everyone appears busy at work. Make use of your resource allocation reports, to identify people who don't have enough work to do. Additionally, you can use the report generated in the first step to identify whether people are working on tasks that are of high priority or wasting time by working on less important tasks.
As a project manager, you can manage the workload better when you know more about your team. Find out the schedule of planned holidays for each team member. Additionally, check with your team to get a clear picture of their skills and work patterns.
This gives you a clear picture of what to allocate to whom. Additionally, you can also alter workloads depending on the capability and availability of each team member.
Start by reducing the workload of team members who have been over-allocated. Split the big tasks into manageable chunks and divide it among team members. Alternatively, you can allocate uninterrupted hours per day to team members to deal with the larger tasks.
Next, come to the under-allocated staff. You can move them to another project or equip them with additional skills to handle higher priority tasks.
The key to allocating the right tasks to the right people involves getting everyone in the loop. Make sure that people are aware of the reasons behind your decisions. Explain that you are shifting roles and responsibilities to balance workloads. Remember that, transparency is essential to keep your team happy and satisfied.
Resource management software like the eResource Scheduler simplifies the entire process. From balancing workloads to keeping the entire process transparent and flexible – the eResource Scheduler offers you various benefits. &utm_campaign=home-btn-cta" target="_blank">Start your free trial today and get on track with resource allocations.
