5 steps to cope with falling sales through resource management
As companies around the world recover, it's more important than ever that they use their resources efficiently. What's more, it's essential to be able to achieve the same results with tighter budgets, fewer staff and sometimes less time, particularly in the face of falling sales. This is where resource management comes in.
Here are a few simple methods for implementing resource management to cope with a drop in sales.
1. Avoid burnout with more balanced workloads
Costs associated with rehiring and lower productivity due to burnout of existing staff. According to Forbes, the now diagnosable state of burnout costs the US economy between $125 and $190 billion a year. And unbalanced workloads may be one of the main factors responsible.
How do we tackle this situation?
There are two steps to take: firstly, managers need to have full visibility of team workloads in order to fully assess each employee's capabilities. Secondly, when conditions change (unexpected projects, delays or changes in staff availability), work management is needed that can quickly reprioritize, reschedule and reassign tasks accordingly, as in the case of Wrike.
How have companies taken advantage of this situation?
"The initial benefit is that we have assigned team tasks to team leaders to distribute and group by necessary role. Better visibility of resource capacity and availability is essential to our business."
Ryan Okelberr, COO, House of Design.
2. Use models to assess projects at risk
One of the many benefits of using an agile approach (71% of organizations regularly incorporate this management style into their planning) is the ability to quickly assess and react to projects that won't be very beneficial. And with limited budgets and staff, it's more important than ever to use templates.
How do you approach this situation?
The last thing a project manager needs is more paperwork, so it's important to use pre-defined templates so that you spend less time searching for and obtaining information, and more time putting it into practice. Use these templates to compare forecast and actual sales to determine which projects are worth pursuing and which should be put on hold.
How have companies taken advantage of this situation?
"Being able to optimize the time spent on projects [by allocating resources] saves us an average of around 20% per project. A significant cost reduction when multiplied by 50 projects each year".
Kelly Maier, Project Manager, Arvig.
3. Make remote working more productive
After seeing most businesses around the world turn to telecommuting, some companies like Twitter are offering their employees the chance to work from home indefinitely. It's estimated that around 40% of employees would prefer to telework full-time. The consequence? It can be harder than ever to keep track of their productivity, work hours and collaborate effectively.
How do we tackle this situation?
The key is for each company to provide full visibility of workload and progress. In this case, customized workflows can bring even greater transparency to the various stages that projects must pass through before being delivered.
How have companies taken advantage of this situation?
"While West Music is adapting to telecommuting, the marketing team has been working remotely on an adapted schedule, with limited hours. We use Microsoft Teams, integrated with Wrike, to communicate and conduct meetings throughout the day".
Jessica Danca, Company Marketing Specialist, West Music.
4. Reduce costs by avoiding bottlenecks and delays
One of the most obvious ways to avoid cost overruns is to ensure that every project is completed on time, every time. Project delays and bottlenecks mean that what was once a well-balanced schedule of hours and power shared between teams is now out of kilter - inevitably, delays often lead to further delays.
How do we tackle this situation?
The first and most important step is to introduce resource management right from the start. By fully assessing available resources, project managers can then use tools such as Gantt charts to note task dependencies. Ideally, these should be automatically constructed and easy to readjust when planning changes. Secondly, it's essential that team workloads are linked to schedules so that bottlenecks and conflicts can be spotted and resolved before they occur.
How have companies taken advantage of this situation?
"One of the great things about this increased visibility is that we're able to look at efficiencies and see where we can cut costs and save time while maintaining consistent quality."
Hoon Kim, creative director, Airbnb.
5. Track time and effort with real-time reports
Insights are the key to a company's success. But it often takes a lot of time and effort to gather them. So it's probably not surprising that office workers spend 23% of their day answering pointless e-mails, for example. To help your teams create impressive ideas, they must first have the time to get down to work.
How do you tackle this situation?
The secret is to use automation to do the heavy lifting for you. Not only will this help your teams save time by using ready-made report templates, but you'll also be able to schedule and send automatic updates. This means that project managers can also assess what's happening in real time, tracking and improving performance by analyzing specific collaborators, teams and projects. Budgets can be readjusted quickly, and project managers can see the most efficient use of time and human resources across tasks.
How have companies taken advantage of this situation?
"Custom fields are essential for my tables when I export reports. We use custom fields a lot to track time estimates, and whether the project has been marked as scheduled or urgent work, and things of that nature. So it helps me keep an eye on tasks."
Courtnie McKone, Project Manager, Brief Media
Resource management doesn't have to be a time-consuming, uninteresting task. Thanks to flexible, intuitive tools, you can access and implement information in a matter of minutes, and ultimately minimize any potential loss of sales.
Article translated from French