Resource management is the process of planning and allocating available resources most effectively and profitably. For a consulting practice, it is all about getting the most out of your people.

Resource management software provides everything you need to complete your plans successfully, on time, and on budget. A good resource management system should also enable you to choose the right people, for the right work, at the right time, all while managing peaks and troughs in upcoming work. Amongst other things, resource management software is also often used as a time-tracking tool for large teams, especially when dealing with higher numbers of employees and contractors.

How is resource planning different for consultancy firms?

For the average Professional Services firm, people represent around 80% of the organisation’s costs, (SPI, 2022 PS Maturity™ Benchmark). So in order to effectively leverage what is by far your largest investment, resource management is essential.

However, most businesses are behind when it comes to effective resource planning. Instead, they rely on unwieldy spreadsheets or clunky homegrown solutions for scheduling resources. Unfortunately, these solutions create an enormous burden on high-value resources to create and maintain, are prone to errors, and have issues with version control and visibility across the whole team. This dilemma highlights the need for consultancy firms to use top professional service automation software.

With the growth of the consultancy sector, the value of its resources and consultants has also increased substantially. As a result, enterprise resource planning systems are one of the most valuable assets in the consulting industry and contribute significantly to keeping utilization high and enabling scalability.

In addition, it allows consultancy firms to plan how they intend to use their valuable resources. If you are unsure who you will resource or are planning to hire in the future, you can use resource management software to shadow resource.

A shadow resource is a placeholder in your resource planning which you can swap out for a real employee once you have identified who has the availability to work on the project. Having this function is key to planning your resources in a way that is adaptable if you are still deciding who you would like to work on the project or are expecting to hire.

The importance of resource management for consultancy firms

Once you identify what you need to make a project more successful, you can effectively understand how to plan your resources. Below are some key areas in which resource management software can assist your company.

Acts as a safety net

Suppose a previous project was less successful due to not having the people to carry out the work, or the project took far more time than was expected and was communicated to the client. Resource planning and management can determine if your plan was accurate or not, if you need to adjust your plan in the future, or if there was some unforeseen circumstance you could never have predicted. Identifying where your projects fell short allows you to prevent the mistake from occurring again.

Helping to build transparency

Based on your preference, you can allow visibility into your team's workload to others within your company. This transparency will show if your team is at total capacity or available to take on new projects. In addition, having advanced visibility across your firm will prevent double-booking staff. You can also consider the usefulness of an audit-trail on resourcing. This can prevent Project Managers from snatching resources from others without accountability.

Avoids unforeseen hiccups

By understanding your resources in advance and pre-planning how to use them efficiently, you can troubleshoot and prevent problems before they occur, making resource management software a great budgeting and financial tool for businesses. Know when your workload can support additional hires, and then scale without sacrificing profitability.

Effective management of resources

Resource management provides your organisation with a firm grasp on the availability of employees and their skill sets, so you can quickly identify gaps and effectively utilise all team members across all projects in your portfolio. Benchtime of high-value resources is the enemy of a profitable services business, and effective resourcing is the ultimate preventor of unwanted benchtime.

Helps measure efficiency

With a high-level understanding of what’s required to manage and carry out an upcoming project, you can more effectively plan and measure utilization and efficiency.

For professional service firms working in fast-paced industries, this function saves time and reduces delays due to resourcing issues. Advanced Professional Services firms even measure billable time utilization rates not only retroactively but based on resourcing plans.

Top 10 resource management tools for consultancies

Using resource management software benefits your operation in different ways. Pricing, features and different integrations can help you choose a tool that fits your company’s specific needs.

1. Projectworks

Projectworks is the top-rated business management software designed for professional service firms. Support your firm with world-class tools to plan, track and grow.

Projectworks' will give your firm the following:

• Workforce insight, through time tracking
• Time-saving expense records with simple employee logging functions
• Higher staff utilisation with powerful resourcing
• Future-proof plans through revenue forecasting functions
• Smooth and easy invoices that you can mold to fit your firm's unique guidelines
• Oversight of your staff with direct leave management
• Superior business knowledge through generated reports & metrics

View all features

2. Resource Guru

Resource Guru is a fast and flexible way to schedule resources and plan projects. Organise your team, find who you need, assign work, book time off, and edit schedules in seconds.

3. Monday.com

Using software from Monday.com allows you to monitor everything from budget planning to sales. Allowing a more precise overview of your progress and helping to make informed data-driven decisions.

Compare Monday.com’s features to Projectworks.

4. Kantata

This software increases visibility and control over resourcing. Knowing who’s available by skill and capacity allows you to forecast resource needs and shift resources to meet goals.

5. Trello

From marketing and sales to HR and operations, companies can design and customise Trello to fit their unique needs and work styles. With a number of integrations, Trello is a project hub of cross-team collaboration no matter where your work needs to happen.

Compare Trello’s features to Projectworks.

6. Saviom

With Saviom, you can establish a single source of information for all types of resource allocation across your business. Establish multidimensional viewing for resource managers, line managers, and project managers.

7. Float

It’s possible to see everything you need in planning projects and assign work based on your team’s capacity. When using Float, timesheets are generated with scheduled task hours so team members can log time quickly.

Compare Float’s features to Projectworks.

8. Clickup

ClickUp is a productivity platform that eliminates work silos. It’s a hub allowing teams to organise and collaborate on work using different integrations. Customised with just a few clicks, ClickUp helps groups of all sizes deliver work more effectively.

9. BQE Core

BQE CORE centralises the way your firm enters and uses information, giving you a holistic view of projects, tasks and forecasting. This gives you the speed and insight necessary to rapidly make informed decisions and increase productivity and profits.

10. Hub Planner

Get a clear view of your resource management and team with Hub Planner. View resource availability and utilisation while scheduling your team on different projects.

Summary

Resource management software will enhance the productivity of any consultancy company's resources through effective allocation. In addition, they improve billable distribution and effective utilisation for the profitability and sustainability of businesses. Resource management software supports the successful delivery of projects, enhanced client satisfaction and market reputation.

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