FAQ: Is Runn a Good Fit for CROs?

Clinical Research Organizations (CROs) operate in a highly specialized, high-stakes environment where resource precision, real-time visibility, and accurate planning are critical. 

Runn’s resource management software is best placed to address these challenges, helping you manage resources efficiently, get the most out of your people’s time, and deliver successful trials on tight deadlines. You’ll also find reporting tools that deliver actionable real-time insights across your entire organization so you can confidently make quicker, better decisions.

• Why do CROs need resource management software?
• How does Runn help support shifting trial timelines and unpredictable resourcing needs?
• Does Runn support mixed workforce planning?
• Can Runn handle overlapping projects with different resource demands?
• Can we track staff availability across different projects and departments?
• How does Runn help us allocate specialists efficiently?
• What tasks does Runn help with?
• What benefits does Runn offer CROs?
• How is Runn different?

Why do CROs need resource management software?

To run efficiently, profitably, and sustainably, CROs must strike the right balance between the cost and value of their human resources. Highly skilled specialists are a CRO’s greatest asset — but when underutilized, they become a draw on costs. On the other hand, pushing staff too hard risks burnout, decreased performance, and costly turnover.

With limited hours, niche expertise, and increasing trial complexity, CROs must make the most of resources. That means making sure every team member is contributing at the highest value possible, without compromising well-being or quality of work. It's a difficult balance to maintain, especially when managing multiple overlapping trials across different therapeutic areas, but it’s one that can be achieved with the strategic use of purpose-built resource management tools.

Further reading: 6 Resource Management Best Practices for CRO Success ➡️

How does Runn help support shifting trial timelines and unpredictable resourcing needs?

Clinical trials frequently experience shifting timelines due to funding changes or regulatory requirements. Runn’s flexible scheduling capabilities allow you to easily adjust resource plans in real time, ensuring your team can pivot quickly if milestones are changed, trials are delayed, or additional resources are suddenly required.

Does Runn support mixed workforce planning?

Yes, Runn seamlessly supports blended workforce planning. Whether you're working with full-time employees, contractors, or part-time consultants, Runn allows you to manage all these employment types within a unified resource management interface, ensuring optimal allocation and utilization.

Can Runn handle overlapping projects with different resource demands?

Definitely! Runn's Project Planner clearly visualizes overlapping projects, allowing you to manage multiple trials simultaneously without resource conflicts. You can easily drag and drop resources to adjust allocations, preventing bottlenecks and ensuring all your trials progress smoothly.

Can we track staff availability across different projects and departments?

Yes. Runn supports centralized resource planning by providing a central source of truth, helping dissolve departmental silos. You can view real-time staff availability from across departments in one place, ensuring comprehensive visibility and enabling swift decision-making to meet tight clinical trial deadlines.

Dig deeper: Why Resource Visibility is Essential for Clinical Research Organizations ➡️

How does Runn help us allocate specialists efficiently?

Runn includes advanced filtering and custom fields that enable precise matching of specialized experts to specific trial requirements. In Runn, you can add skills to your people, with no limit to how many skills there are across your company and no limit to how many skills a single person has.

Using skills filtering, you can quickly find and allocate principal investigators, regulatory specialists, or therapeutic-area experts, ensuring the right talent is matched to the right trial at the right time.

Further reading: Learn how to search for people and projects with Runn. ➡️

What tasks does Runn help with?

CROs operate within complex, demanding environments where precision, efficiency, and agility are critical. Runn simplifies and optimizes a range of resource management tasks, enabling CROs to effectively handle multiple overlapping trials and complex demands. These include:

• Resource allocation. Quickly match the right specialists to trials using Runn’s intuitive planner. Drag-and-drop scheduling, real-time availability, and skills filters highlight resource gaps and avoid conflicts.
  
• Measuring utilization. Monitor team capacity at a glance. Dashboards and reports show who’s overbooked or underused, helping CROs balance workloads and boost efficiency.
  
• Workload management. Easily distribute tasks across teams. Runn helps prevent burnout by keeping workloads aligned with individual capacity and expertise.
  
• Capacity planning. Forecast resource needs with confidence. Runn lets CROs map future demand, spot bottlenecks, and plan ahead to avoid last-minute resourcing issues.
  
• Skills tracking. Track specialist skills, experience, and certifications. Filter by expertise to ensure every trial is staffed with the right talent.

See it in action: Learn how to manage and use skills in Runn ➡️

What benefits does Runn offer CROs?

Runn empowers CROs to operate with greater clarity, control, and confidence in an industry where timing, precision, and efficiency are everything. Designed to meet the fast-moving, high-stakes demands of clinical research, Runn helps organizations:

• Support timely trial delivery. With real-time visibility into resource availability and workload, Runn enables faster, smarter decisions, keeping projects on track and minimizing costly delays.‍
• Increase operational efficiency. By centralizing all resource data in one intuitive platform, Runn eliminates information silos and manual processes, allowing teams to focus on execution instead of administration.‍
• Improve resource ROI. Runn helps CROs fully leverage their specialized talent. With accurate utilization data and smart allocation tools, organizations can ensure every resource is used where they deliver the most value.‍
• Stay agile in the face of change. With built-in scenario planning, CROs can model potential resourcing shifts, funding changes, or timeline adjustments — so they’re always prepared to pivot when needed.‍
• Reduce risk and improve quality. By ensuring the right people are assigned to the right work at the right time, Runn supports better workload balance, minimizes burnout, and helps maintain compliance and quality standards.‍
• Scale with confidence. Whether managing 5 trials or 50, Runn grows with your organization. Its seamless integrations and user-friendly design make it easy to embed into existing systems and workflows without disruption.

How is Runn different?

Runn is purpose-built for the fast-paced, high-stakes environment CROs operate in. Unlike generic tools, Runn is tailored to the unique demands of managing multiple concurrent trials, tight timelines, and highly specialized teams.

• Built for CRO complexity. Runn was designed specifically for organizations juggling overlapping projects, strict deadlines, and niche expertise. It helps CROs manage resourcing with greater precision, clarity, and control.
  
• Real-time visibility. Timelines shift, priorities change, and Runn keeps up. With live dashboards and up-to-the-minute data, CROs can instantly see how changes affect capacity, utilization, and project health, enabling faster, more informed decisions.‍
• Proactive scenario planning. Trial delays, funding shifts, and resource availability issues are inevitable. Runn lets you model different “what-if” scenarios so you can plan ahead, reduce risk, and stay one step ahead of disruption.‍
• Centralized, accurate data. No more juggling spreadsheets or chasing updates across systems. Runn acts as a single source of truth, consolidating project and resource data to improve accuracy and eliminate silos.‍
• Smart resource matching. Runn’s advanced filtering and custom fields help CROs quickly find and assign the right people based on skillsets, therapeutic expertise, availability, and location — minimizing delays and maximizing outcomes.‍
• Ease of use. From drag-and-drop scheduling to intuitive dashboards, Runn is built to get teams up and running fast.‍
• Seamless integrations. Connect Runn with your existing platforms using its powerful API to streamline workflows, reduce manual entry, and maintain data consistency across your tech stack.‍
• Scalable and affordable. Whether you’re a growing CRO or an established global player, Runn offers transparent pricing and scalable functionality, so you get the features you need without overpaying or overcomplicating.
  

Runn gives CROs the tools to stay agile, efficient, and trial-ready, no matter how complex the landscape becomes.