Put all your ducks in a row with a resourcing meeting. Align on the allocation of resources, address potential gaps, and set clear expectations.
Today we’re exploring resourcing meetings – a regular get-together of resource experts to discuss projects and pipeline, resource allocations and conflicts, and strategy and opportunities.
Research recently found that office workers waste 27 days a year in ‘pointless’ meetings that should have been an email – and zone out after just 10 minutes and 36 seconds.
So why would you want to add another meeting into the mix? Especially for people as laser-focused on utilization and efficiency as resource professionals?
We’re all for eliminating unnecessary meetings. But hammering out resourcing matters in person is faster than dealing with the fallout of problems and miscommunication downstream. A half-hour invested now could save days of disruption later.
Follow our expert advice to make your resource management meetings as tight and productive as possible – one that doesn’t have colleagues turning off their cameras for a spot of online shopping (we can’t see you but we know you’re doing it, Karen, along with 21% of people surveyed).
In a professional services context, a resourcing meeting is a regular gathering to discuss the immediate operational needs and longer-term strategic aspects of resource management.
It brings together all the key stakeholders to discuss:
It’s a key part of an effective resource management process. These meetings are a critical forum for optimizing resource allocation, fostering collaboration between teams, and ensuring that resources are aligned with organizational priorities.
With 53% of professionals’ day taken up with meetings, admin, and processes, you might be reluctant to schedule another meeting. However, the cost-benefit analysis is firmly in its favor.
Consider the cost to your organization of an avoidable resource scheduling conflict. The time it takes to resolve the problem. The delay to projects. The impact on customer satisfaction. Or the cost of turning down a project due to unrealized capacity – simply through lack of communication.
Although many meetings are a total time-sink, this is a time-saver.
In fact, it’s a time-SAVIOR, saving your business from costly resource management missteps.
By adding resource management meetings to your calendar, you can:
All of which means better outcomes for the organization, resources, and clients.
Bloated meetings are a bore. 34% of people said meetings are more engaging when they’re a smaller size, perhaps because people have more chance to contribute instead of just listen, which 43% of people prefer to do. (Source)
Resource meetings involve multiple departments and can get unwieldy if you’re not careful. Keep your resourcing meeting productive and cost-effective – stick to our invite list to maximize engagement and active participation.
A resourcing meeting looks back, around, and ahead. It provides a structure for:
Here’s what you’ll typically find on a resource management meeting agenda – though the exact details will depend on your organizational structure, needs, and priorities.
In smaller organizations, resource allocation discussions and decisions may be part of the resourcing meeting agenda – you’ll discuss project requirements, staffing levels, skill sets, project teams, etc. In larger organizations, resource managers might handle allocation independently, with the resource management meeting reserved for broader strategic discussions.
This involves reviewing the current state of projects and resources in the organization. You’ll look at reports into project progress, utilization and realization rates, resource capacity, etc. This will provide insights into whether the organization is achieving strong utilization and highlight opportunities for improvements.
In a dynamic project portfolio with more moving parts than static ones, resource conflicts or bottlenecks will inevitably happen. Your meeting provides an opportunity to identify these issues and resolve them. Negotiation, strategic prioritization, and collaborative problem-solving are key, to ensure you find the best solution for the business and the client.
New projects need resources – resources you might not even have – so this is the perfect time to find ot what’s on the horizon. Your sales team or senior leaders should brief on new internal initiatives, external project wins, and tentative projects – so you can discuss the implications for resourcing and recruitment.
With an understanding of future projects, the meeting team can discuss future resource needs and strategies to meet them – for example, internal upskilling or mobility, external recruitment, use of contractors – perhaps delaying or shelving lower priority projects.
Continue reading: How to Forecast Resource Demand - A Visual Guide
As the meeting draws to a close, the floor is opened for any additional topics or updates related to resource management. From emerging trends to unforeseen challenges, every voice is heard, ensuring that no stone is left unturned in the quest for operational excellence.
Here’s the key information you’ll need to bring to a resource management meeting. These should be easy to obtain for organizations using a centralized resource management software, as data is readily available through configurable dashboards and reports. If you’re still using spreadsheets to manage resourcing, it will be harder to gain actionable insights.
These reports help everyone get on the same page and understand the context of their discussions during the meeting. And - of course - reliable, up-to-date data is the basis of confident decision-making.
Stats about unproductive meetings show 71% of people deem meetings as both unproductive and inefficient, and 64% find meetings rob them of valuable time for deep thinking and reflection. So how can you make your resource management meetings as productive as possible?
Weekly meetings might work if your resourcing is particularly complex, but meet monthly if that works better for your needs. Aim for minimal viable meetings – the fewest you can have while still achieving your goals. But ensure that you meet frequently enough to progress actions.
When asked what makes meetings tedious, 39% of people said being longer than 30 minutes. And 47% of people said keeping a meeting under 30 minutes would make it more engaging. So aim for a tight timetable. (Source)
Provide people with opportunities to add to the agenda in advance and prioritize agenda items based on their importance and time sensitivity. For example, an immediate resourcing conflict in a high-priority project should come higher up the agenda than long-term resource planning initiatives or routine reporting.
Conclude the meeting by summarizing key takeaways and action items, assigning clear responsibilities and deadlines to individuals or teams. Follow up on action items from previous meetings to track progress and ensure accountability.
Runn resource management software provides the data you need for confident decision-making and productive resourcing meetings.
Personalized dashboards provide at-a-glance insights and data visualization, while configurable reports let you dig into the details.
