Planning in a shrinking organization
If the demand and/or turnover drops, structurally, we speak of shrinkage. In a shrinking organization you need to get a grip on the biggest expenditure, namely the employment of employees. We explain our vision on shrinking below, from the perspective of employee planning through innovative plans.
Capacity planning vs. To-do planning
Companies sometimes report to us with the remark that they want to start planning. If we keep asking questions, it becomes clear what they actually mean by that. Some are looking for a tool for capacity planning to plan the working day of their employees. Others just want a tool to manage a to-do list. They want to be able to attach a deadline and project information to those to-dos. The time the employee performs the task is not certain,
From accounting for hours to being the boss of your own schedule
In some organizations, such as architecture firms, we find that employees on long-term projects are scheduled for an average number of hours per week for the duration of the project. These independent professionals are then allowed to decide for themselves each week when and how much time they spend on each project. The result is that the hours actually spent rarely correspond to the number of average hours scheduled.
Planning as a dictator or as a democrat
Good planning is indispensable for a project-oriented organization with several employees. Sound planning allows you to optimize productivity within set hours, which enables your employees to work efficiently and processes to run smoothly within your organization. Nevertheless, many companies fail to find the correct method of planning for themselves.
3 building blocks to organize planning
We regularly see that project-based service providers enthusiastically start a trial version of Timewax, only to find that they’re not properly prepared. Their organization is not yet in place. Obviously, that needs to be sorted out first before starting to use a software planning tool. In this blog, we will discuss the 3 building blocks for good organization in terms of planning.
Stop the tug-of-war over employees
Many companies struggle with how to use their employees for projects. In particular, the tug-of-war over employees from different parts of the company has shown to be disastrous for the correct and timely execution of the projects. You can deal with this by choosing the right project approach, assigning full-time employees and distinguishing between projects and other work. In this blog we will discuss this further.
Drives of planners vs. project managers
Planners and project managers sometimes clash in the workplace. We are all familiar with situations where project managers eagerly start to claim employees, only to be blocked by the planner. And this is a source of irritation for both of them. In this blog, we will be looking at the drives that motivate these two roles, to gain more understanding about why they compete with each other and also to see where their middle ground is and where they can
Belbin team role of a planner
Planning is about working together. There are several different parties in projects that have significant input with regard to project planning. The customer will first indicate within what timeframe they need to see results and then the subject matter experts will indicate how much will be needed to achieve those results. The project manager structures the project so that the project results are realised in an orderly and efficient manner. And the resource manager takes care of the allocation of
A process for planning your projects
Service providers who carry out projects for their customers generally want two things: on the one hand, a fast and satisfactory result for their customers, and profitability on the other hand. An optimal allocation of employees to the projects is crucial. Yet, we often see that project and resource planning is limited to a one-off activity at the start of the project. Shouldn't more attention be paid to this?
4 stages of resource planning
Our clients, who implement projects where multiple people are involved, often struggled with the question of how to organise in regards to resource planning. In this blog post we will look at the different development stages companies go through and the organisation of resource planning which would be appropriate. We will spell out what the risks would be if you do not prepare for this within a reasonable period of time.