Like any optimization or change made to the functioning of your ESN or your consulting firm, launch a project of Ressource Management must be thought through beforehand, in particular on the objectives. This is all the more important as resource management conditions the success of projects and therefore the very survival of the company.
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As you might expect, “increasing the number of customers” or “reducing deadlines” are not real goals because they are too vague. Napta explains how to set goals for Ressource Management at the same time accurate, realistic and measurable. We will then see how to ensure their success, in particular via a resource management tool.
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Let's start with a few basic things. The most common acronym that comes to mind when we talk about goal setting is SMART.
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These 5 letters give us the 5 criteria that your Staffing objective must respect. It must therefore be:
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This method ensures that you set specific and realistic goals. So:
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But beyond this Framework While very useful to make sure you define real goals, they must be aligned with strategic directions of your office. For example, if you want to diversify into new technological areas, an objective such as”develop skills in artificial intelligence of 40% of current consultants within 18 months” is relevant.
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The very first step that we recommend is therefore to clearly define the general objectives of your business as well as its needs in order to design a Pool general objectives. You can then use the method SMART as seen above to refine these global goals into specific and achievable goals.
And what do these principles give when applied to Ressource Management ?
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In the ultra-competitive context of NSEs and consulting firms, skills need to be constantly refined.
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A goal could therefore be to “implement a quarterly training program for 90% of consultants, in order to broaden the skills available for IT projects within a year.” This not only ensures skills development but also promotes a culture of continuous learning within your firm.
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Another objective may be aimed at talent alignment: “Achieve a 95% match between consultants' skills and project requirements by the next semester”, which involves a dynamic skills assessment process.
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These 2 objectives are extended in some functionalities of the tools of Ressource Management, starting with the possibility of build a skills map.
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Now let's move on to goals related to operational efficiency as such.
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An example of a viable goal for an IT services company could be to “reduce project staffing times by 30% in the next 6 months by optimizing resource selection and allocation processes.” Here we clearly find elements of our SMART framework, this objective is clearly specific, time-limited and measurable. As for whether it is achievable, only you can determine it based on both internal resources and your history of achieving these types of goals.
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Even more deeply into the theme of Staffing, the reduction of non-productive time consultants is a real imperative for any IT service provider. The consulting firm can then determine that it is necessary to “increase the TACE (Activity Rate Excluded Leave) by 15% over the next three months using software for the management and assignment of consultants”.
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Every business depends on its customers, but this is even more true in the highly competitive context of NSEs. Maximize customer satisfaction is therefore an imperative.
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For example, it may involve “improving customer satisfaction by 20% in 12 months by assigning consultants with a competency-project match of more than 90%.” Again, your staffing tool must be your best ally by allowing you to: find the best combination between skills, availability and interests on the one hand and customer projects on the other.
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Set goals for your Ressource Management is not simply saying “more customers” or “less non-productive time” are needed.
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It is precisely to avoid this pitfall, which is much more common than it seems, that we suggest that you use as much as possible the SMART method : Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Defined.
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Ce Framework applied to your IT services company thus turns wishful thinking such as “expanding the customer base” into an objective that is more like “acquiring 5 new customers in the field of AI by the end of the year”.
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Defining these goals precisely will then allow you to determine the right resource management tool, the one that allows you to monitor and achieve them.
See you soon at Napta !