Tired of guessing your project labor needs only to end up short-staffed or over budget? Take control of your resource management with resource forecasting, and start making calculated data-driven decisions. 

Without forecasting your resources, you are acting blind. Resource forecasting allows business owners, CEOs, and project managers to make smart decisions and set themselves up for success when allocating team members to various projects. Forecasting, when done well, is valuable for prepping for new projects and optimizing current projects. Read on to learn how to effectively forecast resources and the best software options for resource management.

Streamline your resource forecasting with auto-generated resource plans for all your projects.

What We’ll Cover

• What Is Resource Forecasting?
• Benefits Of Resource Forecasting
• How To Forecast Resources
• Tips On Forecasting In Resource Management
• How Can You Use Resource Management Software To Forecast Resources?

What Is Resource Forecasting?

Resource forecasting is any method or process you use to predict your business’s future resource needs. Forecasting is one of the elements of resource management. Resource forecasting helps project managers allocate resources effectively to ensure project goals can be met in the allotted time frame. Effective resource management forecasting also helps avoid delays and employee burnout. It allows for balanced workloads to help you meet profitability goals.

Resource forecasting involves analyzing data from various sources, such as sales pipelines and timesheets, to gain insights into how resources have been used on past projects and how they are currently being used. This analysis guides predictions for future resource use. Many businesses use resource management software to automate forecasting and ensure accuracy.  

Benefits Of  Resource Forecasting

The benefits of resource management forecasting cannot be overstated. It can optimize project timelines, improve team efficiency, and minimize the risks of resource shortages or over-allocation.

For many businesses,  resources are one of the most significant assets but one of the most substantial costs. Improved productivity and resource utilization can save a company money. It’s especially key to forecast resources when you want to grow your business to ensure optimal growth without overloading your employees or spending money you don’t have.

Better Project Planning

Forecasting helps project managers plan tasks, timelines, and resource needs more effectively. This leads to fewer surprises and smoother project execution. Because many projects are complex and involve cross-functional teams, sophisticated resource forecasting techniques are needed to plan and manage them.

A good forecasting model will let project managers, finance leaders, and executives see a clear, big-picture view of resources in different projects and allow them to zoom in on specific talent, projects, or other details.

Using Team Members Where They’re Needed Most

Forecasting ensures that employees are assigned to tasks that match their skills and expertise. This improves productivity and job satisfaction. With resource forecasting software, you can easily move team members around while forecasts are updated automatically. You can then maximize utilization quickly and easily. Moving employees around internally is usually more cost-effective than hiring someone new, and it could reinvigorate previously underutilized employees. 

Avoiding Staffing Issues

Forecasting helps project managers avoid overstaffing or understaffing by identifying potential gaps in advance. Employees whose skills are well-utilized and who do not get overworked or under-scheduled are more likely to stay with the company long-term. Employee retention saves money in costly hiring and onboarding processes and reduces stress on teams, helping keep their projects on track.

Even with the best resource utilization and employee satisfaction, you are bound to lose a vital team member at some point during one of your projects. Forecasting lets you plan ahead for those worst-case scenarios. 

Keeping Teams Productive

Effective forecasting enables balanced workloads. This reduces the likelihood of burnout among team members as each individual is given the right amount of work so that they remain focused and motivated.

Productive teams are more satisfied with their jobs which aids in maintaining morale, further increasing productivity. This positive momentum can lead to impressive innovation, collaboration, and project accomplishments. Also, because forecasting makes it easier to track KPIs, you can see your return on investment clearly.

Resource forecasting and tracking empower project managers with real-time performance data.

How To Forecast Resources

To forecast effectively, you need to know what resources you have and the best ways to allocate them. This starts with assessing your team’s current capacity and identifying future project needs so that you can match employees to the incoming work that best suits their availability, skills, workload, and interests. When done well, forecasting allows for continuous levels of productivity and positive project margins while honoring employees’ time off requests, navigating skill gaps, and adapting to issues as they arise.  

Assess Current Team Capacity

The first step to forecasting resources is evaluating the current workload and availability of team members. This is also referred to as capacity planning. During this phase, focus on getting buy-in from every single team member so that they are motivated to provide accurate information about their availability and workload. Accurate data from each team member is essential to accurate forecasting.

You can also use data from your CRM and time-tracking software to help you understand capacity. If resource forecasting is new to you, this may require going back through data from previous years. Then, get familiar with the current industry trends for insights into the demand for your products or services. Resource forecasting software can help predict anticipated demand in the future, and the earlier you can spot shifts in the market, the more likely you will be able to respond appropriately. 

Identify Future Project Needs

Forecast resource needs based on project goals, scope, and timelines. Projects must be clearly defined before accurate forecasting can happen. When prioritizing resources, companies should first focus on the most important, urgent, and profitable tasks. Breaking down complex tasks into smaller sub-tasks can help estimate what resources are required. 

Scenario planning is beneficial to further illuminate project needs. Use resource management software to play out various positive and negative scenarios with mock projects. Understanding and planning for future project needs this way can also reveal whether a centralized, local, or hybrid resourcing model is best for your business. Lastly, consider using customer surveys to discover future client needs.

Account For Employee Availability

When forecasting for resources, factor in vacation, sick days, or other commitments. Scheduling is often a dreaded task among managers and, therefore, isn’t given the careful time and consideration it needs to be done well. Creating accurate schedules is key to avoiding resource conflicts and employee burnout or wasting money on unnecessary labor.

A centralized resource management plan can streamline scheduling and minimize errors. Don’t forget to take into account fluctuations in demand when scheduling employees for various projects. 

Plan For Skill Gaps

Identifying skill gaps lets project managers address potential challenges in advance. This could be days or weeks when there was more work to do than available workers or when team members were being underutilized.

Underutilization can be remedied by launching new projects and training employees as needed to ensure they are being fully utilized. If there are certain tasks that only one or a few employees know how to complete, that could lead to potential bottlenecks. Consider training others to do those tasks or hiring new team members with the necessary skills already.

Track And Adjust As Projects Evolve

While having a clear, complete plan for any project is vital, it’s also vital to be flexible. Inevitably, something unexpected will happen that affects the project’s progress. Maybe a team member quits abruptly, or a supply shortage means working overtime to find an alternative. Be ready to shift team members and duties as needed. 

To be ready to make those shifts, closely monitor resource usage and update forecasts as projects progress; don’t wait until there’s an issue. Keeping forecasts updated ensures project managers can adapt to changes without disrupting timelines. They can also identify potential problems or inefficiencies early on and make minor adjustments to avoid larger challenges down the line. 

See resource forecasting software in action with a free demo from Parallax. 

Tips On Forecasting In  Resource Management

Resource management forecasting can feel overwhelming if it’s all new to you. While it’s a lot to take in, staying proactive and learning to prioritize key tasks will help things fall into place. Use the actionable tips below to improve your resource forecasting, gracefully adapt to changes, and maintain a competitive edge.

• Centralize resource management: Streamline the forecasting process to build a solid foundation that could lead to adopting a more localized or hybrid model in the future. This will ultimately lead to better alignment within and across teams.
• Think simplicity every step of the way: Cumbersome processes or spreadsheets will likely go unused or be used incorrectly, causing inaccurate forecasting. Simplicity helps ensure forecasting software is used with efficacy and minimizes chances for errors.
• Regularly communicating with team members: Buy-in from all team members is vital to accurate forecasting and overall effective resource management. Set up a consistent meeting schedule that works for your team, whether it’s daily or weekly check-ins.
• Embrace new technologies and train employees on them: Incorporating AI-driven analytics further enhances accuracy by predicting future talent demands based on industry patterns.

How Can You Use Resource Management Software To Forecast  Resources?

Parallax’s resource management software optimizes the forecasting process by offering real-time insights into availability and workloads. We unify executives, delivery, and sales to determine resource needs. Our user-friendly dashboard puts access to sophisticated data and resource forecasting at your fingertips. It’s customizable and easily shareable with all team members and other stakeholders.

For example, you can filter available talent by skill set to see how you can best leverage current employees and find talent gaps in your workforce for data-driven hiring. Plus, our software gets smarter with each project you complete, learning from the insights gained from previous projects to hone forecasting accuracy.

Book a Demo to See Parallax’s Resource Management Software

Effective resource forecasting is crucial when juggling multiple projects, growing your business, and maintaining profitability. It’s all about using the right data to predict future demand, project needs, and your team’s capacity. Those predictions are then used to guide  resource allocation and utilization.

New technologies have made all these elements of resource management a lot easier! Say goodbye to guesswork and confusing spreadsheets when trying to tackle resource forecasting. See how simple and easy forecasting can be when you use Parallax’s resource management software. Schedule your no-pressure demo today to discover how Parallax can transform your resource forecasting, allocation, and utilization efforts.