No matter what your project is, you need to get it done. And for that you need to divide the work correctly and pull the right people together and/or equipments to do so. Unfortunately, we all know that is a quite difficult task, and most of the time, companies frequently lose time and money by mishandling their resources. So what’s the solution to be effective then?
Well, a great option could be to invest in a solution that will help you schedule and manage effectively your resources.You may be resilient at first because of the cost, but you will see that the benefits of such a solution far exceed them.
TIME
Let’s face it…We all are craving for more time when it comes to managing several projects, activities and resources. And, it seems like we never have enough time in a day to do so. Usually, saving time is just a matter of organization. With a scheduling solution, you can save up to 40% of your time, since it enables you to schedule your teams, equipments and other resources easily. You can allocate your resources according to their availability, competence and relevance to task. Therefore, you will know in advance which resources are available and you will be able to prevent conflicts, such as double bookings.
Another thing that will help you better manage your time – and save most of it – is that most comprehensive solutions on the market will have numerous filtering options and drill down features to help you find the relevant info quickly.
MONEY SAVINGS
Money is always what we worry about most. You might be telling yourself that a scheduling solution is too costly or that paying an entire solution for using just few features is worthless. First, you must know that a lot of scheduling solution editors offer adjustable packages. Meaning, you will only pay for what you need.
Plus, if you look at the bigger picture you will find out that opting for a scheduling solution is a way to spend money to make money. Your resource allocation will be more structured and well managed, which leads to money saving on the long-term and will help you prevent unnecessary expenses, such as employee overtime.
In addition to that, a scheduling solution will provide powerful insights from your activities analytical capabilities. Therefore you will be able forecast labor costs and track expenses, analyze your workloads which might help a lot in strategic decision such as budget allocation for long-term projects or new hires.
SCALABILITY & FLEXIBILITY
Change is constant in business. Your processes, staff, work location are constantly evolving as you grow. And opting for a cheaper product that cannot evolve with you and might be obsolete in a few months is the best way to start all over again next year. However, some software solutions are designed to be scalable and flexible, which means that they adapt to your new processes and grow with you. They are your best long-term bet.
REAL-TIME COLLABORATION & MOBILITY
If you want your teams to work effectively and efficiently, you must know that collaboration is key. The best scheduling solutions will provide features enabling teams to work effectively together by making real-time updates, centralizing documents, and communicating internally through a live chat room for instance.
Moreover, if your employees are usually in the field – on a construction site or on a maintenance shift – then mobility is a must-have, as it will enable them to have real-time access to any modifications on the schedule and other last-minute information they might need.
USER EXPERIENCE
If nobody wants to read your schedule with 5000+ lines and two-foot long formulas in a spreadsheet, it’s probably because they find it confusing and somehow undecipherable. Great news…The leading applications are lately putting user experience at the heart of their business model, creating simple, visual interfaces with colors and icons. Everything can be customized so that you can have control over displays and layouts,- which means your users won’t have any more troubles reading and using schedules. They might even find it fun!
Additionally, scheduling operations can be done by a simple drag & drop. Resource management has never been so easy!
