How to Elevate Operations with Effective Resource Management

00:59:42
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_c5ctx2Vl4

Summary

TLDRThe webinar entitled "How to Elevate Operations with Effective Resource Management" is hosted by Nora, who guides participants through strategies to enhance operational efficiency. Key speakers, including Nicole Tien and Nicola Armstrong, discuss the critical role of resource management in aligning people, processes, and technology. The session highlights challenges in managing resources effectively, such as balancing supply and demand, and aligning skills with project needs. It also emphasizes the importance of operational efficiency, using best practices in resource management to optimize productivity and streamline processes. The discussion touches on the use of technology and data to enhance decision-making and planning, ensuring the right people are in the right roles at the right time. Methods for effective change management in implementing resource management tools are also discussed, focusing on communication and stakeholder engagement to navigate change successfully. Overall, the webinar provides insightful strategies and tools to advance resource management and operational efficacy.

Takeaways

  • 🌟 Resource management is key to operational efficiency.
  • 👥 Aligning people, processes, and technology is crucial for success.
  • 📊 Data-driven decision-making enhances resource allocation.
  • 🛠 Utilize technology like AI for better resource management.
  • 🔄 Effective change management is essential for tool implementation.
  • 📈 Streamlining processes boosts productivity and efficiency.
  • 🤝 Communication and stakeholder buy-in drive successful change.
  • 💡 Upskilling and engagement improve resource utilization.
  • 💻 Tools like Run and Monday.com support effective management.
  • 📅 Capacity planning ensures resource availability for future needs.

Timeline

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The webinar "How to Elevate Operations with Effective Resource Management" is introduced by Nora, who emphasizes the potential of adaptive, joyful work environments. She sets the stage for audience engagement by launching a poll to identify resource management challenges, noting that balancing supply and demand is a key issue for many attendees.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Nora introduces the webinar's panelists: Nicole Tieny, COO of Run, and Nicola Armstrong, a resource manager at NCS Australia. The webinar aims to explore operational efficiency and how resource management can support it. Nicole defines operations as the backbone of a business, emphasizing the importance of optimization and foundation-building.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Nicola adds to the discussion by highlighting the importance of coordinating people, processes, and tools to align with strategic goals. The panelists agree that resource management plays a critical role in operational efficiency by ensuring the right people are in the right roles at the right times, which also enhances competitive advantage.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Nicole suggests that resource management has evolved from a tactical role to a strategic partner in organizations. Nicola agrees, pointing out the growing importance of human-centered approaches in tandem with technological advancements like AI, to support both business and people efficiently.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    The concept of operational efficiency is discussed, highlighting how it involves achieving more with less, improving outcomes, and maintaining a happier workforce. Nicole and Nicola both stress the importance of optimizing human resources to maximize productivity and satisfaction while minimizing costs.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    The panelists dive into best practices for leveraging resource management to improve operations. They focus on three key areas: people, processes, and technology. Nicola emphasizes the value of investing in employees through development and one-on-one engagement to prevent burnout and boost utilization.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    Nicola also discusses resource allocation, stressing the importance of keeping bench resources engaged and motivated. They talk about the benefits of internal projects and skill development opportunities to keep team members active and aligned with organizational goals even when not directly involved in client work.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    Process optimization is highlighted as essential for operational efficiency. Nicole and Nicola discuss the need for streamlined workflow processes, accurate forecasting, and capacity planning, stressing that having a clear structure and data-driven insights are crucial for effective resource management.

  • 00:40:00 - 00:45:00

    Technology and data are crucial for successful resource management. Nicole advocates for a single source of truth and real-time data integration to facilitate strategic decision-making. Nicola adds that tools powered by AI can help predict project needs and improve resource allocation.

  • 00:45:00 - 00:50:00

    The Q&A session addresses change management in resource management adoption, highlighting the importance of setting clear goals, gaining leadership buy-in, and maintaining open communication. The significance of involving all stakeholders in the transition process to relieve resistance and facilitate smoother implementation is discussed.

  • 00:50:00 - 00:59:42

    The webinar wraps up with a conversation about future trends in resource management, including the role of AI and data in shaping strategies. Upcoming sessions promise to explore these trends further, inviting participants to join future discussions on how resource management can evolve and create value in organizations.

Show more

Mind Map

Video Q&A

  • What is the main topic of the webinar?

    The main topic is how to elevate operations with effective resource management.

  • Who are the key speakers in the webinar?

    Nora, Nicole Tien (COO of Run), and Nicola Armstrong (experienced resource manager at NCS Australia) are the key speakers.

  • What are the challenges in resource management discussed?

    Challenges such as balancing supply and demand, aligning skills with project needs, tracking real-time resource data, and improving team communication were discussed.

  • How does resource management impact operational efficiency?

    Resource management impacts operational efficiency by optimizing people resources, aligning them with the right projects, improving outcomes, and boosting productivity.

  • What tools are mentioned for resource management?

    Tools like Run, Monday.com, and Eightfold are mentioned for effective resource management.

  • How can technology enhance resource management?

    Technology, including AI and machine learning, can enhance resource management by predicting project needs, optimizing resource allocation, and reducing biases.

  • What role does data play in resource management?

    Data is crucial in providing real-time, accurate insights for efficient resource allocation and capacity planning.

  • What are the benefits of effective resource management?

    Benefits include improved operational efficiency, better alignment of resources, enhanced productivity, and cost savings.

  • How should one manage change when implementing new resource management tools?

    Managing change involves clear communication, leadership buy-in, feedback loops, and taking stakeholders through the change journey.

  • What is the importance of aligning strategic goals in resource management?

    Aligning strategic goals ensures that resource management supports broader organizational aims and maximizes its impact.

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  • 00:00:00
    194 York
  • 00:00:02
    city4 York
  • 00:00:05
    city4 all right hello hi everyone a very
  • 00:00:10
    very warm welcome to our webinar how to
  • 00:00:13
    elevate operations with effective
  • 00:00:16
    Resource Management my name is Nora and
  • 00:00:19
    I'm so excited to be your leap webinar
  • 00:00:22
    host today as a new work and and
  • 00:00:25
    transformation consultant I'm passionate
  • 00:00:27
    about unleashing the potential of
  • 00:00:30
    organizations and people by creating
  • 00:00:33
    more adaptive Soulful and joyful ways of
  • 00:00:37
    working my mission is to inspire new
  • 00:00:40
    ways of thinking working and being and
  • 00:00:43
    I'm so thrilled to guide you through
  • 00:00:45
    today's discussion on elevating
  • 00:00:48
    operations with effective resource
  • 00:00:52
    management and what we usually like to
  • 00:00:55
    do is just get a bit of a sense for who
  • 00:00:57
    is joining us today in this virtual room
  • 00:01:00
    so we have prepared a little poll which
  • 00:01:02
    I'm going to launch right now and I
  • 00:01:05
    invite you to just share how this topic
  • 00:01:08
    relates to you give me one moment as
  • 00:01:15
    so where did it go I saw it earlier one
  • 00:01:22
    moment if I can't find it that's okay we
  • 00:01:25
    will
  • 00:01:26
    improvise um Arena if you could launch
  • 00:01:29
    it feel feel free otherwise I'm just
  • 00:01:31
    going to share the question and you can
  • 00:01:34
    maybe use the chat to check in uh we
  • 00:01:37
    would like to know from you what's your
  • 00:01:39
    biggest challenge in managing resources
  • 00:01:41
    effectively ah perfect thank you for
  • 00:01:44
    having my back always good to have a
  • 00:01:46
    strong team so what's your biggest
  • 00:01:48
    challenge in managing resources
  • 00:01:50
    effectively um so feel free to either
  • 00:01:53
    check one of the boxes balancing supply
  • 00:01:55
    and demand aligning skills with project
  • 00:01:58
    needs tracking real time resource data
  • 00:02:01
    improving team communication or even
  • 00:02:03
    comment in the chat if it's something
  • 00:02:05
    else and this is just a little um way of
  • 00:02:09
    getting warmed up for our discussion
  • 00:02:13
    today so maybe a few more
  • 00:02:19
    seconds and Arena you might be able to
  • 00:02:22
    see if we have some answers um yes
  • 00:02:26
    perfect we've got uh the beautiful uh
  • 00:02:29
    analysis so we've got a winner of the
  • 00:02:33
    biggest challenge um with managing
  • 00:02:35
    resources effectively being balancing
  • 00:02:38
    supply and demand with
  • 00:02:42
    43% and then this is being followed by
  • 00:02:45
    tracking realtime resource data 29% and
  • 00:02:49
    14% both for aligning skills with
  • 00:02:52
    project needs and improving team
  • 00:02:54
    communication thank you so so much for
  • 00:02:57
    checking in also I can see there's one
  • 00:03:00
    answer in the chat from Antoine thank
  • 00:03:02
    you so much adapt our strategy with
  • 00:03:05
    capacity planning in the next few weeks
  • 00:03:07
    and month that's very interesting
  • 00:03:10
    awesome so this is uh us getting warmed
  • 00:03:14
    up so um yeah thank you very much for
  • 00:03:18
    for sharing some insights this webinar
  • 00:03:20
    is part of Ron's webinar series called
  • 00:03:23
    leap igniting the future of resource
  • 00:03:25
    management and through this program we
  • 00:03:28
    are trying to reinvent the traditional
  • 00:03:30
    approach to Resource Management and help
  • 00:03:33
    unpack fresh and inspiring perspectives
  • 00:03:36
    for the resource management Community
  • 00:03:37
    for all of us on how this could look
  • 00:03:40
    like this webinar is brought to you by
  • 00:03:42
    run run offers a resource management
  • 00:03:45
    software solving the very challenge of
  • 00:03:48
    matching supply and demand so uh finding
  • 00:03:51
    the best suited people for the jobs and
  • 00:03:54
    projects at hand we'll use the last 15
  • 00:03:58
    to 20 minutes for questions and answers
  • 00:04:00
    from you so feel free as you're
  • 00:04:02
    listening in to capture any questions in
  • 00:04:04
    the Q&A section of Zoom webinar also
  • 00:04:08
    feel free to use the chat as you've just
  • 00:04:10
    done um also use any reactions I've also
  • 00:04:14
    seen some hearts fly up that always
  • 00:04:16
    makes it a lot more interactive for us
  • 00:04:18
    and we love to hear uh from you in one
  • 00:04:20
    way or another so that would be great
  • 00:04:23
    next up it's my absolute pleasure to
  • 00:04:26
    introduce to you today's wonderful
  • 00:04:29
    panelists Nicole tieny and Nicola
  • 00:04:32
    Armstrong it's fantastic to welcome
  • 00:04:35
    Nicole Tien as a COO and co-founder of
  • 00:04:40
    run Nicole brings a strategic
  • 00:04:43
    perspective shaped by 15 years of tech
  • 00:04:46
    industry experience and a global career
  • 00:04:50
    her expertise in leading agile teams and
  • 00:04:53
    managing complex resource allocation
  • 00:04:56
    challenges gives her a unique ability to
  • 00:04:58
    address the big picture opportunities in
  • 00:05:02
    Resource Management Nicole actually
  • 00:05:04
    kicked off this webinar Series in August
  • 00:05:07
    last year together with Tim Copeland
  • 00:05:10
    Run's CEO when we dove into the insights
  • 00:05:13
    gained by both through having spoken to
  • 00:05:15
    over 1,000 resource managers over the
  • 00:05:19
    past years so feel free to check that
  • 00:05:21
    one out it was an absolute highlight so
  • 00:05:23
    Nicole it's so exciting to have you back
  • 00:05:25
    here on the LEAP program awesome great
  • 00:05:28
    to be here and uh well done on
  • 00:05:30
    pronouncing my name yeah I'm lucky I'm
  • 00:05:33
    German so that's that's an
  • 00:05:36
    advantage and we're also so excited to
  • 00:05:39
    have Nicola an experienced resource
  • 00:05:42
    manager at NCS Australia with us today
  • 00:05:46
    she has a rich background in human
  • 00:05:48
    resource management including experience
  • 00:05:51
    at two of the big four accounting firms
  • 00:05:54
    with a people first philosophy she
  • 00:05:57
    specializes in building high performance
  • 00:05:59
    ing teams and fostering Dynamic work
  • 00:06:02
    environments Nicola it's an absolute
  • 00:06:05
    pleasure to have you on the webinar a
  • 00:06:07
    very warm
  • 00:06:08
    welcome thank you I'm very excited to be
  • 00:06:12
    here today with you all and I'm looking
  • 00:06:14
    forward to sharing this journey and some
  • 00:06:16
    insights into operations within Resource
  • 00:06:19
    Management beautiful so what we'll do in
  • 00:06:22
    our webinar today is we will Define
  • 00:06:25
    operations and outline the goals of the
  • 00:06:27
    function to kick us off we will
  • 00:06:30
    understand why operational efficiency is
  • 00:06:32
    important especially for resource
  • 00:06:34
    managers and mostly we'll look into
  • 00:06:37
    operational efficiency best practices
  • 00:06:41
    and how Resource Management can help
  • 00:06:43
    leverage these so without further Ado
  • 00:06:46
    let's kick right into things um first of
  • 00:06:49
    all my question to you Nicole is
  • 00:06:51
    operations the term itself can mean so
  • 00:06:54
    many different things how do you define
  • 00:06:57
    operations and what are the goals of the
  • 00:07:00
    function yeah that's a really good
  • 00:07:02
    question and and you're right I mean it
  • 00:07:04
    can mean a lot of uh a lot of things so
  • 00:07:08
    uh I uh consider operations really as
  • 00:07:10
    the the backbone of an organization uh
  • 00:07:14
    really ensures that all the moving parts
  • 00:07:16
    of the business are aligned and working
  • 00:07:19
    well together and that includes setting
  • 00:07:22
    up managing optimizing your resources of
  • 00:07:26
    course including your people resources
  • 00:07:28
    but could also be material equipment uh
  • 00:07:31
    managing and optimizing your your
  • 00:07:33
    systems and your your processes so you
  • 00:07:35
    can deliver value more uh efficiently
  • 00:07:39
    essentially um when we're looking at at
  • 00:07:41
    what the goals are um I think there is
  • 00:07:45
    probably different goals I would say
  • 00:07:47
    depending on what industry you're in
  • 00:07:49
    whether you kind of I think sell the
  • 00:07:51
    product or a service or both will
  • 00:07:53
    probably be slightly different and it
  • 00:07:55
    also very much depends I think on what
  • 00:07:58
    stage of the the business you you're in
  • 00:08:01
    so if you're working for a startup like
  • 00:08:03
    like I do here here at run um I'd say
  • 00:08:06
    the goals of operations is a lot about
  • 00:08:09
    is a lot about building building
  • 00:08:11
    foundational systems um and uh yeah
  • 00:08:15
    you're putting the the systems in place
  • 00:08:16
    so people can work work well together um
  • 00:08:20
    as a a quick example like is when we're
  • 00:08:22
    hiring our first people and run um we
  • 00:08:26
    we're like oh how how are we going to
  • 00:08:27
    pay them we can't really handle like a
  • 00:08:29
    paper bag with some some some some money
  • 00:08:31
    so we need to set up some some payroll
  • 00:08:33
    systems to to get things going so uh
  • 00:08:36
    Foundation Foundation Building I think
  • 00:08:38
    if you're in more of an established
  • 00:08:41
    organization um Nicola kind of where
  • 00:08:44
    where you um I think uh yeah the focus
  • 00:08:48
    of operations shifts a bit more to to
  • 00:08:51
    optimization um so really improving um
  • 00:08:54
    those those processes if I kind of keep
  • 00:08:56
    with my payroll example um currently
  • 00:08:59
    currently in run we we have a whooping
  • 00:09:01
    four different payroll systems in place
  • 00:09:03
    for our New Zealand team our Canadian
  • 00:09:06
    team our us team and we've got staff in
  • 00:09:09
    in Europe as well so um yeah lots of
  • 00:09:11
    optimization potential there uh and and
  • 00:09:14
    a quite a fun project for me to to look
  • 00:09:16
    forward to uh next
  • 00:09:18
    year fantastic thanks for kicking us off
  • 00:09:20
    so what I'm hearing you say is
  • 00:09:22
    operations is the backbone initially in
  • 00:09:25
    smaller context it's about building the
  • 00:09:27
    foundational systems and as an
  • 00:09:29
    organization matures and grows and more
  • 00:09:32
    is more and more about optimization and
  • 00:09:34
    efficiency um that's that's a beautiful
  • 00:09:37
    definition thank you so much I'm curious
  • 00:09:39
    Nicola if there's anything you would
  • 00:09:41
    like to add from your
  • 00:09:44
    perspective yeah no definitely I think
  • 00:09:46
    in terms of operation from a resource
  • 00:09:49
    management perspective is really about
  • 00:09:53
    for me and my role is how do I
  • 00:09:55
    effectively coordinate people processes
  • 00:09:58
    and tools with the right Talent that's
  • 00:10:01
    available at the right time when it's
  • 00:10:03
    needed um for the business so making
  • 00:10:06
    sure that we are um supporting some of
  • 00:10:09
    those strategic kickouts with our most
  • 00:10:13
    talented people within the business or
  • 00:10:16
    looking at ways in which we can
  • 00:10:18
    potentially look at our resourcing
  • 00:10:21
    structure for those engagements and um
  • 00:10:24
    what I like to call a little bit of
  • 00:10:26
    Tetris um and sort of moving people
  • 00:10:29
    within the organization um to fit those
  • 00:10:32
    roles um as best as possible so whether
  • 00:10:35
    that is you know um upskilling or
  • 00:10:38
    backfilling roles um to make sure that
  • 00:10:41
    we are meeting the client needs um and
  • 00:10:44
    maximizing profits as best as
  • 00:10:47
    possible yeah beautiful thanks for the
  • 00:10:49
    great addition and I love your structure
  • 00:10:51
    of people processing tools I think we'll
  • 00:10:53
    come back to that a little later and
  • 00:10:55
    also your connotation of supporting the
  • 00:10:57
    Strategic goals right through the kind
  • 00:11:00
    of way people processes and tools are
  • 00:11:03
    laid out in the organization I think
  • 00:11:04
    that's very very wise so when we now
  • 00:11:07
    look at the resource manager in this
  • 00:11:10
    context what is the role of resource
  • 00:11:12
    management when it comes to operations
  • 00:11:15
    um Nicole could you could you start
  • 00:11:18
    perhaps yeah I think it it plays a
  • 00:11:20
    really really important role I mean uh
  • 00:11:23
    Nicol already touched on on on that a
  • 00:11:25
    little bit um I think especially in
  • 00:11:28
    businesses where like people are your
  • 00:11:31
    your biggest asset um and and you could
  • 00:11:33
    argue that it's essentially every every
  • 00:11:35
    business right um as as Nicholas said
  • 00:11:38
    having having the right people with the
  • 00:11:40
    right skills in the right goals at the
  • 00:11:42
    right time um that isn't just um you
  • 00:11:45
    know operationally uh effective and and
  • 00:11:49
    efficient um I think it's also really
  • 00:11:51
    really powerful and can be a huge
  • 00:11:53
    competitive Advantage uh for for
  • 00:11:56
    business um so um
  • 00:11:59
    the the other thing I would add is um
  • 00:12:03
    kind of I guess looking at it from um
  • 00:12:05
    more of a strategic lens um what we are
  • 00:12:08
    seeing uh traditionally ofly the
  • 00:12:11
    resource management functions been um a
  • 00:12:13
    bit more tactical uh looking at projects
  • 00:12:17
    and um looking at finding the right
  • 00:12:20
    people for project and and filling some
  • 00:12:23
    of those immediate needs um what we've
  • 00:12:26
    been seeing um at run uh and and the
  • 00:12:29
    people and the customers that come to us
  • 00:12:31
    that um while that is really really
  • 00:12:33
    important um the Strategic lens and uh
  • 00:12:37
    angle is becoming uh a lot more more
  • 00:12:40
    important so SE Suite is is taking
  • 00:12:43
    notice um and they're really recognizing
  • 00:12:46
    that you know not just that Financial
  • 00:12:47
    impact that um Resource Management can
  • 00:12:50
    can bring um but also the the efficiency
  • 00:12:53
    and the the productivity
  • 00:12:55
    gains amazing and this is such a
  • 00:12:58
    repeating them theme that comes up in
  • 00:13:00
    almost every webinar so thank you for
  • 00:13:02
    highlighting that the kind of shift from
  • 00:13:05
    um being limited to the Tactical side to
  • 00:13:08
    also now maturing into a more strategic
  • 00:13:11
    partner the resource manager is a
  • 00:13:12
    strategic partner to the business so um
  • 00:13:15
    as a result also the role in in the
  • 00:13:18
    space of operations um basically
  • 00:13:20
    elevates and expands which is which is
  • 00:13:23
    beautiful and Nicola is there anything
  • 00:13:25
    you would like to add
  • 00:13:30
    yeah definitely and I think um I guess
  • 00:13:33
    the more in which we're going in
  • 00:13:35
    technology wise you know the development
  • 00:13:38
    with AI having that really people first
  • 00:13:40
    humanid centered approach is becoming
  • 00:13:43
    more and more important in today's
  • 00:13:45
    society and how we can um Elevate within
  • 00:13:49
    our business um to provide a structure
  • 00:13:52
    that both supports the technology but
  • 00:13:55
    also supports our people within the
  • 00:13:58
    business um as Nicole said our people
  • 00:14:01
    are our most um important asset so
  • 00:14:04
    without them we can't do our day-to-day
  • 00:14:07
    roles um so I think as a resource
  • 00:14:11
    manager and as operations um coming
  • 00:14:14
    together to look at ways in which we can
  • 00:14:16
    invest in our people um with the
  • 00:14:19
    technology um and the operational model
  • 00:14:22
    to help support all of those um is a
  • 00:14:25
    really effective way of um I guess
  • 00:14:29
    making a more efficient business um run
  • 00:14:33
    more effectively so whether it's having
  • 00:14:37
    um a skills um map as well so providing
  • 00:14:42
    an audit of all the skills within your
  • 00:14:45
    um organization having a a structured
  • 00:14:48
    map of uh where those gaps are as well
  • 00:14:52
    that misalignment um within the market
  • 00:14:55
    and how you can sort of um improve that
  • 00:14:57
    within your organization moving forward
  • 00:15:00
    to become more um cost effective and
  • 00:15:03
    bring in the best people to your
  • 00:15:05
    business um and making sure that you
  • 00:15:08
    sort of really look at ways in which to
  • 00:15:10
    keep your resources um engaged as well
  • 00:15:15
    within the organization is really
  • 00:15:17
    important um so just keeping in touch
  • 00:15:20
    with them um those one-on-one
  • 00:15:22
    connections are really crucial um and
  • 00:15:25
    looking at ways in which you can promote
  • 00:15:27
    within is also another key
  • 00:15:29
    um ingredient to
  • 00:15:33
    that the um Resource Management isn't in
  • 00:15:37
    a really or resource managers the
  • 00:15:38
    resource management office isn't a
  • 00:15:40
    really unique spot within the
  • 00:15:42
    organization I think I it sits that
  • 00:15:45
    really the heart of things um like at
  • 00:15:47
    that kind of Crossroad of some key um
  • 00:15:51
    value streams right and you've got the
  • 00:15:52
    the the delivery side with all your your
  • 00:15:54
    projects and and initiatives coming in
  • 00:15:56
    so that that demand and and then you've
  • 00:15:59
    got your your people uh stream uh into
  • 00:16:03
    uh Nicholas point is that going the the
  • 00:16:05
    talent acquisition the hiring that the
  • 00:16:07
    onboarding the the the development of
  • 00:16:08
    the resources the skills um development
  • 00:16:11
    and all that so as a resource managers
  • 00:16:13
    you have that unique view on on both of
  • 00:16:15
    them and and and bringing both of them
  • 00:16:18
    together absolutely so we touched a lot
  • 00:16:21
    uh on operational efficiency and um that
  • 00:16:25
    being a key goal so what exactly do we
  • 00:16:28
    mean when we talk about operational
  • 00:16:31
    efficiency um can you just maybe H try
  • 00:16:34
    to summarize um operational
  • 00:16:39
    efficiency Nico why don't you
  • 00:16:43
    start I think in and I guess will
  • 00:16:46
    probably be achieving more with less um
  • 00:16:50
    so I guess uh getting more uh getting
  • 00:16:53
    more output with the same input and the
  • 00:16:55
    input in this case mostly people and and
  • 00:16:57
    resources um or kind of the flip side
  • 00:16:59
    might be to actually achieve the same
  • 00:17:02
    output um with less or more optimized
  • 00:17:06
    input uh so I think the the first thing
  • 00:17:09
    that usually comes to mind when people
  • 00:17:10
    think about operational efficiencies
  • 00:17:12
    often are it's the cost savings and it's
  • 00:17:15
    the uh Revenue gains right and the like
  • 00:17:17
    being more profitable as a as a business
  • 00:17:20
    especially if you're in in Professional
  • 00:17:21
    Services um and I think that plays a
  • 00:17:24
    really really big part of obviously
  • 00:17:26
    we're in the business of of of making
  • 00:17:28
    money after after all but um you know
  • 00:17:31
    it's also really about improving the the
  • 00:17:35
    outcome so the higher quality products
  • 00:17:39
    and services better and faster delivery
  • 00:17:42
    and then to to Nicholas's Point as well
  • 00:17:44
    that that happier team right uh and uh
  • 00:17:48
    yeah so if you if you can eliminate some
  • 00:17:50
    of those manual workflows and automate
  • 00:17:52
    some of that you have more time to
  • 00:17:53
    actually spend on the on the human on
  • 00:17:55
    The Human
  • 00:17:56
    Side amazing thank you
  • 00:17:59
    and I think as well just jumping on the
  • 00:18:01
    back end of that um when you have
  • 00:18:04
    resources on projects that they really
  • 00:18:07
    excel at they automatically start to
  • 00:18:09
    produce more efficient work um so in
  • 00:18:13
    hand that sort of goes back to your
  • 00:18:16
    coste effective uh ways in which you're
  • 00:18:18
    looking at the business because you're
  • 00:18:20
    providing a better service to your
  • 00:18:22
    clients which then again um keeps them
  • 00:18:25
    coming back to you um so you're getting
  • 00:18:28
    more business out of that um client
  • 00:18:30
    again and again because you're building
  • 00:18:32
    such great relationships with your um
  • 00:18:35
    clients um and continue to have that
  • 00:18:37
    reputation um uphold whereas if you have
  • 00:18:40
    you know resources that are hating the
  • 00:18:43
    job that they're doing they're not
  • 00:18:44
    enjoying it they're going to you know
  • 00:18:46
    dampen that relationship that you have
  • 00:18:48
    with your key um clients um and then
  • 00:18:52
    that becomes detrimental to your bottom
  • 00:18:55
    line that's absolutely it so I think
  • 00:18:58
    with' made a really strong Foundation as
  • 00:19:01
    to why operations as a function is super
  • 00:19:04
    critical and uh the benefits the
  • 00:19:07
    business uh has from a strong
  • 00:19:09
    operational efficiency uh Focus so now
  • 00:19:13
    let's Dive Right Into the Heart of our
  • 00:19:15
    conversation how can Resource Management
  • 00:19:18
    help Elevate operations let's dive into
  • 00:19:21
    some of the best practices that you have
  • 00:19:23
    come across and Nicole I'm going to ask
  • 00:19:25
    you to kick us off how can resource
  • 00:19:27
    management help Elevate
  • 00:19:30
    operations yeah that's that's a really
  • 00:19:32
    good question and there's um a lot to it
  • 00:19:35
    and uh so so we we'll dive into it I
  • 00:19:37
    think one one thing to mention again
  • 00:19:39
    like obviously I'm looking at it more
  • 00:19:40
    from a I guess more the the kind of
  • 00:19:43
    strategic uh lens and then there is the
  • 00:19:45
    more than the technical daytoday but I
  • 00:19:48
    think there is I think three key areas
  • 00:19:50
    right there is the the people side um
  • 00:19:54
    there is the like the the utilization um
  • 00:19:57
    uh side and there's the streamlining
  • 00:19:59
    your processes and and again there is I
  • 00:20:02
    guess more the you can like the resource
  • 00:20:05
    management overall helps you to
  • 00:20:06
    streamline your overall business
  • 00:20:08
    processes but then you can just as the
  • 00:20:11
    resource management process itself you
  • 00:20:12
    can make that more efficient right in
  • 00:20:14
    itself and then we do have all that the
  • 00:20:17
    technology and and data that that um
  • 00:20:20
    that that binds it all uh together um
  • 00:20:22
    but maybe yeah we we can maybe kick into
  • 00:20:24
    the the people side and the the
  • 00:20:27
    utilization side head over to to to to
  • 00:20:30
    Nicola to to start off with and then
  • 00:20:32
    I'll I'll put a few bits and pieces
  • 00:20:36
    in thanks Nicole and yes definitely
  • 00:20:41
    let's start off with people so people as
  • 00:20:43
    I like to say are the heart of the of
  • 00:20:45
    our business the the heartbeat that
  • 00:20:48
    keeps us continually running so I think
  • 00:20:50
    investing in them is for most um the
  • 00:20:54
    most important thing to be doing um so
  • 00:20:57
    whether it is their development personal
  • 00:20:59
    development with upskilling so making
  • 00:21:01
    sure that your business really has a
  • 00:21:03
    structure in place that helps them to
  • 00:21:06
    upskill um and then secondly having
  • 00:21:09
    those one-on-one conversations is really
  • 00:21:12
    key as well to just understanding your
  • 00:21:15
    people um as best as possible whether
  • 00:21:18
    it's their career goals um that they're
  • 00:21:20
    working towards or coming back to their
  • 00:21:23
    well-being making sure that they're not
  • 00:21:25
    burning out or overwhelmed by the types
  • 00:21:28
    of project projects there are involved
  • 00:21:30
    in um and making sure that they are um
  • 00:21:33
    again meeting their kpi targets um I
  • 00:21:36
    think that's also really important so
  • 00:21:39
    you can look at that in ways of burnout
  • 00:21:42
    as well so if you see them you know at
  • 00:21:44
    110 or
  • 00:21:46
    130% uh when their utilization Target
  • 00:21:48
    should only be 70% we should be looking
  • 00:21:51
    to understand okay this person week on
  • 00:21:54
    week is working 50 hours this is not
  • 00:21:56
    sustainable you know what can we do
  • 00:21:59
    um like what type of strategies can we
  • 00:22:01
    put in place to help support them um so
  • 00:22:05
    whether it's bringing additional support
  • 00:22:07
    um onto that project or allowing them to
  • 00:22:10
    roll off and backfilling that position
  • 00:22:13
    to give them a chance to sort of reset
  • 00:22:15
    and
  • 00:22:16
    refresh um and then in turn you know
  • 00:22:19
    working with their um practice leads or
  • 00:22:23
    um their line managers to understand you
  • 00:22:26
    know are they looking to go up for
  • 00:22:27
    promotions
  • 00:22:29
    um and really just understanding um the
  • 00:22:33
    resources as best as possible to support
  • 00:22:35
    them um at the end of the day um I think
  • 00:22:39
    is really key to driving some of that
  • 00:22:42
    success
  • 00:22:43
    yeah yeah ex if if you can kind of
  • 00:22:47
    promote from within right or or upskill
  • 00:22:50
    your your existing team that that's
  • 00:22:52
    that's that's big right you don't don't
  • 00:22:54
    have to go out and and and hire new uh
  • 00:22:57
    new people into business sometimes you
  • 00:23:00
    have to but it's also expensive um so
  • 00:23:03
    investing in the people that you have I
  • 00:23:05
    think is is really really crucial um but
  • 00:23:09
    yeah essentially it comes down to
  • 00:23:10
    aligning right the the right people um
  • 00:23:13
    to to the to the right uh work and
  • 00:23:15
    making sure it's balanced um so to your
  • 00:23:18
    point niola not being over utilized not
  • 00:23:21
    being people not being underutilized
  • 00:23:23
    because both of it is is not great right
  • 00:23:25
    like if you're over utilized to your
  • 00:23:27
    point you you you burn your your people
  • 00:23:29
    out um if you're um if you're
  • 00:23:32
    underutilized you might be sitting there
  • 00:23:34
    and and not being challenged or or not
  • 00:23:36
    having anything um know meaning
  • 00:23:39
    meaningful to do um so finding that that
  • 00:23:41
    right level uh is really is really
  • 00:23:44
    important and then looking at the people
  • 00:23:47
    on the bench uh as well so actually I
  • 00:23:50
    guess being on the bench not having um
  • 00:23:53
    any kind of project work um uh allocated
  • 00:23:56
    or or
  • 00:23:57
    assigned um yeah yeah and I think that
  • 00:24:00
    in turn as well in regards to those
  • 00:24:03
    individuals that are on the bench um it
  • 00:24:05
    can be really challenging for them to
  • 00:24:08
    stay motivated if they haven't got a
  • 00:24:10
    structure in place of what to work on so
  • 00:24:13
    whether they are involved in upskilling
  • 00:24:15
    for um an upcoming engagement that might
  • 00:24:18
    be coming through to the business or
  • 00:24:20
    actually creating a strategic internal
  • 00:24:24
    project for them to support which
  • 00:24:27
    internally helps the business to grow um
  • 00:24:30
    or improve one of their um existing
  • 00:24:33
    processes that needs uplifting um so
  • 00:24:35
    looking at ways in which you can still
  • 00:24:37
    keep those people on the bench really
  • 00:24:39
    motivated um and help them from you know
  • 00:24:43
    potentially leaving the business um if
  • 00:24:45
    they're not getting the work that that's
  • 00:24:47
    providing them um value or or meaning
  • 00:24:51
    towards their
  • 00:24:52
    goals yeah and then I guess from a more
  • 00:24:55
    operational or I guess efficiency point
  • 00:24:57
    of view having people on the bench is
  • 00:24:59
    just also very expensive uh especially I
  • 00:25:01
    mean I'm looking at it more from the uh
  • 00:25:03
    Professional Services lens again if
  • 00:25:05
    you're you're doing um work for external
  • 00:25:08
    um customer it's actually even cheaper
  • 00:25:11
    to have someone working on an
  • 00:25:12
    unprofitable project uh then or or to
  • 00:25:16
    your point um actually taking the
  • 00:25:18
    opportunity to do internal work or do um
  • 00:25:22
    yeah like use that time for upscaling
  • 00:25:24
    and and and
  • 00:25:26
    learning 100% I'm just was curious um
  • 00:25:29
    Nicolai you mentioned the one-on-one
  • 00:25:31
    check-ins which I see a lot of value in
  • 00:25:34
    um if we are now looking at the ratio of
  • 00:25:36
    a resource manager usually it's
  • 00:25:38
    something between one resource manager
  • 00:25:40
    is responsible for maybe 50 to 300
  • 00:25:44
    resources resources depending on the
  • 00:25:46
    organization size and setup um how how
  • 00:25:49
    do you actually um cater for those
  • 00:25:53
    one-on ones if you have such a wide
  • 00:25:56
    range of people to serve
  • 00:26:00
    yeah that's a great question so what
  • 00:26:02
    I've done in my current role and in my
  • 00:26:04
    past roles is focusing firstly on those
  • 00:26:08
    individuals that are on the bench so
  • 00:26:11
    given that they do have that available
  • 00:26:13
    time um you can really connect in with
  • 00:26:16
    them and understand um their career
  • 00:26:19
    goals as best as possible and looking at
  • 00:26:22
    ways in which you can unlock their true
  • 00:26:24
    potential um and then I guess in terms
  • 00:26:28
    of of you know obviously I've looked
  • 00:26:30
    after re like resource teams of up to
  • 00:26:33
    300 um so it can be a bit of a challenge
  • 00:26:36
    to speak to every single one of them on
  • 00:26:38
    a day-to-day basis so what I found
  • 00:26:41
    really valuable is having the um I guess
  • 00:26:45
    you could say the technology in place to
  • 00:26:47
    help support the skills um that they
  • 00:26:51
    have um whether it's their current
  • 00:26:54
    skills or whether they're completing
  • 00:26:56
    badges um for example example um that
  • 00:27:00
    they're interested in which can sort of
  • 00:27:02
    help you to look at okay look they've
  • 00:27:04
    just done an AWS
  • 00:27:06
    certification um that's really fantastic
  • 00:27:09
    there's a new role that's come through
  • 00:27:11
    to the business um this might be a great
  • 00:27:13
    opportunity for them to get their first
  • 00:27:17
    um project um and things like that and
  • 00:27:19
    it sort of triggers your memory as well
  • 00:27:21
    when you go and look in those systems
  • 00:27:24
    okay yeah you know Tom told me last week
  • 00:27:27
    um that he you know did XY Z but then
  • 00:27:31
    you might have forgotten a few weeks
  • 00:27:33
    later um at least you can go into that
  • 00:27:36
    tool that you have uh with all the
  • 00:27:38
    skills and CVS um and sort of refresh
  • 00:27:42
    your mind with
  • 00:27:43
    that amazing I I can I can already sense
  • 00:27:47
    there is so much to cover on the
  • 00:27:49
    people's side which is amazing maybe
  • 00:27:52
    let's uh jump uh into the process Arena
  • 00:27:56
    just to allow a little bit of time for
  • 00:27:58
    process and checken data as well and
  • 00:28:00
    maybe um if the audience is curious to
  • 00:28:02
    learn anything else in in the space of
  • 00:28:05
    people feel free to put a question into
  • 00:28:07
    the Q&A and we're most happy to pick
  • 00:28:10
    that up so in the process area what can
  • 00:28:14
    Resource Management um actually help
  • 00:28:17
    with here uh
  • 00:28:19
    Nicole uh again there's there's so much
  • 00:28:22
    right and it kind of also I think ties
  • 00:28:25
    back to to people in a lot of uh ways
  • 00:28:28
    I think um in terms of process for me
  • 00:28:33
    obiously in my role I'm often looking at
  • 00:28:36
    it more from a bit of a higher level and
  • 00:28:38
    and and doing more um I guess capacity
  • 00:28:41
    uh uh planning so kind of looking into
  • 00:28:44
    into the the future so having a a really
  • 00:28:47
    good kind of I guess process in place to
  • 00:28:50
    uh kind of determine you know already
  • 00:28:52
    kind of ahead of time what is what is
  • 00:28:55
    that that incoming demand what are those
  • 00:28:58
    kind of core initiatives you need to be
  • 00:28:59
    working on um getting some early uh
  • 00:29:03
    insights into what the you know who you
  • 00:29:07
    need what type of people you would need
  • 00:29:09
    to to fulfill those uh those those that
  • 00:29:12
    work and and those projects uh and then
  • 00:29:15
    looking ahead um and and see well how
  • 00:29:19
    are we going to look like in in six to
  • 00:29:21
    to 12 months do we actually um need to
  • 00:29:24
    do we have the people in house right do
  • 00:29:26
    we need to up skill do we need to
  • 00:29:28
    do we need to hire uh and so that really
  • 00:29:30
    helps move from being very reactive um
  • 00:29:34
    so if you don't have these kind of
  • 00:29:35
    processes and and feedback loops in
  • 00:29:37
    place you you're you're constantly
  • 00:29:39
    reacting um to to a more I guess
  • 00:29:42
    strategic uh approach of of looking at
  • 00:29:45
    things so for for me that is that is a
  • 00:29:48
    key key uh process long long-term
  • 00:29:51
    planning
  • 00:29:52
    process um and forecasting obviously um
  • 00:29:56
    ties ties in with that and I think we
  • 00:29:57
    had a just kind of last last month a
  • 00:29:59
    really great kind of session on on the
  • 00:30:01
    topic of forecasting as well absolutely
  • 00:30:05
    Mission critical forecasting so I'm glad
  • 00:30:07
    you also mention it here um as as a
  • 00:30:10
    lever to help with the process uh space
  • 00:30:13
    um what else would you like to add
  • 00:30:19
    Nicola um I think just in terms of
  • 00:30:22
    having your processes
  • 00:30:24
    streamlined um is a really great way to
  • 00:30:28
    um provide consistent um uh data I guess
  • 00:30:33
    you could call it so in Resource
  • 00:30:35
    Management having real time data and
  • 00:30:37
    accurate data is very important to be
  • 00:30:40
    able to do our job um strategically and
  • 00:30:43
    effectively um so ensuring for me having
  • 00:30:47
    a one source of Truth is where I can
  • 00:30:50
    forecast um you know upcoming projects
  • 00:30:55
    understanding the demand coming through
  • 00:30:57
    the business um and aligning that supply
  • 00:31:00
    and demand as best as possible to meet
  • 00:31:03
    those client needs um to the business so
  • 00:31:07
    resource allocation obviously comes in
  • 00:31:10
    the back of that so using those
  • 00:31:13
    processes um to help elevate your
  • 00:31:17
    resource allocations um so having those
  • 00:31:20
    processes um streamlined obviously um
  • 00:31:25
    helps you with that so so um I guess for
  • 00:31:31
    me standardizing those processes you
  • 00:31:34
    know documenting those so if you are in
  • 00:31:36
    the early stages of your resource
  • 00:31:38
    management function um making sure that
  • 00:31:40
    you do document everything um that you
  • 00:31:43
    have in place whether it's you know
  • 00:31:44
    starting with an Excel spreadsheet um
  • 00:31:47
    for your resource allocation um is a
  • 00:31:50
    good place to start and then as you
  • 00:31:52
    mature over time you'll have those um
  • 00:31:55
    systems to help support you um With Your
  • 00:31:59
    Capacity planning and your
  • 00:32:01
    forecasting um I've come from obviously
  • 00:32:05
    different number of organizations that
  • 00:32:07
    have different number of tools as well
  • 00:32:09
    to look at those capacity planning um
  • 00:32:14
    and workforce planning as well so I
  • 00:32:16
    think it's just really understanding
  • 00:32:18
    what works best for your organization
  • 00:32:20
    and then ideating on that every single
  • 00:32:24
    time and being agile um with that um is
  • 00:32:28
    yeah one way to help support the
  • 00:32:31
    business yeah that's a really good point
  • 00:32:34
    I think I mentioned earlier now how
  • 00:32:35
    Resource Management sits at that heart
  • 00:32:37
    of of some critical uh business process
  • 00:32:40
    that also means that a lot of different
  • 00:32:42
    people need to get involved in making
  • 00:32:45
    sure that the the data that you use to
  • 00:32:47
    make decisions on is up to a to date
  • 00:32:50
    right we have um the the HR team coming
  • 00:32:53
    in um providing some of the the skills
  • 00:32:55
    data the the jobs the
  • 00:32:58
    the contract um setup and all that and
  • 00:33:01
    we've got the finance team coming in
  • 00:33:03
    with all the well this is what people
  • 00:33:05
    are costing us the the charge out rates
  • 00:33:07
    we've got the project managers and the
  • 00:33:09
    project team coming in from from the
  • 00:33:11
    demand side right and then the kind of
  • 00:33:14
    resource managers orchestrating it also
  • 00:33:16
    so you need to have really good I guess
  • 00:33:18
    alignment and processes in place to make
  • 00:33:20
    sure that that the data flows into
  • 00:33:23
    ideally one Central system somewhere one
  • 00:33:26
    single source of Truth um to uh to
  • 00:33:29
    really kind of because that that will
  • 00:33:31
    then Empower you to make make really
  • 00:33:34
    good uh good decisions amazing and on
  • 00:33:37
    that I know Nicola in our prep sessions
  • 00:33:39
    you've mentioned something um that you
  • 00:33:42
    do to align with some of these key
  • 00:33:44
    stakeholders so maybe could you just
  • 00:33:46
    share how you're uh getting that
  • 00:33:49
    alignment um actually implemented in
  • 00:33:53
    reality what do you
  • 00:33:55
    do yeah absolutely so so the business
  • 00:33:58
    that I've just started with we've
  • 00:34:00
    integrated from eight different entities
  • 00:34:03
    um and the resource management function
  • 00:34:05
    is quite at an early stage so about a
  • 00:34:08
    year to two years old um so a lot of the
  • 00:34:12
    processes that we are putting in place
  • 00:34:14
    are constantly being um evolved and
  • 00:34:18
    adapted based on um our experience
  • 00:34:21
    through testing them um you know we're
  • 00:34:24
    going all in you know failing if we need
  • 00:34:27
    to fail but we're just making sure that
  • 00:34:29
    we are um adapting as best as possible
  • 00:34:32
    um to the new current environment so
  • 00:34:34
    that we can get to that end State uh
  • 00:34:37
    where our business is is already
  • 00:34:39
    thriving now but we want to take it to
  • 00:34:42
    that next level um so what we've
  • 00:34:44
    currently put in place is um we have
  • 00:34:48
    weekly meetings with what I call our
  • 00:34:51
    sales and marketing team um and on the
  • 00:34:54
    back of those meetings um so they're
  • 00:34:56
    really focused on the demand coming
  • 00:34:59
    through to the business um and that new
  • 00:35:04
    process was put in place for about four
  • 00:35:06
    weeks um and off the back of that it was
  • 00:35:09
    just constantly getting feedback on how
  • 00:35:11
    those sessions were running um where we
  • 00:35:14
    needed to improve on those existing
  • 00:35:17
    processes that were in place just to
  • 00:35:19
    ensure that we were getting the most
  • 00:35:21
    accurate data so for example some of our
  • 00:35:25
    markets team you know were only giving
  • 00:35:27
    us half of the the job description of
  • 00:35:30
    what they needed um to you know perform
  • 00:35:33
    that role at the client site but unless
  • 00:35:35
    we have all the information we can't
  • 00:35:37
    provide them the best resource for that
  • 00:35:40
    role um so it's just getting on that
  • 00:35:42
    call and just really understanding um in
  • 00:35:44
    those meetings um you know what they're
  • 00:35:48
    wanting from us and what we're wanting
  • 00:35:50
    from them um to really provide that
  • 00:35:54
    transparent and that really clear
  • 00:35:56
    communication between
  • 00:35:58
    um the different stakeholders to get the
  • 00:36:00
    best outcome out of those um
  • 00:36:03
    meetings I love it so much and I think
  • 00:36:06
    it's quite uh rare actually that uh the
  • 00:36:09
    resource management um function is in
  • 00:36:13
    communication with the sales SLG growth
  • 00:36:16
    side of things and I think having that
  • 00:36:18
    link is such an easy win it's so helpful
  • 00:36:22
    for both sides uh to help create better
  • 00:36:25
    client outcomes so I'm so so happy and
  • 00:36:28
    impressed that you're doing this already
  • 00:36:30
    and I hope that a lot of uh resource
  • 00:36:32
    managers can take this away as something
  • 00:36:34
    super valuable and not that hard to do
  • 00:36:37
    it's just something you you know uh have
  • 00:36:39
    to actually be aware of so thank you for
  • 00:36:41
    sharing that concrete example Nicola I
  • 00:36:43
    love it um now we're already uh coming
  • 00:36:47
    close to our Q&A time and I've as seen
  • 00:36:50
    someone has been very um wonderful at
  • 00:36:53
    putting in questions thank you uh keegas
  • 00:36:57
    I hope pronouncing this right so feel
  • 00:36:59
    free to add some more questions because
  • 00:37:02
    we will come to them in just a moment
  • 00:37:05
    and now let's just wrap up with the
  • 00:37:07
    third pillar of operations and
  • 00:37:10
    operational efficiency being Tech and
  • 00:37:12
    data we've covered it a little bit but
  • 00:37:14
    what else would you like to share and
  • 00:37:17
    Nicole um I'm going to ask you to kick
  • 00:37:20
    off yeah so we did uh touch on it a
  • 00:37:23
    little bit already I think uh the the
  • 00:37:25
    one key thing uh for me is really having
  • 00:37:28
    the the the one sour of Truth is really
  • 00:37:31
    uh important when it comes to I guess
  • 00:37:34
    your whatever kind of system you're
  • 00:37:36
    using um because as soon as you start
  • 00:37:38
    kind of doing um Resource Management in
  • 00:37:41
    multiple places then then again like you
  • 00:37:43
    don't have that that wider view of of
  • 00:37:45
    what's actually going on in the
  • 00:37:47
    organization anymore so so having I
  • 00:37:49
    think one one source of Truth is really
  • 00:37:51
    important um as I mentioned earlier
  • 00:37:54
    having that real time data coming in um
  • 00:37:57
    from all these multiple sources ideally
  • 00:38:00
    in an automated
  • 00:38:02
    fashion um so so that it gets even more
  • 00:38:05
    streamlined um so so I think that's
  • 00:38:08
    that's a that's a big uh big one because
  • 00:38:10
    all that enables then more more data
  • 00:38:13
    driven decision making right um You you
  • 00:38:15
    really kind have it have it in front of
  • 00:38:17
    you um I think those are two key pieces
  • 00:38:21
    I think for me the the big thing is is
  • 00:38:22
    around the data and that's what we hear
  • 00:38:24
    from our customers over and and over
  • 00:38:26
    again and I'm sure and N probably you've
  • 00:38:28
    got some stories to tell there as well
  • 00:38:30
    from your perspective is that kind of
  • 00:38:32
    garage and garage kind of concept right
  • 00:38:34
    so keeping that really Streamlight and
  • 00:38:36
    tight is is super
  • 00:38:39
    important yeah definitely and I think as
  • 00:38:41
    well with the emerging Technologies like
  • 00:38:43
    AI as you mentioned and machine learning
  • 00:38:46
    um is really going to be a big player in
  • 00:38:49
    the market especially in Resource
  • 00:38:51
    Management um because we can use AI to
  • 00:38:54
    help us in predicting project needs
  • 00:38:58
    um and how we can allocate resources
  • 00:39:01
    more effectively which can potentially
  • 00:39:04
    um the way in which you can model or I
  • 00:39:07
    guess help AI to behave is to reduce
  • 00:39:10
    some of those biases that are put in
  • 00:39:12
    place by potentially project managers or
  • 00:39:15
    project leads um so where we can you
  • 00:39:19
    know look at a project use Ai and say
  • 00:39:21
    hey we actually need a female um
  • 00:39:24
    specifically for this engagement and how
  • 00:39:26
    AI can spit out that potential resource
  • 00:39:30
    for us to make better decisions um to
  • 00:39:33
    put forward those people for those
  • 00:39:35
    engagements um in the past we've used a
  • 00:39:38
    fantastic tool called um eight folds um
  • 00:39:42
    which is powered by Eightfold uh not
  • 00:39:45
    Eightfold powered by AI um and yeah it
  • 00:39:48
    just really effectively helps you to
  • 00:39:51
    match EMP employees um across the
  • 00:39:53
    business uh more effectively um so I
  • 00:39:57
    think there's lots of different tools
  • 00:39:58
    out there as well um you know obviously
  • 00:40:01
    run is a fantastic tool there's
  • 00:40:03
    monday.com as another example um of
  • 00:40:06
    resource management tools that do
  • 00:40:08
    provide you that real time data um so
  • 00:40:11
    that you can help make more informed
  • 00:40:14
    decisions um because on a day-to-day
  • 00:40:16
    basis things are constantly changing and
  • 00:40:19
    you need need to make sure that you're
  • 00:40:21
    um providing that most upto-date and
  • 00:40:23
    accurate um information um so yeah I
  • 00:40:28
    think that's sort of it nice thank you
  • 00:40:32
    and I'm I'm so curious to see the years
  • 00:40:35
    ahead and how actually AI is going to
  • 00:40:39
    support it so let's let's wait and
  • 00:40:42
    see um cool let's move over to the Q&A
  • 00:40:45
    we've got three questions in here also
  • 00:40:47
    dear audience feel free to upvote the
  • 00:40:50
    questions that you find most interesting
  • 00:40:52
    and I can certainly use that
  • 00:40:54
    prioritization in the kind of sequence
  • 00:40:57
    I'm picking the questions um so the
  • 00:41:00
    first question uh from keegas is how to
  • 00:41:04
    manage change management when
  • 00:41:07
    implementing Resource Management from
  • 00:41:10
    scratch in an
  • 00:41:13
    organization I can already see you
  • 00:41:15
    nodding Nicole so please kick us
  • 00:41:19
    off yes I think change management was a
  • 00:41:23
    huge topic um I I guess with any new um
  • 00:41:27
    system or or tool that that you're
  • 00:41:30
    implementing um at runy uh involved a
  • 00:41:34
    lot in our customers uh introduction of
  • 00:41:37
    resource management into the
  • 00:41:38
    organization and implementing and
  • 00:41:41
    tooling um I think we can probably do a
  • 00:41:43
    whole webinar just on the topic of
  • 00:41:45
    change men well we actually did one I
  • 00:41:46
    think a little while ago um but I think
  • 00:41:50
    some of the the key things is um for me
  • 00:41:54
    is starting with really having that
  • 00:41:57
    a really kind of Clear Vision of okay
  • 00:42:01
    why are we doing this as an organization
  • 00:42:03
    what are the outcomes we we are um
  • 00:42:05
    expecting here um getting that buy in uh
  • 00:42:09
    from uh everyone especially from I think
  • 00:42:13
    leadership uh first off right but then
  • 00:42:16
    also again like there's a lot of people
  • 00:42:17
    involved in this so getting getting
  • 00:42:20
    buying from uh all the the different
  • 00:42:22
    people that will need to feed into in
  • 00:42:25
    into that that new new system um there
  • 00:42:29
    might be some people who you know who
  • 00:42:31
    who might be a little bit resistant to
  • 00:42:32
    that change or who have done Resource
  • 00:42:34
    Management in one form or the other in
  • 00:42:36
    their own I guess department or for
  • 00:42:39
    their own projects and they're like I'm
  • 00:42:40
    doing this already why why do I need to
  • 00:42:43
    why do I need to change um yeah and then
  • 00:42:46
    really kind of looking at well what's
  • 00:42:47
    the um yeah developing that that plan
  • 00:42:51
    right how are we going to go about
  • 00:42:52
    rolling it out um what is all the what
  • 00:42:55
    is the data that we need
  • 00:42:57
    um what is the the the tools and the the
  • 00:43:00
    processes that we need to to put in
  • 00:43:03
    place and then communicating all that
  • 00:43:06
    right um and uh NCA touched on that a
  • 00:43:10
    little bit as these feedback loops
  • 00:43:12
    making sure there is um feedback loopes
  • 00:43:14
    in place for people to to you know to
  • 00:43:17
    check in making sure people are
  • 00:43:18
    comfortable with what's happening people
  • 00:43:20
    have some Avenues to provide their
  • 00:43:22
    feedback and their input um and um yeah
  • 00:43:27
    roll it out and then monitor adjust as
  • 00:43:30
    you as you go
  • 00:43:32
    along yeah and I think it's all about
  • 00:43:34
    taking them along that change Journey um
  • 00:43:37
    and really creating a story or a
  • 00:43:39
    narrative along that from your current
  • 00:43:42
    state to the Future state of where you
  • 00:43:45
    want to get that business to um change
  • 00:43:47
    can be such a complex um process to um
  • 00:43:53
    sort of initiate and TR be able to
  • 00:43:55
    transform your business success is quite
  • 00:43:58
    a challenge um and especially in
  • 00:44:00
    integrating a resource management
  • 00:44:02
    function within an organization as
  • 00:44:05
    Nicole said having those feedback loops
  • 00:44:07
    are really critical you know conducting
  • 00:44:09
    surveys um across the business is
  • 00:44:11
    another really great tool to use when
  • 00:44:13
    you are um running a change management
  • 00:44:17
    um program um and also as well I think
  • 00:44:20
    something that's worked really well for
  • 00:44:22
    me in the past is just stopping along
  • 00:44:25
    the way and celebrating those small
  • 00:44:27
    wins um is something that really helps
  • 00:44:30
    drive that motivation and that momentum
  • 00:44:33
    to keep going um along that Journey
  • 00:44:36
    because as Nicole said as well it can be
  • 00:44:39
    a real challenge for people because they
  • 00:44:41
    are resistant to that change people
  • 00:44:43
    think that you're taking away their job
  • 00:44:45
    it's like no I've been doing that why do
  • 00:44:47
    you need to come in and take that role
  • 00:44:50
    from me um but it's allowing to free up
  • 00:44:53
    their time to do more strategic things
  • 00:44:55
    that align with their specific role um
  • 00:44:58
    so that us as resource managers can come
  • 00:45:00
    in and do our role essentially um is
  • 00:45:04
    yeah and some chips to help yeah that's
  • 00:45:07
    actually a really really good point and
  • 00:45:09
    everything that has to do with when it
  • 00:45:11
    comes to operational efficiencies and
  • 00:45:14
    and putting processes and and efficiency
  • 00:45:16
    measures in place there is always that
  • 00:45:18
    uh often that fear right and you can see
  • 00:45:20
    it with AI as well what what will that
  • 00:45:23
    do to my my job but to your point it's
  • 00:45:26
    like well you fre up some time for you
  • 00:45:28
    to do uh more valuable uh things with
  • 00:45:31
    your
  • 00:45:32
    time amazing and maybe also what you
  • 00:45:35
    could do is uh identify those Champions
  • 00:45:39
    who embrace the change and maybe have an
  • 00:45:43
    informal network of of those change
  • 00:45:45
    agents to support also offering some
  • 00:45:49
    kind of space for questions and answers
  • 00:45:51
    and to demo the new systems you're
  • 00:45:54
    putting in place for your resource
  • 00:45:56
    management for people to have a low
  • 00:45:58
    barrier to get in touch with it and
  • 00:46:01
    actually yeah figure it out before the
  • 00:46:04
    big change is coming so that they feel
  • 00:46:06
    like they're ahead of the curve can also
  • 00:46:09
    help to mitigate those those fears which
  • 00:46:11
    are natural to to come up awesome well
  • 00:46:15
    thanks both of you for your answers and
  • 00:46:17
    thanks keas for question number one
  • 00:46:20
    we're GNA jump into question number two
  • 00:46:23
    which is specifically for unical what do
  • 00:46:26
    you think components of effective
  • 00:46:29
    capacity
  • 00:46:31
    planning oh yeah good uh good question
  • 00:46:35
    um so obviously capacity planning more
  • 00:46:37
    concerned with the the the higher level
  • 00:46:40
    uh longer term making sure you've got um
  • 00:46:43
    the right people for for those uh uh
  • 00:46:46
    initiatives that you're you're running
  • 00:46:47
    um I think first of all um I would say
  • 00:46:51
    um starting with the what are the what
  • 00:46:53
    are the key inputs right and and for me
  • 00:46:56
    I was like as my role as the CEO often
  • 00:46:58
    that that's the first kind of step for
  • 00:47:00
    me is well what is you know what is the
  • 00:47:02
    what is our vision what is our mission
  • 00:47:03
    what are the Strategic goals actually
  • 00:47:06
    that that we as a business are trying to
  • 00:47:09
    to achieve um so that that's one and
  • 00:47:11
    then the second step looking at what are
  • 00:47:13
    all those what are the initiatives um
  • 00:47:16
    that we we then need to run as a
  • 00:47:19
    business to to achieve those um
  • 00:47:22
    objectives uh or those business
  • 00:47:24
    objectives and then thirdly looking at a
  • 00:47:26
    and do have the the right people uh with
  • 00:47:30
    the the right skills again or location
  • 00:47:33
    that plays a big kind of part of it as
  • 00:47:35
    well um and then from there um making
  • 00:47:38
    sure you've you've you've got it matched
  • 00:47:40
    up and you know if if you don't have
  • 00:47:42
    anyone in house starting to to kick off
  • 00:47:45
    some of those um uh those recruiting uh
  • 00:47:49
    and uh recruiting processes so yeah I I
  • 00:47:54
    think of always starting with the the
  • 00:47:56
    high Lev level um and and the the vision
  • 00:47:59
    and then kind of working working your
  • 00:48:01
    your way down U obviously again really
  • 00:48:03
    really important you actually have some
  • 00:48:06
    systems and processes in place that can
  • 00:48:07
    show you some of the data right they can
  • 00:48:09
    show you what their capacity is so they
  • 00:48:11
    can show you what your people's skills
  • 00:48:13
    are so if you don't have that in place
  • 00:48:15
    then it's really really hard uh to to do
  • 00:48:18
    that so there's foundational work say
  • 00:48:21
    that um that needs to to happen
  • 00:48:23
    depending on your how mature your your
  • 00:48:26
    uh Resource Management uh function is
  • 00:48:28
    across so if if you're still starting
  • 00:48:32
    out then there a lot of building work
  • 00:48:34
    right getting getting that data getting
  • 00:48:35
    all that in place so that you can kind
  • 00:48:37
    of move to that that next
  • 00:48:40
    level I hope that answ the question yeah
  • 00:48:43
    I think it has become very clear and
  • 00:48:45
    even though the question was pointed to
  • 00:48:47
    Nicole nicool is there anything you
  • 00:48:49
    would like to add to this
  • 00:48:51
    question um I think yeah Nicole covered
  • 00:48:54
    most of it off but I think just in terms
  • 00:48:56
    of capacity planning does go in hand
  • 00:48:58
    with your workforce planning so demand
  • 00:49:02
    forecasting um is really important to
  • 00:49:05
    understand um what your current supply
  • 00:49:08
    and demand is so where you have resource
  • 00:49:11
    shortages so say for instance um at the
  • 00:49:14
    moment if I was to look at my current
  • 00:49:16
    bench um how can we sort of potentially
  • 00:49:19
    upskill them in time for the amount of
  • 00:49:22
    De demand coming through to the business
  • 00:49:24
    or do we need to go to TA to discuss
  • 00:49:27
    hiring um for those future roles um or
  • 00:49:32
    if we've got the opposite end where
  • 00:49:34
    we've got a specific skill that's you
  • 00:49:37
    know um quite hot in the Market at the
  • 00:49:40
    moment and all of our clients are
  • 00:49:42
    wanting Resources with this skill uh how
  • 00:49:45
    can we sort of pre-plan for those roles
  • 00:49:48
    coming up through the business as well
  • 00:49:51
    um so really looking at ways in which
  • 00:49:53
    you can track your skills having a
  • 00:49:55
    skills Matrix found really um crucial in
  • 00:50:00
    um understanding your capacity um as
  • 00:50:03
    best as possible and even ways in which
  • 00:50:05
    you can use your um for me for example
  • 00:50:09
    the operating model in terms of looking
  • 00:50:12
    whether it's nationally or um across out
  • 00:50:15
    Asia pack um to capacity planned with a
  • 00:50:19
    different model of you know three people
  • 00:50:21
    onshore and then two people offshore as
  • 00:50:23
    well to sort of um close out that Gap of
  • 00:50:27
    those skills strategies within the
  • 00:50:29
    business um as well yeah very nice thank
  • 00:50:33
    you both very much for your answers and
  • 00:50:36
    lastly uh this question is pointed to
  • 00:50:39
    you Nicola what's your recommendation
  • 00:50:42
    for demand planning so yeah uh you might
  • 00:50:46
    have covered that a little bit just now
  • 00:50:48
    is there anything you would like to
  • 00:50:51
    add um so I guess just in terms of
  • 00:50:54
    demand planning um there's different
  • 00:50:56
    different ways to go about it I think
  • 00:50:59
    for me it's having the tools in place to
  • 00:51:02
    help me allocate um so I sort of go from
  • 00:51:07
    most urgent to the least urgent in terms
  • 00:51:11
    of priority of demand coming through to
  • 00:51:13
    the business um so it's focusing on you
  • 00:51:17
    know what practice is it coming from uh
  • 00:51:20
    what's the start dates what's the
  • 00:51:22
    percentage um of it and I guess in terms
  • 00:51:26
    of
  • 00:51:27
    the Strategic alignment to the business
  • 00:51:29
    as well so mapping those um key
  • 00:51:32
    resources to those strategic accounts um
  • 00:51:35
    is obviously a priority to meet those
  • 00:51:38
    demands as well
  • 00:51:41
    um but yeah that's sort of it in terms
  • 00:51:44
    of yeah managing demand um within a
  • 00:51:47
    business can be different from
  • 00:51:50
    organizations um based on the tools that
  • 00:51:52
    you have in place um so yeah
  • 00:51:57
    maybe just a follow-up question on that
  • 00:51:59
    one um how do you actually identify the
  • 00:52:03
    most urgent projects because I can see
  • 00:52:06
    that this very much depends on the
  • 00:52:10
    perspective you have you have different
  • 00:52:11
    SE Suite members with different
  • 00:52:14
    strategic Ambitions so I I wonder how do
  • 00:52:17
    you do you um know how do you distill
  • 00:52:21
    the the real Essence as a resource
  • 00:52:23
    manager amongst these different
  • 00:52:25
    priorities
  • 00:52:27
    yeah that's a great question so I think
  • 00:52:29
    the way I look at different priorities
  • 00:52:32
    um can be based on different um dollar
  • 00:52:35
    values coming through to the business um
  • 00:52:37
    as one example so if you've got a client
  • 00:52:41
    that's looking for a squad of people to
  • 00:52:44
    deliver a piece of work whether it's an
  • 00:52:46
    implementation of you know workday for
  • 00:52:49
    example and they need uh you know 50 or
  • 00:52:53
    10 people um to be a part of this
  • 00:52:56
    project that's going to bring in you
  • 00:52:57
    know $1 to2 million over another urgent
  • 00:53:01
    priority client um for example that may
  • 00:53:05
    be bringing you $50 of work for that two
  • 00:53:08
    weeks of um that project um it's sort of
  • 00:53:12
    looking at you know different demand
  • 00:53:15
    coming through and obviously having that
  • 00:53:17
    buy in as well from the leadership team
  • 00:53:19
    saying hey look we've got our strategic
  • 00:53:21
    accounts these take priority um it may
  • 00:53:25
    be different for your organiz gation but
  • 00:53:27
    for me I've got you know five key
  • 00:53:28
    strategic accounts that I need to um
  • 00:53:31
    deliver on so if they came in first over
  • 00:53:34
    a small client that was you know um just
  • 00:53:37
    won a small piece of work that's that's
  • 00:53:39
    just sort of how I align my demand um
  • 00:53:42
    but it may be different for
  • 00:53:44
    you very nice thank you Nicole I'm
  • 00:53:47
    curious to pick your
  • 00:53:49
    brain and it's uh coming from that I
  • 00:53:52
    think from from uring or from the the
  • 00:53:54
    Professional Services side but there is
  • 00:53:56
    a you you've got you've got clients and
  • 00:53:58
    then there is a a very kind of direct
  • 00:54:00
    link right from your utilization to your
  • 00:54:03
    to your of of people to to the to the
  • 00:54:06
    revenue um so yeah kind of like the your
  • 00:54:08
    your I guess a accounts will will often
  • 00:54:11
    take you know preference preference
  • 00:54:13
    there and that gives you kind of a bit
  • 00:54:15
    of an indication of what to what to go
  • 00:54:17
    for first if you're more in in a in a
  • 00:54:20
    product uh business like like like run
  • 00:54:24
    um it I think it comes down to
  • 00:54:26
    as I mentioned earlier just really kind
  • 00:54:28
    of like what are what are the the
  • 00:54:30
    Strategic goals that the we've Set uh as
  • 00:54:34
    a company uh what is the impact we want
  • 00:54:36
    to create uh and then uh aligning on on
  • 00:54:41
    that and and hopefully the entire sea
  • 00:54:44
    suite and leadership team is aligned on
  • 00:54:46
    that so so that's uh um that that's
  • 00:54:49
    really really important right having
  • 00:54:51
    that alignment and then and then driving
  • 00:54:54
    um driving um that down from there um
  • 00:54:56
    what also helps is um if you have again
  • 00:54:59
    like the Tooling in place if you you're
  • 00:55:01
    able to do some scenario modeling uh as
  • 00:55:04
    well um to kind of see what if uh what
  • 00:55:07
    if I put these people on on this project
  • 00:55:09
    and what if I run um this this project
  • 00:55:12
    later what what is what is the outcome
  • 00:55:14
    of that and uh how are we kind of best
  • 00:55:16
    looking in terms of uh our setup uh yeah
  • 00:55:21
    amazing wonderful and thanks both of you
  • 00:55:24
    for your answers and thanks for the
  • 00:55:25
    great question I see there is just one
  • 00:55:28
    last one popping up we've got a few
  • 00:55:30
    minutes left so maybe we can make this a
  • 00:55:32
    quick round um keegas is asking unic
  • 00:55:36
    your last minute thoughts on return on
  • 00:55:39
    investment if an organization wants to
  • 00:55:41
    implement Resource Management
  • 00:55:44
    Tool uh return and investment I think uh
  • 00:55:48
    uh as I said like especially again if
  • 00:55:50
    we're looking at from the the uh the
  • 00:55:52
    Professional Service lens there um
  • 00:55:55
    having a tool in is that helps you uh
  • 00:55:59
    optimize your resources makes things
  • 00:56:00
    visible uh so you can you can really
  • 00:56:03
    kind of dive into that utilization is is
  • 00:56:06
    huge so you you will you'll be able to
  • 00:56:08
    to see savings straight away right
  • 00:56:11
    because even just uh like doing minimal
  • 00:56:14
    adjustments and and optimizing things
  • 00:56:16
    can have a huge uh huge outcome like
  • 00:56:19
    again like to to Nicholas Point earlier
  • 00:56:22
    um if I prioritize my uh you know most
  • 00:56:26
    profitable custo customers essentially
  • 00:56:29
    um and being able to see that is is is
  • 00:56:34
    really um but then if the cost Savings
  • 00:56:38
    of again like being able to again have a
  • 00:56:42
    really high productivity have the right
  • 00:56:43
    people on the right job uh yeah is huge
  • 00:56:47
    that was really
  • 00:56:51
    quick Nicola do you want to add
  • 00:56:54
    something I was just going to quickly
  • 00:56:56
    add on the back of that that U might
  • 00:56:58
    come into play as well is um the
  • 00:57:01
    benefits of having a resource management
  • 00:57:03
    tool is you can forecast as well so say
  • 00:57:06
    for instance you forecasted your
  • 00:57:08
    resources to be on 100% on an engagement
  • 00:57:11
    for 4 weeks you can also identify if
  • 00:57:14
    they haven't been on that engagement for
  • 00:57:17
    that time so looking at your actuals
  • 00:57:19
    versus your forecasted planned hours you
  • 00:57:22
    can really help to identify those
  • 00:57:24
    leakages in revenue on a weekly and
  • 00:57:26
    monthly basis so it's really great to
  • 00:57:29
    track your finances um as well in that
  • 00:57:33
    regard fantastic and I just remember
  • 00:57:36
    Laura Smith once shared in our webinar
  • 00:57:39
    how one percentage of utilization
  • 00:57:42
    increase relates to uh at least in in
  • 00:57:46
    depending on the context in her context
  • 00:57:47
    it was uh about 1 million dollars of
  • 00:57:51
    Revenue of of money um so yeah you can
  • 00:57:54
    basically look at how
  • 00:57:57
    much um does 1% of uh utilization
  • 00:58:01
    increase relate to in terms of dollar
  • 00:58:04
    value and then the case I think becomes
  • 00:58:06
    very very clear if you can help the
  • 00:58:09
    resource manager be a little bit more
  • 00:58:11
    effective it will have a tremendous uh
  • 00:58:14
    impact on the financials awesome thank
  • 00:58:17
    you so much both of you for so
  • 00:58:20
    generously sharing your insights with us
  • 00:58:22
    today thanks to the audience thanks for
  • 00:58:24
    keegas you've been a star and asking
  • 00:58:26
    questions it's super super enjoyable to
  • 00:58:28
    have so many questions come up I would
  • 00:58:32
    just like to quickly share with you
  • 00:58:34
    what's happening uh in the new year um
  • 00:58:38
    so in December we're taking a little
  • 00:58:39
    Christmas break and uh we're hoping you
  • 00:58:42
    have a beautiful time off and get to
  • 00:58:45
    recharge and in January we will be back
  • 00:58:48
    the leap webinar will be focusing on
  • 00:58:50
    Resource Management Trends and
  • 00:58:52
    predictions for 2025 this will be a
  • 00:58:55
    super inspiring
  • 00:58:57
    session we will dive into what makes
  • 00:58:59
    Resource Management dream job what do we
  • 00:59:02
    love about it what excites us um what
  • 00:59:04
    are we sensing in terms of what's ahead
  • 00:59:07
    in the new year what are some of the
  • 00:59:09
    trends um and predictions for 20125 so
  • 00:59:13
    we would love to welcome you back for
  • 00:59:15
    that one um as for now H thanks all of
  • 00:59:19
    you for joining us uh I hope Nicola and
  • 00:59:23
    Nicole you have a beautiful rest of your
  • 00:59:25
    evening and for people in Europe I hope
  • 00:59:27
    you have a great start to the day
  • 00:59:29
    wherever you are in the world take good
  • 00:59:31
    care have a beautiful Christmas period
  • 00:59:34
    and yeah looking forward to welcoming
  • 00:59:36
    you back
  • 00:59:39
    soon take care bye bye
Tags
  • resource management
  • operational efficiency
  • strategic alignment
  • technology
  • people management
  • process optimization
  • data-driven decisions
  • change management
  • productivity
  • capacity planning