If your business workflow and project planning isn’t highly honed and organized, it’s doomed to fail. If you want to be a reputable company and have loyal customers, you’re going to need to change things up immediately.
Check out these five reasons disorganized businesses are likely to fail, and see if any of them are familiar to your company’s situation.
1. Constantly Adding More Resources
Naturally, when a company brings in a new project, talent resources need to be assigned to provide the project’s services. But it’s hard to know what existing talent is available and the pressure to service the project increases the nearer the deadline gets. In a bid to ensure that every new client and project gets the personal attention it deserves, more resources are added, which are then assigned to that project.
However, when the project ends, those resources are then left with no new project to work on, unless there is a constant flow of incoming projects, which is rarely the case. So, what the company is left with is an overflow of unutilized resources, which equates to an imbalanced ratio of payroll expenses to income.
2. Expanding Too Quickly
When business is good, owners are more likely to start thinking about expansion. After all, if this number of clients is bringing in this much money, how much more money can be made by doubling or even tripling the number of clients and projects? This thinking is flawed, however, because for every client, there needs to be a corresponding amount of resources to service that client. When services are expanded without having a realistic view of available resources, the company ends up giving bad service and losing those clients, jeopardizing the entire organization.
3. Using Outdated Tools
In the past, tools like spreadsheets and office memos were used to manage people and projects. But with the increased speed of project movement and the complexity of resources, these outdated tools simply fall short. First of all, they require an oversight that taxes a manager’s time to a level where they just can’t keep up. This leads to resources sitting idle, project progression being delayed, and clients being disappointed with results. It’s impossible for a company to be properly organized using outdated tools.
The best way to ensure a high level of competency around organization is to utilize, not just a project planning software, but a software that integrates project planning with resource management. Such project and recourse planning software can provide features such as a centralized planning board where projects and resources are visible to everyone involved. Updates and changes can be easily made, and key resources are always notified instantly.
4. Not Understanding the Workflow
Even the best managers can make dire mistakes when it comes to understanding workflow. When resources are assigned to a project, the manager needs to have a clear view of how long the resource will be attached to the assignment, and when that resource will become available for other assignments. Otherwise, what happens when managers can’t see or understand the workflow, some resources will be idle, while others will be bombarded with work.
5. Not Providing Resources in Time
One of the biggest challenges facing all businesses is being able to achieve project completion in a timely manner. While the goal of bringing in more and bigger projects is always front and center, the manager is then faced with providing resources right away to onboard clients and projects. If the manager hasn’t carefully planned ahead of time, with a managed set of resources ready for assignment, the project can be left idle in the pipeline until resources are freed from other assignments and are able to begin work on the new project. This is a juggling act that, more often than not, leads to dropping the ball.
If you’re committing these organization mishaps, put them to an end today and see your business soar.
Photo Credit: Pixabay
