Top 5 Bleeding-Edge Resource Planning Tools to Manage All Your Tasks
Do you know around 46% of individuals with advanced degrees report that on days they work, they get at least some of their work done from home? In fact, according to Harvard Business Review, the total time executives spend on meetings has doubled since 1960. In 2023, competition is fierce in the business biosphere. Organizations are under constant pressure to deliver immaculate, flawless, and efficient results in less time, and resources are confined.
Limited resources and the pressing stress of increasing deliverables make organizations face many setbacks, like increased employee discontent, decreased productivity, and uncalled delays in project delivery. What’s the solution? The answer is moving to state-of-the-art resource planning tools. Why are resource planning tools crucial, and what are the best tools in the industry to manage all your tasks? Read on to find out!
The Need for Resource Planning Tools
Nobody in the corporate realm wants to hear the words: “I need it by tomorrow.” The answer to an urgent deadline always lies in the availability of resources. And even when you don’t have a last-minute timeline dangling over your head, project managers always struggle with allocating tasks among the existing workforce. Without comprehending what resources are available, it can be extremely challenging to get the work done, and that’s where resource planning comes into the big picture!
A resource management tool can aid businesses maximize the efficiency of their resources and get a clear overview of their resource pool. The software can highlight what resources are at your disposal, what you have used, and what you have left to offer. Simple as that!
Tracking a project- including the costs, capacity planning, and resource leveling, helps you get more work done in less time. Project managers know tasks must be completed on time, projects must be completed within budget, and everyone can celebrate only when they get to the finish line. However, this can only happen if the right resource management tools are in the mix. Resource planning tools are one of the best ways to bring out your team’s true potential, streamline resource allocation, and reduce the stress on your workforce.
If you have landed here because you were on a quest to find the leading resource planning tool for managing the needs of your team, here are some options!
#1 E-Resource Scheduler
This is one of the top resource planning tools leading our list like a pro. Used by revered organizations like Honeywell, Urbis, HNTB, Boston Scientific, Unilever, and more, E-Resource Scheduler’s resource planning tool can have features that can help you with scheduling, financials, and timesheets. By leveraging the software, you can capture the real-time you spend on projects and generate personalized reports to identify gaps between your scheduled time and reality.
In addition, the tool can also identify and schedule high-quality resources from a centralized database, so you can allocate the best resources for your project. Talking about the financials, E-Resource Scheduler’s resource planning tool can also define hourly cost and billing rates, so you can take control of your bottom line and get real-time insights into resource profitability.
#2 Monday.com
This solid resource management tool can aid project managers in swiftly managing their work along with resource scheduling, so they can focus on the big picture. With features like a drag-and-drop interface, highly visual dashboards, time tracking, and multiple project views, the resource planning software supports the efficient allocation of resources intuitively.
#3 ClickUp
Whether you want a helping hand in fleshing out the initial parts of the project, managing resources, or keeping the whole team on the same page, ClickUp can help. With the software, you can analyze resource performance with custom dashboards, generate reports to analyze resource constraints, efficiency, and more, and visualize resources with interactive timelines and resource calendars. You also get intuitive capacity planning tools, and pre-built templates along with automating alternatives. So, that’s a win-win!
#4 Hive
If you are struggling with overpromising and under-delivering, Hive offers built-in tools to prevent this from happening. You can use this tool to track time manually, record meetings, collaborate with team members on the dashboard, and integrate it with Zoom for better task management capabilities. In addition, the software is pretty flexible in terms of creating workflows that fit into your pre-existing resource planning process. So, you get customizability at its best!
#5 Parallax
With Parallax, you get features like skill tags with advanced database searches of the workforce, real-time project P+L reporting, custom billing models, and project accounts. Natively built for integrations, Parallax is best for software development teams and digital service firms that want active forecasting and modern predictive resourcing to discover measured growth, better margins, and higher revenue rates.
Conclusion
Project managers need resource management software in their toolbox because workforce management and resource planning have become indispensable ways of navigating through cluttered workforces. Whether you need forecasting tools to gauge your resource requirements or scheduling and workload management tools, there are a handful of resource planning technologies in the market to help you. Just switch from conventional software to avant-garde technology and skyrocket your productivity through the roof!