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Key takeaways:
- Dealing with resource overallocation often feels like playing whack-a-mole. A reactive approach, where tasks are reallocated whenever a problem arises, provides short-term relief but doesnβt address the root cause of overallocation.
- What works is setting up solid resource management processes that enable you to allocate work based on your teamβs true capacity.
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If chronic resource overallocation is the norm in your organization, a stressed-out team is just the beginning of your problems. Jessica Jones, the Creative Operations Lead at advertising agency Paper Moose, puts it perfectly:
βWe cannot afford to overload our teams because their satisfaction drops, their inspiration drops, their creativity drops, our product drops, and our bottom line drops.β
Print that on a T-shirt! π
While reallocating tasks or adjusting due dates offer short-term relief, a more lasting solution involves setting up systems that ensure work is allocated based on true team capacity, resulting in a balanced and manageable workload.
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Spot and fix overallocation early with Float
With a live view of your teamβs schedule and a color-coded dashboard of their workload, Float helps you manage capacity and prevent overallocation.
<cta-button>Try Float for free today</cta-button>
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A quick recap: what is resource overallocation?
π‘Skip this section and jump straight to the tactics to prevent overallocation if youβre already familiar with the basics. If youβre not, stick with us.
Overallocation is an imbalance in workloads where a team member is assigned more projects and responsibilities than their capacity can realistically handle.
Often, overallocation is accompanied by its bosom pal, underallocationβwhere team members are not assigned enough tasks to fill up their time or assigned work beneath their skill level.Β
These two extremes might exist in your team, but theyβre not always apparentβunless youβre using a resource management tool that shows the capacity and allocations of individual resources, like Float π
5 negative side effects of resource overallocation
Resource overallocation threatens the health of your team members and reduces project success rate because of:
- π Decreased productivity: when people have too many projects to juggle, their efficiency decreases from frequent context switching. Tight turnarounds can also lead to anxiety about work, which makes it even harder to get anything doneβespecially in creative teams.
- π Reduced quality of work: when team members are not given enough time to do a thorough job, they might struggle to prioritize the most critical tasks, leaving important aspects of the project unfinishedβwhich in turn leads to subpar results.
- β Missed due dates: when people are overloaded, they have less time to complete their work or account for contingencies, leading to missed due dates.
- π₯ Increased stress: constant stress leads to severe long-term physical and mental health issues. Chronic stress diminishes your teamβs overall effectiveness and performance.
- 𧨠High levels of employee burnout: team members with too much to do in too little time may become overstressed, leading to physical fatigue and reduced mental function needed for daily tasks. They might work slower and be unable to take breaks to rest and recover, which results in more work piling upβand the vicious cycle continues.
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Lauren OβHalloran
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Head of Production at Toaster
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On a human level, the main danger of overallocation is burnout. While working beyond typical hours is sometimes necessary, we donβt want that to become the norm. Burnout not only affects team morale but also impacts the quality of work and attention to detail. If someone is overallocated, the risk of delivering a low-quality product increases. This is a significant concern because it can lead to sloppy work and missed details.
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How to resolve and avoid inefficient resource allocation
If thereβs one thing we know, itβs that a reactive approach, where tasks are reallocated whenever a problem arises, can provide short-term reliefβbut it doesnβt address the root cause of overallocation.
The most effective approach is a combination of:
- Short-term fixes, like reallocating tasks and prioritizing urgent work
- Long-term measures, like capacity planning, utilization monitoring, and resource forecasting using resource management softwareΒ
First, letβs discuss three short-term fixes you can implement right away πΒ β
1. Reschedule workΒ
Adjust project timelines to ease the workload of overallocated team members. This option is best when changes to the resource schedule wonβt significantly impact the projectβs timeline.Β
Prioritize your existing workload
If thereβs some buffer, move tasks around based on priority levels and push less critical tasks to a later date. Once youβve prioritized your allocations, consider delaying the start of a project, giving your team more time, or splitting tasks:Β
- Delaying start dates: move the start of the project to a later date when their capacity is freed up
- Extending project durations: if your projectβs timeline is flexible, extend the finish date to provide extra time for your team
- Splitting tasks: if a task canβt be completed within a certain time frame due to limited availability, you can spread it across a longer period, scheduling work for when the person is availableΒ
If you use Float, a quick look at the Schedule view will tell you all you need to know about your teamβs capacity and how changes to allocations will affect ongoing and future work.Β
Ensure you speak to team members about project schedule changes and loop in stakeholders to manage expectations.Β
π‘Learn how to use resource leveling to handle projects with short timelinesΒ
2. Reallocate workΒ
Delegate work to team members with the capacity and skill set to take on tasks. If they are not available, you might have to get additional resources from outside your organization.Β
Source additional hands internallyΒ
If your organization has multiple offices, you can request that resources with the right skills be assigned to a different teamβs project for a specific period. This is the perfect time to reduce underallocation of resources by delegating tasks to them.Β
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Lauren OβHalloran
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Head of Production at Toaster
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When the need for extra resources arises, I can access the global teamβs resources on an ad hoc basis. If the San Francisco office doesnβt have the bandwidth to take on a project, I can reach out to someone in a different office. Additionally, when we donβt have an illustrator, animator, or motion graphics specialist on the San Francisco team, we rely on the global team for those skills.
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Outsource work to freelancers
If there is no one available or with the right skills on your team, consider hiring external help. Outsourcing is usually a last resort as it may increase project costs and affect profitability if not planned for from the start.Β
π‘ Learn how to use resource smoothing to manage demand on your peopleβs timeβ
3. Negotiate due dates for ongoing projects
If outsourcing work or giving your team more time is not possible, consider approaching stakeholders to request an extension of the project timeline.Β
Make a strong case for your request
When making the ask, donβt go empty-handed. Provide detailed information on your teamβs capacity and current workload to demonstrate why additional time is necessary. If you use Float, you can share your teamβs visual schedule with the client or stakeholder, so they can see the capacity and allocations of resources and better understand workloads.Β
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Thomas Walters
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Head of Studio Movember
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Our color-coded Schedule in Float allows me to very quickly show someone why their work canβt be done on the day they want it. They take one look at our timeline and instantly understand the challenges we face, and together, we can work on a way forward rather than being stuck at an impasse.
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Now that youβve doused your fires with these short-term solutions, itβs time to set up long-term resource management processes to help you avoid overallocation π
4. Determine baseline capacity and plan work accordinglyΒ
Overallocation often results from unrealistic expectations about how much time team members have to complete their work. True capacity is influenced by several factors, including work hours, time off, and administrative tasks. Additionally, interruptions and various demands on available time mean that team members cannot be productive every single hour of the day.
Centralize information about resource availabilityΒ
Input team membersβ work hours, work days, employment type, and regional holidays in your resource management tool. For example, in Float, you can set custom work hours for each team member, which is ideal for remote or distributed teams. Sick days and unexpected absences are also recorded and made visible to everyone, making it easier to plan work.
Sync your teamβs calendar with your resource management software
Non-project work might not be visible on your teamβs schedule. As an extra safeguard, have them connect their personal calendars to your resource management tool to show time spent in meetings or other activities.Β
5. Run regular capacity planning meetingsΒ
Capacity planning meetings serve two main purposes: aligning everyone on resource allocations and proactively identifying high workloads.Β
Key stakeholders can make resource requests, allowing for real-time negotiation and task alignment. Managers can also spot allocation problems and ensure workloads are evenly distributed.
Set a regular cadence
Regular meetings help you catch workload changes early. Set them up at intervals that work for your team, whether daily, weekly, or biweekly.Β
Invite the right stakeholders
Include stakeholders who allocate work, like resource and project managers, creative directors, and account managers. For example, the capacity management team at global agency Scholz & Friends run weekly meetings with account managers and creative directors.
Use a resource management tool as your source of truth
When discussing allocations, availability, and workloads, use a resource management tool to see team schedules and capacity in one place.Β
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Angela Faunce Leaf
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Executive Producer of Integrated Production at Β Tilt Creative + Production
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The visual of a person being βin the redβ in Float is key. While sometimes unavoidable, like meeting a strict deadline for a TV spot, it signals the need for action when caused by multiple projects piling up. In such cases, itβs essential to reevaluate and reprioritize: is it a specialized task only they can handle? Can it be reassigned to someone else? Are we overestimating the time needed for specific tasks?
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Make adjustments to allocations as needed
For instance, if you identify a particular resource who will be overloaded soon, you can reassign tasks to prevent burnout. Similarly, if someone is currently overallocated, you can shift some of their work to others with similar skills.
By now, your team should be set up for successful project deliveryβbut your work doesnβt end here. Here are two ways to proactively stay on top of allocations so you donβt run into the same problems in the future π
6. Monitor utilization rates regularly
Regularly checking resource utilization rates helps you understand how much work your team members are doing and ensure workloads stay balanced. High utilization rates might indicate overallocation, which requires immediate attention.Β
Note: utilization rates are company- and team-specific, with different organizations aiming for different ratesβyour team might aim for 100% utilization, inclusive of non-project work. However, if your organization aims for 80% utilization and is creeping toward 95%, you might have an issue.Β
Use a resource management tool to track utilization rates
For example, in Float, you can check utilization by hours or percentages. This helps you identify when team members are overallocated and need support.
Find the root cause of high utilization rates
When you notice high utilization, investigate the specific reasons behind it by speaking directly with team members or their managers. Determine how much billable work they are doing, what projects they are involved in, and whether the work can be allocated to someone else.
Fix the problemΒ
If team members have too much work outside of projects, and need to spend more time on billable tasks, assist them by prioritizing their projects, delegating work to others, and cutting unnecessary tasks. If they are spending time keeping other projects on track, communicate with team leads to ensure they come to you first for assistance.Β
7. Forecast resources needed for a projectΒ
Once you learn that new projects are in the pipeline, itβs a good time to assess who will be needed to get the work done and what skills are required.
Proactive resource forecasting helps reduce overallocation by predicting future workloads, matching upcoming workloads with team capacity, and identifying skill gaps.Β
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Lauren OβHalloran
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Head of Production at Toaster
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Once we get a Statement of Work signed, we consider who would be the best fit for the project based on the type of deliverable and their current bandwidth. For example, if the project involves video production and we donβt have someone in the SF studio who specializes in video, we would discuss this during the scoping and kickoff stages and reach out to the team in another location, such as the Delhi team, which has an animator on staff, to check their availability. If they donβt have the capacity to take on the project within our estimated timeframe, weβll start exploring other options, like talking to freelancers or other external partners we have worked with before, to find a suitable solution.
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Here are some questions to help you with resource forecasting:
- Who do we need to work on the project? Start by identifying the specific team members required for the project.Β β
- What skills do they need? Identify the specific skills necessary for the project.Β β
- How much effort do they need to put in? Estimate the amount of effort required, measured in hours or workdays. Speak to team members for a more accurate estimate.Β β
- How much time will they need to complete the work? Break down the project into smaller tasks and estimate the time required for each.Β β
- Do we have enough available resources to do the work? Assess your current teamβs availability to see if there are enough team members to handle the workload without overallocating them.Β β
- How do we close the gap between resource demand and supply? If there is indeed a gap, plan how to address it by reallocating tasks, adjusting project timelines, hiring temporary staff, or providing additional training.Β
Now, all these might seem like a lot of questions and variables to determine π« But thereβs a solution! Float makes it easy to forecast project resources using the Tentative project feature.Β
You can create a project before itβs confirmed and allocate work using placeholder roles to simulate resource plans without impacting current project schedules. When a plan is marked as tentative, its estimates and allocations wonβt interfere with ongoing work, allowing you to plan efficiently without disrupting current creative operations.
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Angela Faunce Leaf
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Executive Producer of Integrated Production at Tilt Creative + Production
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Within Float, we have a number of βUnassignedβ project resources we use as placeholders for projects that are still in the bidding stage, or not fully scoped or scheduled yet.β
βSimilarly, for known repeats, we will book the appropriate folks but keep as βtentativeβ until full details are known. An example of this might be recurring work around the holidays for a retail client.
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8. Set realistic project timelines and goals
Short timelines often mean your team doesnβt have enough time to complete their work, so they work longer hours. Similarly, if project goals are unclear or overly ambitious, your team may end up working overtime to meet client expectations.
Realistic timelines and achievable goals ensure your team has the time to do their best work and handle any contingencies.Β
Use past estimates
Review previous projects to see how long similar tasks took and create more accurate timelines for current or upcoming projects. If a past website design took six weeks, plan for a similar timeframe for a new, similarly-sized design project.Β
If you use Float, the Report dashboard is a great tool to identify trends and timelines. All project information is recorded there, so you can compare estimated timelines with the actual time taken to complete projects, and make more accurate estimates for future projects.
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Speak with team members about timelines
Get input from your team on how long they think tasks will take and use their insights to adjust timelines. For example, if youβre about to kick off work on a web development project, you can ask your devs how long they need to build a feature based on past experiences.
Break down projects
Divide projects into smaller tasks and assign realistic timeframes for each. For example, you can split a marketing campaign into tasks like content creation, graphic design, and social media scheduling, each with its own due date.Β
π‘ Download our free work breakdown templates to plan work effectivelyΒ
Add buffers
Provide a cushion for unforeseen delays by including buffers in your project timeline. You can either add a percentage buffer (where a percentage of the estimated time would be used as extra time) or a fixed time buffer (where you add an exact amount of time to each task). For example, if a task is estimated to take 10 days, add an extra 1-2 days as a buffer.
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<sme-author>
Lauren OβHalloran
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<sme-position>
Head of Production at Toaster
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I encourage the project managers on my team to build in buffer time into the timeline to account for unforeseen issues. We aim not to push the team too hard and canβt afford to overload anyone. Our goal is always to allow enough time for tasks and enable team members to work on multiple projects smoothly.
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Consult your team about project goals
Involve your team leads in the planning phase to ensure goals are realistic. Make sure everyone understands the project scope and agrees on deliverables. Hold a kickoff meeting where team members can voice concerns or suggest adjustments to the goals.
[fs-toc-omit]Proactive resource management is your best defense against resource overallocation
Overallocation is a continuous risk as you plan your team membersβ time across multiple projects. By setting up systems that ensure work is allocated based on team capacity, you can help your team members avoid overload and deliver their best work.
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π«Έ Stop overallocation in its tracks
Float helps you proactively manage capacity and prevent overallocation throughout the ebbs and flow of project work. Get clear visibility into team workload and make informed allocation decisions.
<cta-button>Try Float for free today</cta-button>
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FAQs
Some FAQs about the overallocation of resources
Overallocation can be caused by unrealistic timelines, poor planning, lack of visibility in capacity, sudden spikes in resource demand, and skill gaps.
Identifying the warning signs of impending resource overallocation early can help prevent burnout and maintain productivity. Here are five key indicators to watch for:
- Consistent overtime: team members regularly working beyond their normal hours indicate they have more work than they can handle within the standard workday
- Missed due dates: frequent delays and missed due dates suggest that resources are stretched too thin, making it difficult to complete tasks on time
- Declining quality of work: a noticeable drop in the quality of output or increased errors and mistakes can signal that employees are overburdened and rushing through tasks
- Increased stress and burnout: signs of stress, fatigue, and burnout among team members, such as decreased morale, absenteeism, or complaints about workload, are red flags for overallocation
- Frequent task reassignment: constantly shifting tasks and responsibilities among team members to cover gaps or meet due dates may indicate an imbalance in resource allocation
Effective communication is crucial for managing and preventing resource overallocation. Here are four key ways it helps:
- βIt enables you to identify issues early on: open communication allows team members to express concerns about their workloads early on, helping managers to identify and address overallocation before it becomes a critical problemβ
- It gives a clear understanding of workload: regular updates and discussions ensure that everyone is aware of each team memberβs current tasks and capacity, preventing misunderstandings and ensuring a balanced distribution of workβ
- It ensures coordinated resource allocation: project managers who communicate effectively with each other can avoid assigning the same resource to multiple tasks simultaneously, ensuring that people are allocated efficientlyβ
- It sets realistic expectations: by communicating with clients and stakeholders about the teamβs capacity and potential constraints, project managers can set more realistic timelines and expectations, reducing the pressure that leads to overallocation