“I enjoy the challenge of improving policies and procedures that will facilitate growth, maintain control, and increase the success of our clients.” – Craig A Meadows
We know that today’s customer is a lot more demanding, impatient, and unwilling to accept ‘second fiddle’. The reason for these dramatic changes is that the market is shrinking and becoming more volatile with each passing day, which in turn is placing extreme pressure on businesses. The prudent thing for any business would be to put in place robust strategies for better resource management to not only ensure sustained profitability but also to provide better service to customers. The better a company can manage the limited resources available, the more effective it would be in sustaining its profit margins, and continue serving its customers despite downturns and or recession. We know that top class customer service is now one of the topmost differentiators for any company – it gives a company a competitive edge, helps attract and retain customers, attract the best market talent, and hence improve the bottom line. Optimizing available resources is one of the most crucial aspects to achieve sustained growth, and consistently good customer experiences. We think that companies recognize this fact, but given the many challenges they face, sometimes falter in the realm of resource management.
The harsh reality is that in the current overcrowded marketplace, companies must find ways to not only grow their profit margins, but also consistently enhance customer service in order to attract and retain customers. Resource management and managing customer relationships is core to the realization of a business’ goals in order to succeed and remain successful despite the increasing number of competitors. Companies that understand and put in place tangible action plans to better utilize their people, processes, workloads, would be better equipped at resource management, thereby meeting their business’ and customer service goals. Intelligent and efficient resource management help businesses to make smarter and wiser decisions, reign in their costs and expenses, and rid themselves of waste – all of which ensure that there would be substantial savings, which could be used to serve customers better and be utilized for critical business operations. One of the most important parts of resource management for any company is to hire the right kind and numbers of employees, such that it gains maximum output from fewer employees – the need for lay-offs and downsizing would be reduced considerably.
Resource management may primarily deal with human resources, but aspects such as time, money, effort, and other resources too form extremely critically aspects of such management processes. For example – if the company does not hire right, it could feel the need to let go of some employees – this results in the loss of skills, knowledge, money spent on training, expertise, loss of time spent on hiring and on the development of the individuals being laid off. The business not only suffers financial losses and wastes a significant amount of time and effort, but also could potentially lose its reputation in the market, and with its customers. Resource management requires meticulous planning, tight processes, and control over expenses and costs, in order to avoid an adverse effect on the current reputation and future prospects of the company. No company can afford mismanagement of the resources available, and must tighten their processes in order to improve productivity and service levels.
The fact is that companies cannot control the needs and expectations of their customers, nor do they have influence over market conditions. However, they can ensure that they meet and exceed customer expectations, and make themselves strong internally through better resource management. Almost every company faces the same problems such as lack of understanding, improper utilization of staff, internal conflicts, and others – which are all a result of poor planning and resource management. The good news is that since a company creates these problems for itself, it would be possible to eliminate them through more stringent planning and efficient operating procedures. Better resource management also leads to lowered stress, which in turn reduces the opportunities for internal and external conflicts.
A standardized resource management system would allow a company to better control its current costs and expenses, while maintaining a better control over future costs. This can prove to be immensely beneficial for any business. Companies must move towards a mind-set of growth, and treat their employees as their largest source of earning and increasing profitability, as opposed to viewing these invaluable resources only as a cost. It is proven that employees that are cared for are extremely productive, remain energetic, and work a lot harder than employees with low morale. Employees that feel good working for a company make a significant contribution to the revenue and bottom line. The fact is that without a proper strategy for resource management, a company would find itself struggling to maintain margins, attract, and retain customers, and employ the best market talent. It would not be long before such a company would have to ‘shut shop.’
Resource management has a number of significant benefits. Has your company recognized these advantages and does it have in place a robust strategy to manage resources? Resource management is now a recognized factor for the success for any business – there are a number of companies / professionals in the market now to help businesses better manage the resources at their disposal, and gain huge benefits. Everyone knows ‘a dollar saved is a dollar earned’ – hence every resource that a company spends wisely, has the potential to increase revenue. Through resource management, a company would know exactly how much and how many resources it has currently and over an extended period. This ‘knowledge’ would ensure that a company utilizes its most valuable resources judiciously and ‘stretches’ them for maximum benefit, while gaining more revenue through the same number of resources.
It is common knowledge that a crunch and paucity of resources causes people to become stressed leading to misunderstandings and conflicts. Better resource management would ensure that there would be no duplication of resources, any conflicts are spotted and resolved quickly, and when required, resources could be reduced or increased to ensure smooth operation. The fact is any kind of stress or ‘stretch’ makes people irritable and more prone to conflicts – the same is true in companies too. When people working in a company feel ‘extended’ without sufficient resources to match, they are bound to become annoyed and less cooperative. Morale drops, and people refuse to work cohesively, which reduces the overall productivity and strength of a company. Proper utilization and spread of resources would ensure that each person receives a fair share, thereby allowing them to be productive in their job.
Management of a company’s human resources is critical to the success of any company. A company would be able to identify in a timely manner a shortfall of skills and training requirements for their existing staff. It would also be able to hire the right individuals, for certain roles, alleviate stress and ease workload of existing staff members by hiring at the right time and for the right jobs, and be able to allocate sufficient resources for the training, development, compensation, and rewards for their existing employees. An process that runs smoothly, actively contributes to ease of operation and administration, which proves to be a major advantage for any company.
Resource management is both a challenge and an opportunity for any company, and by doing it right, a company would be able to gain several advantages that would benefit the business in the short and long terms.