Managing the workload of a project is getting the right balance of tasks for each team member, is one of the most critical tasks that a project manager has to face.
In fact, the equitable distribution of the workload in a team is definitely a challenging task, and the temptation to entrust more projects to the best performing worker is always lurking.
But in the planning of a project, it is also necessary to be fair.
The excellent management of workload and team performance are therefore a essential goals.
CONTENT INDEX
In the continuos dialogue with the Project managers, we receive frequent and common questions:
- What matters to customers and / or stakeholders?
- How is it possible to obtain the best results?
- How is it possible not to overload resources?
- How can resources be used wisely?
- How is it posible to obtain more from low-performing resources?
Here, then, a simple 6-step approach to ensure the correct management of activities and workload within the team.
1. Check the current workload
If you the project is starting from scratch, it is necessary to examine the current situation of the team.
Since it is possible to manage in an optimal way only what is known, we need to ask ourselves a few preliminary questions:
- Are the team members also following other projects?
- What are their other daily activities to keep in mind?
Some people may be available to work on the project activities just for a limited time of their day / week, on the other hnad, others may be available full-time.
It is therefore essential to know this aspect in details in order to manage the workload equally and optimise the organisation of work within teams.
2. Record of attendance and skills
It is possible to better manage the workload of the team, if the project manager knows when the individual employees are absent: holidays, company outings, etc.
It is important to include these absences in the project planning in order to not assign work during these periods.
To avoid assigning a task that, due to the “absence” of a team member, is bound to be completed late, it is advisable for the attendance calendar to be integrated into the planning tools.
Similarly, when it comes to skills, it is essential to ensure that every employee’s understanding of their own abilities is up to date.
Each person can be a valid “player” if his strengths, skills and responsibilities are well known.
A collaborator may be able to work in different areas thanks to new knowledge acquired, or to deal with more technical tasks thanks to new skills developed. Therefore, the suggestion is to cyclically verify the “new skills” learned from the individual collaborator.
Simply put, during the resource allocation phase of the project, tasks should be assigned based on:
3. Set expectations
Setting goals and skills is not enough.
The task of the Project Manager is also to constantly remember the pre-established goals and to underline the level of commitment expected from each team member.
Tools such as the Statement of Work (S.O.W.), which set out a project’s objectives and scope of work, help the team to stay focused.
Clearly defined and shared objectives enable everyone to contribute equally with their talents, skills and energy to the project’s success.
One of the difficulties in ensuring that a workload is fair is that employees never work at the same pace.
In other words, even when the workload seems “fair and even”, it may not really be that way.
It is important to ensure that employees understand that work hours should not always be compared with productivity: In fact, even when working the same number of hours, two employees produce different results.
The best way to do this is to measure and share project performance that is genuinely satisfactory and successful, regardless of the number of hours worked.
A project manager should pay attention to what people are realizing in practice and not just to the number of working hours.
4. Avoid overload
On the other hand, it is important to avoid the risk of work overload affecting certain employees, leading to frustration and unfairness.
By ‘overload’, we mean the assignment of work that exceeds what staff can realistically manage within the time available.
If an employee really does have too much work, there are two ways to address the situation:.
- break this task down into smaller chunks so as to redistribute the load across other resources.
- postpone the deadline for a particular task so as to lighten the daily workload.
Automated work planning tools for redistributing the workload to other team members with lighter workloads, or for rescheduling tasks to alleviate overload, help the Project Manager carry out these tasks.
Also for the overall workload management, it is possible to follow the 80/20 rule.
- People should be assigned to specific tasks only for 80% of their time.
- The remaining 20% will be used to answer phone calls, attend team meetings, deal with the clients and so on. This 20% should be distributed evenly throughout the week. It is better to fill people’s time for – for example – 6 hours a day, rather than giving them a fixed day “free” from specific activities.
There may also be the case where a person seems overburdened with work, even if this is not the reality. This can occur when the resource is not able to manage its work efficiently.
There are possible interventions to offer in these cases, such as a coaching with a more efficient colleague or a training course.
5. Identify “under-utilised” staff
Team members are motivated when their day is full of meaningful tasks and this makes them feel important for the project.
A time management system will help to understand if the employees are working on priority activities, or in general on activities important for the project, or not.
In some situations, the collaborators themselves can ask for more work. On the other hand, they could also say that they can not take on further tasks.
This is where a project manager’s ability to manage their workload comes into play; they must ask themselves:
- Are the team members really too busy or are they just working on the wrong tasks?
- Is there anything I can do to improve their productivity?
Some people do not give the right importance to their work and they do only the bare minimum.
The more the team’s strengths and working patterns are known, the easier it will be to correctly manage the workload.
If you have the right tools for tracking working hours, this task can also be carried out more easily, and the team will be encouraged to report on their work by clearly stating their workload.
6. Inform about changes in planning
Obviously, even with the best planning, the development of a project may require an immediate change of priorities.
If you intend to change an assignment in the resource planning or workload system, it is absolutely necessary to speak first with the relevant stakeholders and collaborators.
It is necessary to explain the reasons behind structural interventions, as well as to highlight the requisites of the resources needed to complete the project.
It is necessary to explain the reasons behind structural changes and to highlight the resource requirements needed to complete the project.
It can be very useful to have tools that are shared across the whole team and updated in real time, such as a timeline linked to the financial situation and the status of project activities, to keep everyone on the same page.
The key points to remember
To conclude, here is what you should do to achieve optimal coordination of human resources:
- Spend time on planning in order to reflect on the delegation strategy.
- Create a list of all the activities that need to be done and then assign tasks based on the specific function, position, and strengths of team members.
- Create a culture that enhances productivity beyond the hours worked by openly praising an important and successful performance.
And conversely, let’s also remember what not to do, namely:
- Being excessively rigid regarding the workload delegation strategy; when priorities change, it is necessary to be flexible.
- Burn the top performer. Before loading him further, identify if and how it is possible to break down a more complex task into secondary tasks.
- Let a collaborator “rest on his laurels”. It is necessary to be clear and direct on the general project expectations, as well as on the personal ones.
There are real risks involved in not distributing the workload fairly.
Indeed, if the high performers are overloaded, they will start to resent the fact that they are doing more than their colleagues, in addition to risk the burn out.
If work is taken away from slower people, they will inevitably lose interest.
People also work to achieve success – albeit small – to grow and to be recognized. When this opportunity is not given to them, the risk is high.
How Twproject can help you manage your workload
If you have the right ally, all the advice we’ve given you so far can be put into practice much more efficiently and with a touch more automation, whilst still leaving you in control.
Twproject is the project management software that puts special attention to managing the workload of each team member.
From the planning phase to the monitoring and control phase, it is possible to have a clear picture of the progress of each collaborator’s work.
For each resource the Project Manager can have a graphical representation of the total load per day, (where each color represents a different task), as well as a detailed explanation of the load components.
Twproject natively integrates workload management into the project management platform, without the need for external tools, and in particular helps you to better manage these key aspects:
- Intelligent workload calculation and distribution — The system calculates the workload for each resource or team based on the project duration and assigned estimates. An algorithm automatically redistributes the work when overlaps occur, aiming to maintain the overall schedule.
- Overload alerts — When the workload exceeds the threshold, Twproject alerts the project manager, who can intervene by reviewing assignments or timelines. Conflict resolution is available both automatically and with just a few clicks.
- Integration with planning tools — Workload data interfaces directly with the calendar, Gantt chart, timesheets and ToDo list: data flows automatically between tools, reducing manual tasks and the risk of misalignment.
- Flexibility and customisation — Workload can be managed at the level of individual resources, teams or departments, with the option to customise working hours and account for unavailability, public holidays and flexible working hours. The system also distinguishes between project, routine and ad-hoc tasks, distributing the workload accordingly.
- Exportability and control — Workload data can be exported in various formats and filtered by team and time period, facilitating analysis, reporting and group approval of worklogs.
What are the difficulties you have encountered in managing your team’s workload?
If you’d like, we can help you identify the key issues and draw up a workload management plan that’s efficient for your business and works best for your team.
Book a demo or sign up for a free trial with Twproject: in both cases, one of our dedicated tutors will be on hand from the very start to help you optimise your workload and manage your project overall.