Information Sheet 8.

1-1
RESOURCE UTILIZATION

Learning Objective:
After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, YOU MUST be able to:
1. Understand and apply the concepts of Resource Utilization

Resource allocation vs. resource utilization

These processes might sound similar, but they have some slight and important
differences:

 Resource allocation sees a project manager choosing suitable staff for a

project and then managing them as the project is completed, reassigning
them or altering their workload if necessary.

 Resource utilization, however, is the process of strategically measuring

how effective resources are. A resource utilization example is checking if
a certain employee is being maximized in between projects. While
allocation organizes your project, it’s utilization that makes your project
successful.
Both processes are key to achieving project success, however resource
utilization is often undervalued. Creating a robust framework for assessing the
conditions of existing resources might seem complicated, but with the right
tools it can be easy. Once you’ve decided on the budget and resources
available, and the metrics you want to use to measure efficiency, you can
implement resource management into your projects.
What are the benefits of resource utilization?

Resource utilization, ultimately, helps you make the most of your available
resources:

 Proper utilization of resources is important for maintaining productivity,

because it prevents staff from underperforming or being overburdened by
workloads and burning out.

 Projects can be managed with better visibility, reducing the risk of

oversights

 Maximum utilization of resources gives you a better ROI

 It ensures that specific resources aren’t being over or under-utilized

 It allows PMs to be agile and reschedule resources as quickly as possible

to avoid problems surfacing or becoming worse

How you can implement resource utilization

The most common formula for project managers is full-time equivalent (FTE).
This is used to calculate how optimally a resource is being used in terms of
available workable hours. To calculate this, divide the allocated hours a
resource will work during a project by the total number of workable hours
available in the project. Multiply the result by 100 to create a percentage,
and the product will indicate the effectiveness of the resource. For example, if a
worker has been allocated to a project for 45 work hours, and that project has
a total of 60 workable hours, then that resource has a utilization of 75%
as per the FTE formula. It’s best to aim for a rate of around 80% – anything
above this risks employee burn out, and anything less will not utilize the
resourcefully.
Creating a resource utilization analysis report can show you all the resources
you have available and how they’re currently performing. There’s no perfect
formula to guarantee success since every project is different – this is something
which can be difficult to manage in a DIY project management tool like Excel.
In the past PMs relied on Excel to track resources, but Excel doesn’t have the
capacity for data projections and scenario analysis that more advanced tools
do. Resource utilization requires high-quality tools to give project managers the
agility and insights they need.

Resource utilization tips

With an intelligent resource management platform, project managers have

dedicated tools to approach and master resource utilization:

 Leverage visibility – projects may be run separately, but they affect each
other. Instead of viewing projects as separate entities, create a resource
utilization plan that allows you to view all resources. This way, you’ll be
able to assess capacity and performance more effectively.
 Beware of scope creep – projects will inevitably demand extra time and
resources, and it’s a project manager’s job to keep them from going over
time or budget. Resource management software can put all active
projects front and center, utilizing resources equally amongst them to
put things in perspective.

 Compare booked hours with actual hours – it’s rare that a project ever
runs according to plan, so make sure to examine the hours booked in
preparation for the project and actual hours worked in real time. This
 will give you a chance to see if the project plan needs adjusting before
anything goes wrong.

 Always be prepared – visualize and run scenarios that will help you
prepare for a change of circumstances. If your budget changes or if you
lose a resource, you’ll be able to adapt more quickly.

Source: https://www.prosymmetry.com/resources/resource-utilization-what-
is-it-and-why-is-it-useful/
 Information Sheet 8.2-1
CAUSES OF INEFFICIENCY AND/OR INEFFECTIVENESS

Learning Objective:
After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, YOU MUST be able to:
1. Describe the procedure for determining Causes of Inefficiency and/or
Ineffectiveness

There are books written about the subject, but we will only touch on 8 causes
that we believe have the most negative impact on workplace efficiency:

Poor fit between the person, the position and the organization.

It’s no secret that companies make poor hiring decisions all the time. As an
employer, you owe it to your employees to be transparent. Talk to them about
how they feel about their job, how well they think they’re doing, and even be
ready to work out a transition plan into a different position. It might be their
strength aren’t aligned with their current role. There’s no reason why they or
the organization should continue to pretend all is well.

A disconnect between cause and effect, work and outcome.

We tend to “give work” to our teams and expect them to understand the effect it
will have on the organization down the line. However, when we tie outcome to
work/input, it helps people understand the value of their work in the final
product or service and give them a sense of urgency and importance. It can
easily be explained by asking one simple question: “what would happen to the
product/service if you stopped doing what you’re doing?”

Lack of clarity regarding how responsibility is assigned

Have you ever had to complain about something over to customer support and
were passed on to the next “representative” for a solution, or told that “it’s out
of our hands?” That’s what lack of clarity regarding responsibility looks like. In
an organization where people have no idea who is responsible for what, or even
worse, know they are responsible but they will pass it on anyhow, inefficiency
reins!
Responsibility needs to be assigned to people in the organization to the extent
of roles – i.e. if someone is responsible to deliver a service and misses a
deadline, then that’s their responsibility entirely. If they miss it twice, then it’s
the manager’s responsibility. If the manager doesn’t feel compelled to address
the issue, neither will their report.
Assign responsibility and hold people accountable for the quality of their work!

Nepotism – it doesn’t matter how well I do if I’m not among the preferred

Unfortunately, there are still businesses that are run through nepotism. That
is gross favoritism towards people who are close to a decision maker, someone
of influence or importance in the company. It’s one of the common causes of
inefficiency because people all of a sudden compare their work, results, and
reward to the ones of those being favored.
Any organization that doesn’t quantify and award effort according to clear
criteria will suffer from inefficiency at the workplace.

Absence of feedback

There’s a direct connection between inefficiency and lack (or poor) of feedback.
The unwritten rule is that what is encouraged is repeated. Managers who say
anything about how well or poorly someone on their team is doing are in fact
encouraging similar results. Constructive feedback requires clarity through
facts and willingness to make someone (as well as yourself) feel uncomfortable.
If it’s provided within the mind-frame of genuine care for the growth, and
professional development of people, it can improve their performance and
engagement too!

Deficiency in communication

Perhaps the most widespread of the causes of workplace inefficiency is a lack

or poor quality in communication. It will affect people’s capacity to quantify
how well they are doing, understanding of whether their efforts have any
impact, and to act in due time to have any positive impact. It also causes
frustration with the people a company needs to care about most (disclosure:
not nepotism!) – those who want to work, be in time, have good results and
want their job to be rewarding.

Time management

Of course, we all have 24h, and regardless of how we manage it, that doesn’t
change. Leaders and especially managers have the responsibility of setting the
importance and priority of projects, tasks, etc. (see the Eisenhower Matrix).
Efficiency comes down to achieving your objectives with the least amount of
time. The better the time management, the more efficient we are, and the more
engaged we are.
Wasteful processes

We all follow steps and procedures as they are laid out in our organization’s
processes. These are tremendous tools that used in the right order and
provided enough attention will create the desired outcomes. However, when
processes are the result of operational inertia, they can have a highly
detrimental effect on an organization’s efficiency. Worst case scenarios include
bottlenecks, redundancy, and misalignment. In other words, inefficiency.

All of these have deep roots in leadership but ultimately can be traced back to
an organization’s mission, culture, and values. If the only purpose of a
business is to create profit, then one must integrate into that equation the
means to sustain and increase efficiency in the workplace!

https://www.sourcematch.team/common-causes-inefficiency-workplace/
 Information Sheet 8.3-1

ENVIRONMENTAL PRACTICES IN THE WORKPLACE

Learning Objectives:
After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, YOU MUST be able to:
1. Describe the procedure for ensuring sound Environmental
Practices in the Workplace

Extend your environmental stewardship by encouraging green practices at

work. How can your company serve as a shining example and lead the way
toward environmental sustainability? At Benchmark ESG,
we provide ESG software and sustainability solutions that help our users
engage in sustainable business practices. To get you started, we’ve put
together these best practices that your company can engage in to demonstrate
your commitment to the environment and reduce your carbon footprint. Here
are five workplace practices for better environmental sustainability.

1. Encourage employees to use public transportation. 

According to an American Public Transportation Association study, a solo
commuter can reduce CO2 emissions by 20 pounds per day by switching to
public transportation. That’s more than 4,800 pounds in a year! Other ways to
change up daily commutes include carpooling, taking a bike or working
remotely. And by saving money normally spent on gas, your employees will feel
good about saving the planet and their budgets.

2. Change to eco-friendly office lighting.

It’s a quick fix that’s as easy as screwing in a
lightbulb. LED lighting uses 75% less energy and doesn’t contain toxic gases
like other lighting alternatives. It also lasts 25 times longer!

3. Switch to post-consumer waste (PCW) paper, paper products, and

packaging.
Maybe you already recycle paper, but do you use recycled paper? The paper
production industry is the fifth largest energy consumer in the
world. PCW recycled paper uses 45% less energy and produces half the waste of
the traditional papermaking process, reducing overall consumption from
production and consumers.
4. Become involved in your community. 
As big believers in community involvement, the Benchmark ESG team hosts
quarterly events to support and improve the environments in which we live.
There are many ways to become involved, including community cleanup. To get
started, simply search for events in your area and encourage your team to
join. As a bonus, it’s a great way to bond with colleagues while improving the
place you call home.

5. Perform an energy audit to identify resource and cost savings

opportunities. 
According to the U.S. Department of Energy, sealing leaks and cracks at your
workplace can lower heating and cooling costs by 20%. Benchmark ESG’s
Sustainability Prospector tool can help your team identify such problem areas
in an environmental impact discovery process. Benchmark ESG offers an
entire Sustainability & Energy Management  program to measure and track
resource usage, set environmental goals and drive program improvements. This
program has allowed subscribers to identify more than 3,500 reduction
projects with cost savings totaling $75 million. When totaled between
Benchmark ESG users, sites could reduce 350,000 metric tons of CO2 uses.

There are many practical, cost-saving and competitive benefits to going green
with your workplace. Ultimately, the greatest benefit is preserving the planet
we call home for our own generation and for those that follow. At Benchmark
ESG, we respect your company’s commitment to environmental stewardship
and sustainability. We partner with organizations to establish and reduce
single site and enterprise-wide carbon footprints and ensure air, water and
waste management compliance.

https://benchmarkdigital.com/blog/5-workplace-practices-for-better-
environmental-sustainability/