Running a successful business is getting challenging and stressful with every passing day. Industries have become vicious, and companies have to fight each other to win the battle. In all this chaos, entrepreneurs and seasoned businessmen alike are looking for ways to make their company stand out and produce edgy products and services needed by their target audience. However, a speedbump that most of these companies face is to do with resources.
When projects are pitched to improve a particular product or to work towards a goal, it often accompanies a list of resources that are needed to execute it. Unfortunately, not every company has the finances to get these resources, and so they opt for resource redeployment.
Resource redeployment or resource allocation is the process of using already available resources for other projects. So instead of hiring new people for a particular job, resource redeployment employs the people who are already working in the company and strategizes their roles accordingly. Among others, one of the most prominent reasons why resource allocation is practiced is to achieve goals for the company and its corporate strategy.
Before we get into the nitty-gritty, you need to understand what corporate strategy is.
In business, a corporate strategy is a goal, objective or direction which the company is working towards as a whole. So, while there may be different operations going on under the business, their one goal is to take the company forward and work towards one single end game. Of course, you also need to remember that corporate strategies change from time to time and aren’t as simple as deciding on the revenue the business will make in a year.
How Resources Are Allocated and Utilized
Resource redeployment can happen on various fronts. Everything from human resource to equipment falls under the tree for resources available. If done right, resource allocation can prove to be quite helpful both for long and short-term goals. Even though the resources are redeployed for a particular project, the fruits of the success of that same project can be enjoyed for a long time.
So, here are a couple of ways the resources are allocated and utilized.
Identify Scope
Before the resources are allocated or managed, you need to identify your scope and decide the details. For instance, how big or small is the project and how long will it take to complete it? Answering these critical questions will help you make the right decision and know the type of resources you’ll require. Know that the more time you spend on this particular stage, the more successful you’ll be at allocating the resources efficiently. So, take your time, get the full project and only then jump to the next step.
Know Your Resources
Once you’ve identified your scope and have a clear picture of the project you need the resources for, you need to start narrowing down your resources. However, remember that the entire purpose of resources allocation is to choose from a limited pool, so you have to know what’s available and what you’ll need to get from outside, if necessary. Experts recommend that you make a list of the resources you need before you actually go and get them. This way you will know if everything fits into the time and budget.
Understand Allocation
One of the worst mistakes you could make is to over-allocate, and this is usually either because of poor planning or resource over-estimation. Because of this, not only the project won’t be completed on time and within budget, but might also be at the risk of burning out. So, after you know your resources and have listed them down, you need to go over everything again and make sure that you aren’t over allocating. Reexamine your plan and then move on to the next step.
Always Check In
If you’re the manager and are responsible for the project and resource allocation, you need to remember to check in after every little while. Keeping your head focused on the end goal is important, but you should also monitor the resource deployment and know how things are going.
If you allocated your human resource to the project, are you sure that it’s not affecting how things are working out on other grounds? You need to factor in all these things before you actually allocate resources and keep an eye on them when they’re working, so you know that everything is in order.
Be Realistic about End Results
Resource redeployment is an ingenious way to use your own resources, but you should remember to be realistic. Though it’s always good to be prepared and ready for any issues that may arise in your project and resource management, you need to bear in mind that everything won’t always work out great.
There will be unexpected delays and add-ons in the budget, and you need to be prepared for that. Though you’ll find plenty of online tools to help you streamline your resource allocation, you must know that not everything will be picture perfect.
Another important thing is that you need to keep an eye on your competition. If don’t know what your competitors are up to, you are in for a huge disadvantage.
Conclusion
Corporate strategy or the overall plan for a company is the key to resource redeployment and allocation. A company that’s diversified will always have two levels of strategy, the competitive strategy or business unit and corporate strategy.
While the competitive plan deals with how the company can gain a competitive advantage over other companies in the same business, the corporate strategy decides the nature of the business and how things will run and be managed. Mainly, you’ll find three prominent kinds of corporate strategies which are as follows.
- Growth Strategy: When a business or company expands and grows its number or type of products, it is known as a growth
- Stability Strategy: When a business is doing well in its operations and wants to keep doing so, it maintains market reputation by serving the same kind of clients.
- Renewal Strategy: When a company is in trouble renewal strategies are used to address the issues and correct them as needed.
Though most companies use all of these strategies once in their businesses life cycle, they all fill separate purposes and play an important role in resource redeployment.
About the author:
Rachael Everly loves to write on the topics related to business leadership, finance, technology and education. Her passion and flare for writing got her to write for topics that interest her such as recent technological trends and how they shape the business world. Her thought-provoking writing style has made her work to be recognized on well-known websites. She has been featured on some of the top blogs such as Inman, Forbes, Escape Artist and many others currently associated with Equip Sells It, a heavy machinery and equipment dealer in Sanford, Florida for their blogging operations. Follow her on Twitter @RachaelEverly, become friends on Facebook and connect with her on Linkedin for further updates.