Centralized Resource Planning
Improving the Employee + Client Experience
Client: inDinero (internal project)
Role: Project manager
Skills: Qualitative research, stakeholder interviews, process mapping, project management, meeting facilitation
CHALLENGE
To build a unified company process from five different approaches and multiple sources of data.
This was an internal project I worked on for my employer, inDinero, an accounting service-based company that encompassed five different brands across office locations. With each office operating under different protocols for assigning employees to new client projects, I was tasked with developing a solution that would centralize the process in order to facilitate cross-selling between offices.
RESEARCH APPROACH
Conducted stakeholder interviews, observed meetings, and collected existing data to map the current processes.
Mapping out the range of existing processes and data sources allowed me to identify inefficiencies and top pain points for various stakeholders.
INSIGHTS
Biggest pain point = no clear chain of responsibility in process
Lack of data visibility and consistency inhibits quick assessments of capacity
Slow process resulted in lost prospects and delayed revenue capture for the company
Culture of skepticism around new processes
PROTOTYPE DEVELOPMENT + TESTING
I developed prototypes to address the top two pain points — limited data visibility and lack of clear process with accountability.
PROTOTYPE #1: DASHBOARDS
A dashboard aggregating data from across the company gave managers visibility into their teams’ capacity
I started with a sketch of sample metrics I heard managers trying to calculate in staffing meetings. My goal was to provide a tool that would make it easier for managers to understand their teams’ workloads rather than burdening them with an additional weekly reporting task.
I worked with our finance and operations teams to source the data and build a dashboard which could be updated regularly by our corporate finance team, who were already collecting the data weekly for billing purposes. The first report was launched as a prototype, soliciting manager feedback to incorporate into future iterations.
PROTOTYPE #2: PROCESS DEFINITION + MAP
A clearly defined process helped everyone understand their role and the decisions they were responsible for
I sketched out the process of staffing a new client engagement, highlighting key decision points and accountability gaps. After working with the key stakeholders from each department to assign roles to each of the gaps, we published the new process.
KEY TAKEAWAYS + LEARNINGS
A new tool instead of a new task made managers more receptive to a new process
Involving managers in the design increased adoption
Limitations of available data provided criteria for the selection of resource planning software
IMPACT + NEXT STEPS
50% Less Meeting Time
One-off conversations about staffing were eliminated, and meetings about staffing were cut in half
Faster Client Onboarding
Quicker staffing process meant clients could start their onboarding within a week
Software System Selected
The prototype helped define specs for an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system that could automate more complex staffing decisions