assignment and resource management: what are the differences?
Agathe Placet
Content manager
October 4, 2023
4 min
When it comes to resource management, many concepts are used - and we understand that some of them may sound like jargon to you. Typically: assignment or Resource Management, it can sometimes be difficult to make the distinction.
Discover the difference between these two terms and how to master them to ensure the success of your projects.
The assignment and resource management are two concepts that are often used interchangeably. Yet they refer to different realities.
assignment focuses primarily on theallocation of human resources (such as consultants) to targeted missions.
The key: aligning skills with the precise requirements of the role. A IT services companies must therefore have the right experts for the various technological projects entrusted to it.
For example, to create a mobile application,IT services companies needs mobile developers, UX/UI designers, a project manager and so on. The assignment manager will staff these different people and their skills to suit the project.
In comparison with assignment resource management takes into account all resources, be they human, financial, hardware, software or other. The challenge is to achieve optimum synergy between these elements.
Let's take the example of a consulting firm. The resources of this service company are many and varied: a dozen or so consultants, meeting rooms, software, and so on. Efficient resource management means making sure that each consultant is properly assigned, and that space is used efficiently (the right number of employees for the right amount of room, etc.).
While both concepts deal with resource optimization, their issues and methodologies vary significantly.
The assignmentis intrinsically focused on talent positioning. This means ensuring that each assignment or project has the required skills. For example, if it's a cloud infrastructure project, assignment will ensure that cloud computing specialists are allocated, independently of the other resources required.
The assignment manager draws up a skills map. This tool enables him to group together the skills of all employees in a single space shared by all and constantly updated.
On the contrary, resource management embraces a panoramic vision, looking not only at skills, but also their availability, tools, equipment and even training capacity.
Imagine the deployment of a new software program within a company: resource management will consider the skills of the trainers, the schedules of the employees, the availability of training rooms, and even the compatibility of the software with existing equipment.
Although different, assignment and resource management can be managed simultaneously thanks to dedicated solutions.
Whether to manage assignment or the resources as a whole,IT services companies needs to use dedicated tools. Most often, these are available as SaaS(Software-as-a-Service), meaning that the solution is centralized and accessible via an Internet connection.
The functionalities of the tools depend on their field of action.
In the case of assignmentthe software matches skills with needs in just a few clicks. Intelligentmatching comes into its own with the adoption of sophisticated algorithms, capable of matching the ideal candidate according to skills, experience and availability.
The responsiveness of assignment tools is enhanced by real-time updates, ensuring that every decision made by assignment is based on the most up-to-date data, eliminating the risk of errors or duplication.
In comparison, resource management tools take a more global approach.
You have a complete dashboard and can interconnect your various external solutions. For example, if you integrate accounting software with your resource management tool, you can see at a glance the costs associated with a project.
Ideally, you should choose a hybrid solution, or software that can be easily interconnected with other tools. In order to benefit from a tool specifically designed for your needs, it is advisable to turn to a modular solution.
This is the case of Napta. Our assignment tool is based on 5 modules, such as competency-based management, appraisals and more. You can combine the different modules to create the ideal solution for your needs.
The distinction between assignment and resource management may seem tenuous, but it is essential.
The assignment focuses on people: it aims to place the right people on the right assignments, concentrating on the alignment of skills and roles. Resource management , on the other hand, takes a broader view, encompassing not only human resources, but also financial, hardware and software resources.
For both these areas, the use of dedicated tools is now essential.
Whether it's a question of solutions for matching consultants' skills to assignments, or platforms offering a comprehensive and flexible dashboard that can be interconnected with numerous external solutions, assignment and resource management are complementary, and should both be the subject of a specific focus.
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