The charge plan in service companies: global approach

The load plan is at the heart of the project planning of any service company. Indispensable, this reference tool is the point of reference for all the stakeholders in a project. Having a workload plan tool is therefore a real necessity, because it frames and organizes a project as a whole. Any service company that sets up a workload plan should not do it lightly and above all, has no right to make mistakes, at the risk of consequences on the profitability of the company! In this article, Napta discusses its definition, the advantages of a dedicated tool and some tips for creating your own.

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Define a load plan

A load plan is an operational tool that details with high precision:

• Stakeholders throughout the project (1 leader (director, manager) accompanied by 1 or more collaborators who support him in the project).
• The period of time allocated to each person to carry out their mission in its entirety (day, week, month).
• The margin allowed between the realization of the project and its realization, with in return the effects on the delay of customer deliverables...

In service companies, this load plan is managed either by:

1. operations managers
2. project managers
3. Staffing managers

The advantages of having a load plan tool

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This tool generally takes the form of a shared server on Cloud. In this way, everyone involved in the project has access to all the information about the project and is able to see its updates in real time. Service companies use a load plan tool because it allows:

• One constant work. The project is punctuated by periods/stages defined prior to the project.
• Of collaborate more easily ! You Position employees on missions prior to the project, but also during.
• OFwarn, via a notification system, one or more stakeholders in the project, a change, a modification, a delay, a new key element...
• DAdapting the pace, in case of an overloaded, neglected or underestimated schedule.
• All employees share a 360 vision Of the project. Everyone knows what stage the project is at, the next one to come and the collaborators requested for it.
• The time invested by the employee is postponed. The project manager quickly realizes the hours worked by everyone. It can thus unburden an employee who is unwilling to work on all fronts, redistribute missions to another, etc.
• The project manager, in addition, has a 360 visibility of availability of everyone in the project. That leaves more than flexibility throughout the course of the project.

A tool for load plan is ideal for delineating the field of action of your various employees. It is also useful for informing, questioning the progress of the project and taking the opposite approach, in the event of an incident on the schedule, etc.

How to develop a load plan for your service business?

An Excel load plan: a good solution?

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It is common for service businesses to use online software that is almost free. However, these solutions, such as Excel or ERP software, are not not adapted to the nature of your business. In this case, an Excel workload plan is very practical for service companies that manage 10 to 30 employees maximum. As soon as this threshold is crossed, they lose their footing!

The reasons are very diverse:

• This software is not shared, it limits the collaboration of its users.
• The impossible centralization of data. This leads to a loss of time consolidating information in Excel, risk of errors, loss of data...
• As a result, it is rapidly becoming obsolete. The lack of collaboration on the Excel file leads to a lack of transparency and an inefficient communication between project stakeholders, which can lead to misunderstandings, delays, etc.
• The incompatibility of an Excel staffing file between them. Each employee has their own Excel version. Consolidating it is a real headache for managers.

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