Traditional Sprint Teams
In traditional sprint-based project management, teams often encounter idle time among certain members due to dependencies and preallocated resources. Iidle time in sprints has become a bigger concern as skills shortages are on the rise and can lead to disruption of workflows that hinder productivity. This inevitably will lead to delays in project completion.
However, by adopting a more flexible approach that leverages gig pools and employee mobility, organizations can mitigate idle time and enhance overall efficiency.
Challenge of Idle Time in Sprint Teams
In traditional sprint teams, members are typically assigned to specific tasks based on their expertise at the beginning of the project. However, as the project progresses, workflow dependencies arise, causing certain team members to wait for others to complete their tasks before others can proceed. This results in idle time, where team members are underutilized and unable to contribute effectively to the project goals.
Leveraging Gig Pools for On-Demand Skill Access
An effective solution to minimize idle time is the implementation of an internal gig pool. This pool consists of employees with diverse skills and expertise whose availablility can be assigned to projects as needed. When a particular sprint requires specific skills, project managers can tap into the gig pool to quickly request and assign resources when and where needed, ensuring that tasks are completed on schedule and efficiently.
Share Resources Across Branches
Most large organizations have multiple branches spread geographically over wide regions. Each branch may have skills that other branches need at some point in time. Conversely, some branches may optimize productivity by sharing skills with other branches.
Use internal gig pools facility to easily share people, resources and skills between two or more branches of the organization.
Employee Mobility for Efficient Resource Allocation
Employee mobility further enhances agility in resource allocation. Instead of rigidly assigning team members to fixed roles in a sprint, organizations can allow for fluid movement of employees across projects based on demand and skill requirements. This approach enables optimal utilization of resources, as team members can be reassigned to tasks where and when their expertise is actually needed, reducing idle time and increasing productivity.
Other factors influencing employee productivity are :
- Compensation and benefits:
- Corporate culture
- Opportunities for growth and development
- Work-life balance
- Safety and comfort
- Increased job satisfaction
- Flexibility and remote work:opportunities
- Mobility within the organization
- Customer satisfaction
Challenges in Adopting Agile Resource Allocation
While the deployment of gig pools and employee mobility offers significant benefits in reducing idle time, several challenges may arise during implementation:
- Resource Availability: Ensuring that the gig pool contains a diverse range of skills and expertise requires careful planning and ongoing management.
- Scheduling: Assigning a resource to a sprint effectively renders that person's availability for other assignments. A method for tracking resources allocation is needed to avoid conflicts.
- Communication and Coordination: Effective communication and coordination are essential to ensure that resources are allocated appropriately and that team members are aware of their roles and responsibilities.
- Cultural Shift: Adopting a more flexible approach to resource allocation may require a cultural shift within the organization, as employees accustomed to traditional roles may need to adapt to a more fluid work environment.
By addressing these challenges and embracing agile resource allocation strategies, organizations can minimize idle time, enhance productivity, and achieve greater success in sprint-based project management.
Remote Work and People Productivity
Recent studies show that remote workers are actually more productive than their in-office counterparts.
This is another important advantage that businesses and organizations benefit from when they embrace remote work.
Outsourcing can further augment worker productivity.
WorkforceAI and People Productivity
WorkforceAI measures competencies not only in hard skills but also in many soft skills areas. For example:
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Teamwork
- Work ethic
- Empathy
- Conflict resolution
- Active Learning
- Time management
To succeed in tomorrow's increasingly competitive world, businesses must be prepared to invest in employee training and development.
Take early steps to correct delays or performance-related issues on an organizational, team and individual basis.
Call us today for a free consult on how outsourcing your IT development and working with remote teams can help your business go further faster and reduce costs.