In focus:

Capacity planning lessons
from three operations experts

3 key components of capacity management
with Amber Kemmis

We sat down with Amber Kemmis, COO at Instrumental Group,
to discuss 3 key components of capacity management
that she feels are essential for success.
Here’s what we learned.

3 key components of capacity management with Amber Kemmis

1. Revenue:

Making business decisions based on revenue and financial impact is super important for any client services firm, and understanding capacity is a big part of that process. Looking at revenue (the expected income from a specific task or project) versus capacity helps you see how much money each person or team is bringing in.

Pro tip: Make sure your revenue forecasting matches up closely with how your client work is being handled. For example, if a retainer is managed by three different teams, be aware of any blind spots that might come up as a result of breaking down your revenue forecasting across multiple teams and tasks.

2. Time estimation:

Your teams should make it a habit to put time estimates on every task and use these to plan out their workloads. By looking at how long each task will take and when it's due, you'll get a much clearer picture of the team's capacity and be able to plan ahead better.

Pro tip: Start by using the data you already have to estimate tasks. For example, if you you know a blog post takes three hours, you can use that to make accurate time estimates. In more complicated situations where you don't have the data, don't stress about small increments (like 5 or 10 minutes). Instead, try using larger chunks of time (like 1 or 2 hours) to cover any potential roadblocks or delays.

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3. Individual perspectives:

Involve your team in the capacity planning process to get everyone's perspectives. By encouraging active participation, you'll create an environment where your staff feel comfortable asking for more work or extra help if they need it.

Pro tip: Find the best time frame for planning work for both individuals and the team. For example, if you work on a 1-week sprint cycle, set aside some time every Friday for teams and individuals to plan for the next week. When everyone's involved in this process, they're more likely to spot and flag any issues.

3 steps to simplify your capacity planning with Hannah Taylor

We spoke to Hannah Talyor, Director of Digital Operations at Interactive Strategies, to learn about three steps you can take to simplify and improve capacity planning within your organization. Here’s the TL;DR.

Step 1: Tool assessment and selection

Key takeaways

Identify key features:

List the essential features the tool must have to meet your requirements. For example, you might need features like real-time tracking, reporting capabilities, integration with other software, or user-friendly interfaces. Understanding these priorities will help narrow down your options.

Align with team goals:

Align the tool with what your team is trying to achieve. This involves understanding your team's workflow, pain points, and objectives. A tool that fits well with your team’s processes will be more likely to improve efficiency and satisfaction.

“All-in-one” tools:

Consider an "all-in-one" tool that can handle every aspect of your capacity planning needs. It could simplify your workflow, reduce the need for multiple tools, and enhance collaboration.

Step 2: Get the right processes in place

Key takeaways

Well-documented processes:

Having clear documentation is like having a guidebook that keeps everyone on the same page. Even if not everyone reads every detail, it ensures tasks are done consistently and decisions are made smoothly. New team members can quickly get up to speed, knowing exactly how things work.

Flexibility and continuous improvement:

Being flexible is key to keeping your capacity planning sharp. By regularly checking and adjusting processes, you can fine-tune them over time for even better results.

Embracing a change culture:

Embracing change is a pathway to long-term success in capacity planning. When employees openly share ideas and work together, they can improve processes proactively, making them (and your business) stronger and more adaptable.

Step 3: Communication and feedback is vital

Key takeaways

Consistent capacity planning process:

Define the frequency of planning activities (weekly or monthly), outline work request submission and prioritization, allocate tasks based on available resources, and ensure stakeholders are promptly updated on changes. Standardizing these procedures reduces confusion and optimizes resource allocation across projects.

Clear channels for communication:

Use dedicated platforms or tools for sharing capacity forecasts, assigning tasks, updating progress, and adjusting project timelines. This promotes timely and transparent communication, keeping team members informed about responsibilities, deadlines, and resource changes for effective task prioritization and smoother collaboration.

3 steps to simplify your capacity planning

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Setting up a winning time-tracking framework with
Marcel Petitpas

Without accurate (and complete) time data, you’ll never be able to accurately plan team capacity. We caught up with Marcel Petitpas, CEO of Parakeeto, to unpick his surefire time-tracking framework for client services firms. Follow these steps to unlock more reliable data for your capacity planning efforts.

Marcel’s 4-part time-tracking framework to keep employees engaged

Step 1:
Clearly define your purpose for time-tracking. Why are you doing it, and what questions do you need to answer?

Step 2:
Find the appropriate structure that maps back to your estimates, and that has the appropriate level of complexity to answer those questions.

Step 3:
Define the correct methodology for your team. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach for time-tracking.

Step 4:
Encourage team compliance so they can provide you with what you need, and contribute to the integrity of your data set.

Want to know how to implement these steps with ease? Check out these key insights and takeaways from Marcel.

Time-tracking is your most important set of data

Client services leaders need to reframe the purpose of time-tracking to focus on what’s happening internally as well as how it impacts clients and profitability. When done correctly, time-tracking can help you make more intelligent decisions about everything from how you price and run projects, to how you schedule your team, and how you spend your day.

If you track everything all at once, you’ll end up tracking nothing of true value

It’s a slippery slope. All of a sudden, we start to change the definition of what someone’s capacity is or what a billable hour means to satisfy all of the different needs from different stakeholders. We end up with a Frankenstein metric that’s doing a terrible job instead of doing a good job for at least one person.

Marcel Petitpas

Time-tracking is no longer just a function of billing by the hour and driving utilization up as high as possible. It’s a lot more nuanced and will likely mean different things to different stakeholders. This is where businesses can get into trouble because they’re suddenly trying to track everything at once.

The solution? Don’t base your time-tracking methodology on the specific requirements of every stakeholder or individual team. Instead, have conversations with your teams to understand what the common questions are, and then develop your framework around those.

A time-tracking framework to keep your team engaged

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Accuracy is more important than precision

Precision and accuracy are not the same thing. Don’t fall into the trap of trying to be too precise with your time-tracking methodology – it usually results in time wasted and incomplete data. Consider stripping back the structured data you track, and access unstructured data inside your project management system when you actually need it.

Engage your team in conversations around time-tracking

Engaging your teams in the process will help them to see how their timesheets are helping you make decisions around things that affect their day-to-day – from capacity planning to staffing and selling decisions.