Effective resource management is the key driving factor behind successful project deliveries, no matter which industry you are a part of. It ensures optimum resource utilization without any wastage or underutilization of skills. Resources (humans and physical) are means to achieve the end; hence, proper planning is crucial.
Read more: Best Bridge Cameras 2020
Human resources are the primary resource of a business that puts other physical resources to use. Hence, to ensure effective human resource planning and scheduling, top companies do not hesitate to invest large sums of money in human resource management software systems. They bring about transparency in the resource allocation process, make it less time-consuming, and reduce the chances of project failures as every task assignment can be made according to their skills and knowledge. Besides, resource allocation, they also help management in measuring the efficiency and performance of each human resource based on forecasted time and budget.
Top resource management software in 2020
The growing demand for resource management software has led to the emergence of numerous resource management software tools available in the market. The plenty of options surely makes the management stand in a dilemma while deciding the ideal software for its company.
In this blog, we have discussed some key features of the three best resource management tools software in 2020:
-
Hub Planner
Hub Planner is power-packed, top-notch human resource management software, which is designed with outstanding features keeping in mind the complexities to be dealt with by business entities in today’s ultra-dynamic world.
The foremost feature that will strike you hard is its beautifully designed interface. It gives a quite professional looking appearance. But it is not only about the look. It possesses the following resource management and scheduling features, which make it one of the best enterprise-level resource management software:
- Resource scheduler
- The resource scheduler gives the resource planner a bird’s eye view of project status, resource capabilities, resource availability, utilization, financials, and more. This makes the resource allocation process transparent and easy.
- It allows comes with a drag and drop interface for quick scheduling.
- Billing and budget management can also be done through the resource scheduler
- Say “bye” to your time-consuming spreadsheets and unlimited back and forth emails sent to team members for job delegation.
- Timesheets
- Smart timesheets allow integrated time tracking and approval.
- You can measure the actual time required to complete a task and compare it with the time forecasted. This helps in improving performance and keeping up with the scheduled time.
- No need to have a different tool for time tracking.
- Real-time reporting and analytics
- It provides an option to view and download real-time analytics for all projects and resources.
- Advanced integrated filters
- Advance filters prove beneficial when you try to give your customers an update on the progress of the project.
- You can customize the reports to eliminate irrelevant information and focus only on information that is important for them to know.
- This feature also proves useful when you invite anyone to have a look at the ongoing project by providing them with customized information for better understanding. This way, you communicate the right way with the right audience.
Also read: The Best Wireless Headphones or earbuds of 2020
- Smart templates
- With 52 smart templates, getting started with any project is a hassle-free task.
- Users can also create and customize their templates and save their favorite format, which is most suitable for their business.
- Vacation and leave management feature
- With Hub Planners’ vacation and annual leaves requesting functionality, employees can make leave requests directly on the software.
- It not only smoothens the leave request process but also makes everyone on the team aware of upcoming leaves of their team members.
- Supported platforms
- Web
- Pricing
- Basic version: $7 per resource per month
- Premium version: $18 per resource per month
-
Float
Float is a beautifully designed resource planning and scheduling software with a plethora of useful features for smart resource management. The intuitive interface helps perform tasks at the tip of the fingers and enables everyone on the team to have access and make relevant changes at the same time, without creating duplicity of data.
Here’s a quick look at its key features:
- Drag and drop
- Easy drag and drop for faster, stress-free, and effective resource scheduling.
- Tasks management on the calendar
- Easy modification (splitting, duplication or task movement) or re-assigning can be done with this functionality through grad and drop when there is any change in its requirements.
- Absence and leave management
- This feature allows employees to requests for leaves through the software without having to send emails or meeting superiors in person. This saves time on scheduling leaves and keeps everyone updated with each others’ leave schedule.
- Third-party integrations
- It allows integration with some of the most important business tools like Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar, Office 365, and more.
- Time Tracking
- The time tracking feature helps you compare your forecasted time with actuals to see if the projects are being executed as planned.
- Real-time updates
- With up to the minute live updates, everyone is aware of the last-minute changes made in the project schedule and resource allocation.
- Project managers can have a quick view of what’s happening in different project boards.
- Smart reporting
- Smart reporting helps you generate reports on the progress of each project and keep a track of your resource utilization to know who is available and who is overbooked.
- Search and sort
- It comes with a powerful search and sort filter to help management find the right resource for the right project in no time.
- Supported on
- Web
- Smartphones with iOS and Android OS
- Pricing
- Resource planning: $5 per resource per month
- Resource planning and time tracking: $10 per resource per month
-
Mavenlink
Mavenlink is a robust enterprise-level resource management tool with seamless functionalities to help management in effective resource planning and scheduling across different projects without creating any nail-biting circumstances. The minimalistic designs used in building its interface allow users to perform different tasks with ease and convenience.
Its key features include:
- Diverse functions
- Besides being a project management software, it also has modules for accounting, business intelligence, and team collaboration.
- Easy resource planning
- With a live resource tracking feature, helps you view all the available resources at once.
- The easy drag and drop facility makes resource planning faster like never before.
- Resource finder
- It comes with a feature to find, filter and sort the resources according to the skills needed for a particular project.
- Time tracking
- With live time tracking features, a comparison can be made between actual time and forecasted.
- Easily learn which projects are keeping up with the scheduled time and which are lagging.
- Expense tracking
- With expense tracking features, learn which projects are under the decided budget. This helps in effective budget management to prevent undue expenditures.
- Pre-built templates
- With multiple native pre-built project templates, get started with any project in no time.
- Resource estimate and profit margin
- Mavenlink facilitates quick and easy resource estimates for projects.
- These estimates help management and project managers to calculate the profit margins of each project.
- Correct forecasting
- It helps in forecasting future resource needs to plan for the future on time.
- Supported on
- Web
- Pricing
It comes in four different plans
- Enterprise: Price varied from user to user based on the features the user wants to include
- Premier: Price varied from user to user based on the features the user wants to include
- Teams (task management and team collaboration): $19 for 5 users per month
- Professional (project planning and time tracking): $39 per user per month
The choice of resource management software will depend on various factors like user interface, functionalities matching with the business objective of the enterprise, third-party integrations, financial capabilities, and more.
