Managing Complex Projects When Everyone (Or No One) Is Right for the Job

One of the biggest challenges for managers with teams in the field is figuring out who is right for job. Matching complex, ever-changing customer needs with a diverse group of uniquely qualified mobile workers is an ongoing challenge.

“Who is right for the job?” used to mean “Who has the time, the qualifications, the experience, and the equipment to get the job done?” But these days, with all the data and tools at your disposal, you can be so much more precise: the “right person” should be based on your primary business goal, whether that means reducing costs, retaining customers, developing employees, retaining employees, or something else entirely.

For businesses with a mobile workforce, schedulers run into three common challenges when finding the right person for the job:

• Everyone is capable of completing the job. When everyone can do the job, you can make strategic scheduling decisions that serve larger business goals. Decide what to optimize for and implement a scheduling system that works to meet those goals.
• Only a few employees are right for the job. When only a few employees can do the job, find ways to match uniquely qualified employees to the job as quickly as possible, and consider how you can develop your workforce to address this gap in a sustainable way.
• There is no “right” person for the job. If you don’t have the right people in-house for a certain job, start gathering data to see how this staffing gap impacts your business. You might need to engage 1099 contractors or temporary workers, and if that’s not an option, be proactive with customers and managers to close the gap.

Download What to Do When Everyone (Or No One) Is Right for the Job for more advice about understanding your talent, making technology work for you, and how your scheduling system can help you achieve certain business goals.