Whilst some things in the Contact Center change some things remain as relevant as they always have. My original intention was to share some of those things in the shape of my top 5 Resource Planning tips, things you can do right now, no budget, no changes to tech or sign off from others, however as the tips grew so did my blog, so instead here’s part 1 of 2 (tips 1 to 3).
Confidence
Something we often overlook, but there’s the reason I have started with confidence is because it underpins everything that a resource planner does.
Being confident is not the same as knowing everything, no one is expected to know it all so Resource Planners will encounter many people who have greater expertise in some subjects. I have always reminded myself of two things to help me through such occasions:
Their expertise - is a learning opportunity for me, so it’s imperative that I both listen and ask questions to confirm my understanding
My expertise - is Resource Planning, or elements within, and because of that I have been asked to lead with my thoughts, opinions and the facts
If you write or present something confidently those listening or reading will by in to what you are saying. Miss placed self confidence confidence has its down side, you need to balance your opinion of yourself with others opinion of you:
Clarity (Brevity)
Being an expert in something has its downfalls and one I encounter, and have been guilty of, is over complicating situations. It’s not unusual to over prepare for a meeting believing more information gives greater clarity and confidence in you, however it adds burden and misdirects attention.
I think of how a story is presented in a news paper:
Headline – a few words designed to grab the reader’s attention
Lead – the main points of what you are trying to get across, bullet points if you like
Body – the detailed content of the information, explaining the main points in the lead
Personally I like to make my headline topical to who I am presenting to, my lead will have both the reasons for action and the action themselves. Finally the body contains the data and numbers to back up my opinions and recommended actions, and nothing more, much like an appendix may do.
Keep your words simple and jargon free, don’t write or talk like a Resource Planner or someone eager to impress through using bigger words than necessary.
Understanding how your audience wish to interact will put you in a better place, Winston Churchill had to remind his direct reports of this in 1940 and interestingly again in 1950, see his 1940 memorandum on Brevity here:
Involvement & Ownership
It’s very likely that as a Resource Planner you are both busy and not directly part of the Operation that you support, thus you can appear and feel detached joined only through data.
Your main points of contact will be through the collection of information for your planning and the sharing of those plans, which I have covered in the preceding points. These contact points can be very impersonal if they are data lead or confusing if not concise and thus offer limited value.
I find when I establish relationships with my customers things are easier to understand for us all, taking appropriate ownership of the solutions to challenges is essential, no one wants to hear known problems being redefined, they want solutions.
Of course you can’t solve everything, but you can make your meetings where plans are shared are open and positive, so look to do these things:
Give an opinion – it’s a personal statement, not led solely by over whelming data, but an understanding of the situation and previous outcomes
Take away problems – don’t just bring problems to the table, offer solutions or at least support them
Personal interest – never give the impression “it’s your problem” , as a Resource Planner you are your customer’s support, delve deeper in to the problem with them, often it’s not about it all but just a small part
I hope these first 3 tips help you, perhaps many are your bread and butter, if so then well done. As I said none require a budget, changes to tech or sign off from others, so it’s up to you.
Please watch out for tips 4 to 5 soon, but in the meantime if you’d like further support in any of these matters please take at look at Select Planning’s Modular Planning Review where you’ll find affordable solutions to help you make the most of your efforts and the resource planning you painstakingly undertake with great care and passion.