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A Guide To Resource Forecasting For Project Managers

By Parallax |
Resource Forecasting

Tired of guessing your project labor needs only to end up short-staffed or over budget? Take control of your resource management with resource forecasting, and start making calculated data-driven decisions. 

Without forecasting your resources, you are acting blind. Resource forecasting allows business owners, CEOs, and project managers to make smart decisions and set themselves up for success when allocating team members to various projects. Forecasting, when done well, is valuable for prepping for new projects and optimizing current projects. Read on to learn how to effectively forecast resources and the best software options for resource management.

Streamline your resource forecasting with auto-generated resource plans for all your projects.

What We’ll Cover

What Is Resource Forecasting?

Resource forecasting is any method or process you use to predict your business’s future resource needs. Forecasting is one of the elements of resource management. Resource forecasting helps project managers allocate resources effectively to ensure project goals can be met in the allotted time frame. Effective resource management forecasting also helps avoid delays and employee burnout. It allows for balanced workloads to help you meet profitability goals.

Resource forecasting involves analyzing data from various sources, such as sales pipelines and timesheets, to gain insights into how resources have been used on past projects and how they are currently being used. This analysis guides predictions for future resource use. Many businesses use resource management software to automate forecasting and ensure accuracy.  

Benefits Of  Resource Forecasting

The benefits of resource management forecasting cannot be overstated. It can optimize project timelines, improve team efficiency, and minimize the risks of resource shortages or over-allocation.

For many businesses,  resources are one of the most significant assets but one of the most substantial costs. Improved productivity and resource utilization can save a company money. It’s especially key to forecast resources when you want to grow your business to ensure optimal growth without overloading your employees or spending money you don’t have.

Better Project Planning

Forecasting helps project managers plan tasks, timelines, and resource needs more effectively. This leads to fewer surprises and smoother project execution. Because many projects are complex and involve cross-functional teams, sophisticated resource forecasting techniques are needed to plan and manage them.

A good forecasting model will let project managers, finance leaders, and executives see a clear, big-picture view of resources in different projects and allow them to zoom in on specific talent, projects, or other details.

Using Team Members Where They’re Needed Most

Forecasting ensures that employees are assigned to tasks that match their skills and expertise. This improves productivity and job satisfaction. With resource forecasting software, you can easily move team members around while forecasts are updated automatically. You can then maximize utilization quickly and easily. Moving employees around internally is usually more cost-effective than hiring someone new, and it could reinvigorate previously underutilized employees. 

Avoiding Staffing Issues

Forecasting helps project managers avoid overstaffing or understaffing by identifying potential gaps in advance. Employees whose skills are well-utilized and who do not get overworked or under-scheduled are more likely to stay with the company long-term. Employee retention saves money in costly hiring and onboarding processes and reduces stress on teams, helping keep their projects on track.

Even with the best resource utilization and employee satisfaction, you are bound to lose a vital team member at some point during one of your projects. Forecasting lets you plan ahead for those worst-case scenarios. 

Keeping Teams Productive

Effective forecasting enables balanced workloads. This reduces the likelihood of burnout among team members as each individual is given the right amount of work so that they remain focused and motivated.

Productive teams are more satisfied with their jobs which aids in maintaining morale, further increasing productivity. This positive momentum can lead to impressive innovation, collaboration, and project accomplishments. Also, because forecasting makes it easier to track KPIs, you can see your return on investment clearly.

Resource forecasting and tracking empower project managers with real-time performance data.

How To Forecast Resources

To forecast effectively, you need to know what resources you have and the best ways to allocate them. This starts with assessing your team’s current capacity and identifying future project needs so that you can match employees to the incoming work that best suits their availability, skills, workload, and interests. When done well, forecasting allows for continuous levels of productivity and positive project margins while honoring employees’ time off requests, navigating skill gaps, and adapting to issues as they arise.  

Assess Current Team Capacity

The first step to forecasting resources is evaluating the current workload and availability of team members. This is also referred to as capacity planning. During this phase, focus on getting buy-in from every single team member so that they are motivated to provide accurate information about their availability and workload. Accurate data from each team member is essential to accurate forecasting.

You can also use data from your CRM and time-tracking software to help you understand capacity. If resource forecasting is new to you, this may require going back through data from previous years. Then, get familiar with the current industry trends for insights into the demand for your products or services. Resource forecasting software can help predict anticipated demand in the future, and the earlier you can spot shifts in the market, the more likely you will be able to respond appropriately. 

Identify Future Project Needs

Forecast resource needs based on project goals, scope, and timelines. Projects must be clearly defined before accurate forecasting can happen. When prioritizing resources, companies should first focus on the most important, urgent, and profitable tasks. Breaking down complex tasks into smaller sub-tasks can help estimate what resources are required. 

Scenario planning is beneficial to further illuminate project needs. Use resource management software to play out various positive and negative scenarios with mock projects. Understanding and planning for future project needs this way can also reveal whether a centralized, local, or hybrid resourcing model is best for your business. Lastly, consider using customer surveys to discover future client needs.

Account For Employee Availability

When forecasting for resources, factor in vacation, sick days, or other commitments. Scheduling is often a dreaded task among managers and, therefore, isn’t given the careful time and consideration it needs to be done well. Creating accurate schedules is key to avoiding resource conflicts and employee burnout or wasting money on unnecessary labor.

A centralized resource management plan can streamline scheduling and minimize errors. Don’t forget to take into account fluctuations in demand when scheduling employees for various projects. 

Plan For Skill Gaps

Identifying skill gaps lets project managers address potential challenges in advance. This could be days or weeks when there was more work to do than available workers or when team members were being underutilized.

Underutilization can be remedied by launching new projects and training employees as needed to ensure they are being fully utilized. If there are certain tasks that only one or a few employees know how to complete, that could lead to potential bottlenecks. Consider training others to do those tasks or hiring new team members with the necessary skills already.

Track And Adjust As Projects Evolve

While having a clear, complete plan for any project is vital, it’s also vital to be flexible. Inevitably, something unexpected will happen that affects the project’s progress. Maybe a team member quits abruptly, or a supply shortage means working overtime to find an alternative. Be ready to shift team members and duties as needed. 

To be ready to make those shifts, closely monitor resource usage and update forecasts as projects progress; don’t wait until there’s an issue. Keeping forecasts updated ensures project managers can adapt to changes without disrupting timelines. They can also identify potential problems or inefficiencies early on and make minor adjustments to avoid larger challenges down the line. 

See resource forecasting software in action with a free demo from Parallax. 

Tips On Forecasting In  Resource Management

Resource management forecasting can feel overwhelming if it’s all new to you. While it’s a lot to take in, staying proactive and learning to prioritize key tasks will help things fall into place. Use the actionable tips below to improve your resource forecasting, gracefully adapt to changes, and maintain a competitive edge.

  • Centralize resource management: Streamline the forecasting process to build a solid foundation that could lead to adopting a more localized or hybrid model in the future. This will ultimately lead to better alignment within and across teams.
  • Think simplicity every step of the way: Cumbersome processes or spreadsheets will likely go unused or be used incorrectly, causing inaccurate forecasting. Simplicity helps ensure forecasting software is used with efficacy and minimizes chances for errors.
  • Regularly communicating with team members: Buy-in from all team members is vital to accurate forecasting and overall effective resource management. Set up a consistent meeting schedule that works for your team, whether it’s daily or weekly check-ins.
  • Embrace new technologies and train employees on them: Incorporating AI-driven analytics further enhances accuracy by predicting future talent demands based on industry patterns.

How Can You Use Resource Management Software To Forecast  Resources?

Parallax’s resource management software optimizes the forecasting process by offering real-time insights into availability and workloads. We unify executives, delivery, and sales to determine resource needs. Our user-friendly dashboard puts access to sophisticated data and resource forecasting at your fingertips. It’s customizable and easily shareable with all team members and other stakeholders.

For example, you can filter available talent by skill set to see how you can best leverage current employees and find talent gaps in your workforce for data-driven hiring. Plus, our software gets smarter with each project you complete, learning from the insights gained from previous projects to hone forecasting accuracy.

Book a Demo to See Parallax’s Resource Management Software

Effective resource forecasting is crucial when juggling multiple projects, growing your business, and maintaining profitability. It’s all about using the right data to predict future demand, project needs, and your team’s capacity. Those predictions are then used to guide  resource allocation and utilization.


New technologies have made all these elements of resource management a lot easier! Say goodbye to guesswork and confusing spreadsheets when trying to tackle resource forecasting. See how simple and easy forecasting can be when you use Parallax’s resource management software. Schedule your no-pressure demo today to discover how Parallax can transform your resource forecasting, allocation, and utilization efforts.

3 Types Of Resourcing Models For Resource Management

By Parallax |
3 resourcing model example image

Having a clearly defined resourcing model for resource management can level up your business operations, increasing efficiency, productivity, and employee retention. This blog can help you find the best resourcing model for your company. 

There are different types of resource models. One may suit your particular needs more than others, so it’s crucial to understand the nuanced differences between them. Below, we cover the pros and cons of the three main resource management models and tips on choosing and implementing one.

Transform a resource model into a customized resource management plan with Parallax.

What We’ll Cover

Types Of Resource Management Models

A resource model defines how a business organizes, allocates, and manages its human resources. Without a clear model, organizations often end up wasting resources or experiencing resource shortages, both of which use company time and money inefficiently. No matter what kind of products, services, or productized services your business offers, you can benefit from adopting a resource management model.

The three main resource management models are the centralized model, the local or decentralized model, and a hybrid model that combines centralized and local management approaches. These three human resource management models differ in terms of control, flexibility, and resource allocation. Once you understand each model, you can choose the one that best aligns with your business’s operations, goals, and needs.

Centralized resourcing model example image

Centralized Resource Model

A centralized resource model has a small or central group or individual that makes all human resource management decisions. This central authority could be an entire resource management team or a single manager or executive. 

Advantages of the centralized model:

  • Makes it easier to see all resources at once
  • Increased visibility improves resource allocation
  • Can help you stay within your budget and project timeline
  • Improves capacity planning so you can effectively plan ahead
  • Ensures employees are perfectly utilized so no one gets bored or burnt out

Challenges associated with the centralized model:

  • Little to no back-up options in case a part of the central authority fails
  • Less collaboration because decision-making is highly concentrated in a small group
  • Fewer opportunities for input from employees

Local resourcing model example image

Local Resource Model

The local resource model, sometimes called the decentralized model, is the opposite of the centralized model. In a local resource model, individual teams handle their own resource management. Instead of a central authority, the responsibility of resource management is distributed between teams or departments.

Advantages of the local model:

  • Promotes collaboration
  • Increased collaboration can lead to more innovation
  • Aligns with democratic values and systems
  • Increases employee buy-in
  • If one part fails, the whole system does not fail

Challenges associated with the local model:

  • May lead to less cross-department collaboration
  • Less standardized systems, policies, and procedures 
  • No resource management happening at the whole organization level

Hybrid resourcing model example image

Hybrid Resource Model

The hybrid resource model is a combination of the centralized and decentralized models. Individual teams hold some responsibility for their own resource management, while some decisions are made by a central authority and passed down. The key to effectively leveraging the hybrid model of resources is to determine which specific resource management tasks are best completed at the local level and which are best completed at the central level.

Advantages of the hybrid model:

  • Has the benefits of both the local and centralized models
  • Can alleviate some of the challenges of the local and centralized models
  • Provides the most flexibility in resource management
  • Promotes collaboration within and across teams 

Challenges associated with the hybrid model:

  • Can be complex and difficult to implement
  • Can lead to duplicate work if systems and communication are inadequate
  • Less consistency in decision-making than in the centralized approach

Book a free demo with Parallax to see how our software can help you incorporate a resource model.

Which Model Of Resources Is Right For Your Business?

Every model of resources has benefits and challenges. Evaluate each one with your business’s goals and unique culture in mind. As you are evaluating each resource model, also consider the following factors:

  • The size of your organization
  • The industry you operate in
  • Your operational complexity
  • The team structures you use 

Smaller organizations like agencies may be able to more easily implement and benefit from a decentralized resource model. A local model can promote growth for a newer business or an established small business looking to expand. Medium-to-large businesses will likely have more project success with a centralized or hybrid model. Multinational businesses should consider the hybrid model for the most flexibility between locations.

How To Make A Resource Model Into A Process

After you’ve illuminated which resource model you want to use, it’s time to implement it. While the structure of these models is clear, the way to make the structure fit your organization may not be so clear. Implementation involves transitioning your chosen resource management model into an actionable process by defining workflows, roles, and responsibilities. 

Download Parallax’s strategic forecasting e-book to get advice and tools for weekly and long-term resource planning. Once you have a system set up, it’s essential to regularly monitor it to ensure the model is functioning efficiently. Technologies like resource planning software streamline this process and make efficient resource management accessible to any organization. 

See Parallax’s Resource Management Software

Human resources are the single most important piece of any project, and putting the right people in the right roles can transform your organization. Using a systematic approach to human resource management with a defined resource model is the best way to ensure success. Maximize the benefits of resourcing models with Parallax’s resource management software. Agencies and studios that use our software see a 107% increase in revenue per billable employee.

Parallax’s software pairs well with any of the resource models. Teams and departments can access real-time utilization insights to empower them to make adjustments to optimize their performance. Those in charge of a resource management plan can also see all active projects to keep an eye on budgets, timelines, and resource utilization across departments and update resource plans to meet financial targets as needed.

Book a demo today to see Parallax in action.

How To Create A Comprehensive Resource Management Plan

By Parallax |
Resource Management Planning Graphic Example

A resource management plan isn’t just a checkbox for your project kickoff; it’s the blueprint for aligning your people, timelines, and budgets to work in harmony. Without a solid plan, even the strongest team can collapse under shifting demands and mismatched priorities. But there is a way to build a foundation for success that’s both balanced and forward-looking: a resource management plan.

Resource management plans help businesses ensure their teams are utilized effectively and protected from burnout while keeping project goals on track. From analyzing skill sets and availability to forecasting capacity and margins, a well-crafted plan is the secret to healthier projects and happier teams.

Discover how to optimize resource planning for your projects with Parallax’s resource management software.

What Is A Resource Management Plan?

A resource management plan is a structured approach to allocating, scheduling, and utilizing resources such as employees, tools, and budgets, to meet project and organizational goals. It clarifies who is doing what, when, and at what cost; ensuring that teams maintain healthy utilization. 

Using resource management plans, organizations can balance workloads, maintain efficiency, and align their workforce with strategic priorities. It’s the key to unlocking greater productivity, reducing risks, and improving project outcomes.

Parts Of A Resource Management Plan

A well-developed resource management plan is built on several key components. The different parts of the resource plan work together to provide a clear roadmap for managing your resources effectively and strategically. Prioritize only one, and raise risks of running into roadblocks in delivery. Incorporate them all, and you’re set up for a successful project. 

Let’s look at the different parts of a resource management plan and how they work together to create a seamless project resource plan. 

Resources And Resource Data

Identifying available resources and documenting their skills, roles, and responsibilities is the foundation of any resource plan. Accurate data on team members’ expertise and capacity helps inform what assets can be utilized and where there may be gaps. 

Resource Availability

Resource availability considers working hours, time off, and current and forecasted capacity. Tools like capacity forecasting software can help managers plan and consider upcoming project assignments when developing resource plans. This allows them to strategically match resources to projects, ensuring teams stay productive without risking employee burnout or underutilization.

Budget And Project Scope

Budget goals and project objectives should be considered to guide how resources are assigned. Aligning resourcing goals with project goals helps avoid overspending and ensures project targets like margin and scoped hours are met without sacrificing quality or missing deadlines. Using a robust resource planner, managers can see how their resource plans affect project goals and adjust accordingly. 

Learn how Parallax simplifies resource management for digital agencies.

How To Create A Resource Management Plan

Crafting a resource management plan requires strategic planning and monitoring. With the right approach, your resource management plans will help to reduce the risk of potential bottlenecks and support timely, quality project delivery. 

Assess Resources And Identify Gaps

Identify and document your current resources, including roles, skills, and capacity. Create a clear catalog that organizes this information, making it easy to match team members to tasks based on their expertise. This step also helps identify gaps in capacity or skill sets on your team when planning a project. 

Define Project Requirements 

Outline the specific roles and timeframes needed for your project. For instance, you might need a web designer for 6 hours daily from February 2nd to February 15th. This step essentially creates a template for your resource plan, laying out what roles are needed and when to successfully meet project deadlines and milestones. 

Allocate Resources Based on Goals 

Assign team members to roles by matching their availability and skills to project needs. Align resource allocation with broader goals, such as maintaining utilization targets (e.g., 80%) or improving project margins. Use data from past projects and capacity plans to anticipate demand and ensure flexibility for unexpected shifts. This approach balances immediate project needs with long-term business objectives.

Monitor Progress and Adjust as Needed

Once your plan is in place, track metrics like utilization, project progress, and team capacity. Be proactive in adjusting allocations to solve for changes in project scope or shifting priorities. Regular monitoring ensures that your resource plan continues to support your projects.

The resource management plan sample below can give you an idea of how resource management software can help organize and create clear visibility into the makeup of your resource management plans. 

plan resource management

Read how digital agencies use Parallax to streamline their resource management plans.

Resource Management Plan Example

Consider Vokal, a digital marketing agency that struggled with resource allocation and project scoping. By implementing resource management planning initiatives, Vokal gained visibility into team capacity and resource needs to help them accurately scope client projects. 

Their plans can now identify needed roles, track team capacity, and align resources with project priorities. This approach helped them make strategic hiring decisions, scope projects more accurately, and increase their project margins. 

Why Are Resource Management Plans Important?

Resource management plans are essential to developing, maintaining, and providing feedback for efficient operations. They help organizations avoid common pitfalls during delivery like last-minute hiring or project delays. By bringing together key parts of project delivery including available resources, project needs, budgets, and capacity, resource management plans help organizations: 

  • Create more accurate project scopes
  • Improve team efficiency 
  • Reduce burnout risk and underutilization of resources 
  • Anticipate potential bottlenecks 
  • And monitor project health 

Next step: How to level up your resource management 

Book A Demo To See Parallax’s Resource Management Software

Software specifically built for resource management can help set up and streamline your resource management and planning processes. Parallax’s resource management tool provides clear visibility into how managers can strategically allocate resources and align plans with project and company goals.

Learn how agencies see a 5% increase in utilization on average after adopting Parallax for resource planning. Book a Parallax demo.

Parallax Welcomes New CEO to Lead Next Stage of Growth and Innovation

By Parallax |
Parallax welcomes new CEO (with image of Jeff Eckerle)

Edina, MN — December 10, 2024 — Parallax, a leading provider of predictive forecasting and resource management software, announced today that Jeff Eckerle has been appointed as the company’s new CEO. Eckerle succeeds Tom O’Neill, Parallax’s founding CEO, who led the company’s early growth and established it as a trailblazer in helping digital service organizations unlock the full potential of their teams.

Parallax developed a platform designed for professional services firms with robust predictive analytics, resource management and strategic planning capabilities. It integrates seamlessly with clients’ existing systems, replacing complex spreadsheets and fragmented forecasting tools with a single, data-driven platform. 

“Founding Parallax has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career. I’ve had the privilege of working with an incredible team and visionary customers to build software that helps companies align their business goals with their people’s ambitions,” said Tom O’Neill, Founding CEO of Parallax. “The company is in great hands with Jeff Eckerle, whose expertise makes him the ideal leader for Parallax’s next phase of innovation.”

Eckerle brings extensive industry and leadership experience, as well as a proven track record in scaling technology companies. His leadership will support Parallax as it continues to introduce new features and improvements, including recently launched timesheet capabilities that streamline time-tracking and billing within the platform, adding another layer of functionality for clients.

“Parallax stands out for its excellent core product and dedication to transforming businesses through smarter resource management,” said Jeff Eckerle, CEO of Parallax. “With several key product enhancements set to launch in the coming months, we’re more focused than ever on how evolving technology is creating opportunities for our customers to redefine how they manage people and deliver projects. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be leading a software company in this space.”

Parallax raised a $12 Million Series B funding round in 2023, bringing total funding to $24.5 Million with backing from Baird Ventures, Grotech and Rally Ventures.

“Jeff’s combination of product and industry knowledge, GTM expertise and people-focused leadership is optimal for guiding Parallax’s next phase of growth,” said Jeff Hinck, Partner at Rally Ventures. “Tom laid a solid foundation with a strong core product. We’re confident that Jeff’s leadership will build on that great success. We’re looking forward to supporting the team as they enter their next exciting chapter.”

About Parallax


Parallax is a strategic, predictive capacity and resource management solution built for digital service organizations. Centered around the most critical agency operational pillars – capacity planning, resource management, project financials, and operations intelligence – Parallax helps maximize efficiency of resources, ensure utilization goals are met, and track and improve project margin. For more information on Parallax and its solutions, please visit www.getparallax.com.

Media Contact

Miranda Lawler
miranda.lawler@getparallax.com

2025 Digital Agency Trend Predictions

By Parallax |

Looking ahead to 2025, the agency landscape is evolving fast, with trends like AI, operational shifts, and a focus on workplace culture reshaping the way agencies and consultancies operate. The big question for agency leaders is how to thrive and grow in the face of these changes. 

In our recent Q&A session, Leading Your Agency Into 2025: A Guide for Strategic Planning Through Uncertainty, Parallax’s Head of Customer Success, Grant Hultgren, sat down with Carl Smith, founder of The Bureau, to explore emerging industry trends and how to navigate them.

Table of Contents 

How Will Agencies Adapt With Tech Trends?

The notion that “digital agencies are dying” makes headlines year after year, but industry veterans know this claim does not hold much truth. Instead, these orgs are constantly adapting, evolving their craft to embrace new challenges, agency industry trends and technology innovations. 

Like traditional advertising agencies adjusted to the craze of the internet, today’s digital agencies are taking advantage of new tools and advancements within their specialty fields. Tools like AI, automation, and data analytics help enhance their operations while honing in on being the best at and improving on their craft.

Digital agencies aren’t disappearing anytime soon. However, they may be redefining themselves. With every new shift, from emerging technology to changing client expectations, agencies are treating every challenge as a new opportunity for growth. 

Carl says, “When I hear somebody say digital agencies are dying, I think they don’t realize that we’re not dying, we’re evolving. We’re shedding our skins like a snake. We’re going to use all the new tools and big corporations are going to get to a point where they [can’t do it alone] and who are they going to hire? Digital agencies.”

Will Specialized Agencies Thrive?

Specialization is becoming a defining trend in digital agencies as we approach 2025. With growing demand for niche expertise in areas like SEO, digital design, and cybersecurity to name a few, smaller, specialized agencies are distinguishing themselves in a crowded market. 

By focusing on their specific crafts, these agencies offer a unique value proposition with a level of expertise that’s often harder to find in larger, generalist firms. These agencies are also able to adapt more quickly to shifts in the market, and get ahead of emerging trends whereas process changes in larger firms can get more complicated and time consuming. 

Will A Human-centric Approach be Prioritized Over AI?

AI is shaking up the agency industry as of late, offering digital agencies the chance to streamline and support the human insight that clients rely on (but not replace them). Tasks like data analysis and other repetitive tasks can be simplified through AI and automation, saving time and allowing teams to focus on project items that require personalization and context knowledge that AI can’t deliver.

It’s recommended to use AI softwares to compliment tasks and projects rather than rely on it, keeping humans involved in each stage of a project to ensure full alignment with client goals and unique project needs. Doing so ensures that agencies can still utilize the benefits of AI while continuing to build genuine relationships with clients as projects are delivered efficiently and with care.

Will Agencies Opt for a More Consultative Approach to Projects?

Alongside this trend, agencies are shifting towards a consultative, strategic partnership model. At Parallax, we encourage a productized service offering model as a best practice for efficient, scalable operations. However, it’s also important to nurture creativity and adaptability within each client project. This balance offers both predictability in operations, allowing professional service orgs to efficiently forecast and plan ahead while building the foundation for long-term client relationships that thrive on collaboration and shared goals.

Not only does this consultative approach contribute to healthy customer-vendor relationships, but it also gives more opportunity for agency employees to sharpen and build upon their skill sets. As new digital agency trends emerge in 2025, employees are able to explore new avenues to complete a project, nurturing their professional development and allow for exploration of new ways to improve operations. 

How to Get Ahead of the Trends in 2025

Planning for the year to come is hard enough as is – we get it! With new trends arising in software development, agency and consultancy industries, knowing what to prioritize and having an organized plan of attack is crucial to getting ahead in 2025. 

We created a 2025 Strategic Planning Guide for professional service organizations including helpful workbooks and strategies to help lean into the new year with confidence.

Download The Strategic Planning Guide

Have questions about agency planning for 2025? Send us a note hello@getparallax.com. We’d love to chat!

4 Ways to Boost Project Margin: Creed’s Playbook

By Parallax |

In challenging economic conditions, maintaining healthy project margins, team morale, and quality work can create challenges for many agencies. How can you do it all? And how do they affect each other? 

We sat down with digital agency, Creed Interactive, to chat about the four approaches they took to navigate these challenges and boost project margins with their current team.

Create Added Value for Clients as Their Strategic Partner

When the pipeline slows down, it’s easy to feel a bit of panic—don’t worry, you’re not alone. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Creed’s team decided to differentiate themselves by strengthening their consultative approach to client work. By positioning themselves as strategic partners, they created more meaningful partnerships that delivered value long after a project wrapped up.

As economic uncertainty raised, Creed recognized that their clients were facing tighter budgets and increased pressure to show return on investment. In response, Creed began offering smaller, lower-barrier projects to attract new clients and demonstrate their strategic expertise In their initial discovery sessions. Over time, these small projects built a solid foundation of trust, which led to larger and more profitable project margins as clients saw the long-term benefits of their partnerships.

Allocate Your Team Members Based on Their Skill Sets

To consistently deliver quality work while maintaining healthy project margins, Creed took the initiative to understand which projects would set their teams up for success, as well as bring profitable margins for the business. They aimed to match team members with projects that aligned with their skill sets and would enable them to deliver their best work, ultimately driving up both efficiency and profitability.

Using a resource management platform like Parallax, Creed was able to assign team members to projects where they could make the most significant impact. By forming specialized, dedicated teams allowed them to maximize each team member’s unique strengths, whether that meant pairing developers with specific technologies or aligning designers with particular industries. This led to higher-quality project outcomes and healthier project margins by ensuring that resources were used effectively.

abstract project analytics dashboard

Focus on the People, and Your Margins Will Thank You

As a people-first agency, Creed has always prioritized employee well-being, knowing that happy and engaged team members are more productive and creative. In the hectic agency environment, it’s easy to assume that a 40-hour workweek is the norm. However, Creed found that scheduling time for collaboration, admin tasks, and professional development led to better project outcomes and higher margins in the long run.

To combat burnout and support meaningful work, Creed adjusted their utilization baseline to 32 billable hours a week, intentionally leaving time for deep work, training, and collaboration. This shift not only allowed employees to grow professionally and within their roles but also encouraged them to find ways to be more efficient in their teams. By building in time for non-billable activities, Creed empowered their team members to continuously improve and produce quality work, ultimately benefiting the agency’s bottom line.

Understanding Your Project Health: Creed’s Secret Weapon 

Pinpointing where to start when looking to increase project margins isn’t so black and white. Creed was able to utilize insights from Parallax to monitor key metrics that helped guide them to make strategic decisions around reaching their goals. 

Want to learn more on how Creed did it? Book a demo to see more of Parallax. 

OKR Goal Setting in Professional Services 

By Parallax |

In the professional service industry, we often see organizations stuck in a reactive state. When demand is constantly fluctuating and last minute projects get thrown into the mix, it can be difficult to align organizations with strategic growth goals (not to mention actually achieving them!). Along with slow growth, this constant flux can even result in employee burnout and poor engagement. 

Believe it or not, a recent Gallup study found that only 17% of US employees feel their company has strong and open communication around goals and priorities. Even more shocking, only 32% of US workers say that they feel engaged at work. What does this mean and how do we solve it? (Another pizza party isn’t going to do the trick…) 

We sat down with Parallax Founder, Tom O’Neill, and OKRs expert and Founder of So Sunny Consulting, Reid Koster, to talk about the OKR goal setting framework. 

Developed by former Intel CEO, Andy Grove, the OKR framework gained popularity when used by Google, for its ability to focus and engage teams on ambitious growth goals. 

What are OKRs?

The OKR (Objectives & Key Results) goal setting framework is a process for a company’s goal setting, review and evaluation that emphasizes frequency and transparency in regards to employee alignment, check-ins and evaluation. 

The OKR acronym describes how the goals in the framework are written and is broken into two parts: 

Objectives: are clear goals that describe a future state. 

Objectives are typically aspirational qualitative in nature. They are written to encompass a vision of where you want to be at the end of the goal cycle. Because objective goals describe an outcome, they are then supported by 3-4 key results to help guide teams to completion.  

Key results: are measurable goals or milestones that support the completion of the associated objective. 

KRs (Key Results) are more quantitative and hard measured by numbers, dates, and percentages. KRs are a way to visualize how to successfully reach your objective and measure progress along the way. In theory, completing all KRs will mean you have met your objective goal.

Understanding how objectives and key results differ and work together is key to crafting impactful goals. If all goals are written in a metric driven fashion like key results, teams are able to understand what success looks like, but not the “why” behind it. On the other hand, if all goals are outcome based and aspirationally written, they will create excitement, but lack the guidance that’s needed to actually pursue them. 

Setting OKR Goals 

Focus & Alignment 

The beauty of OKRs lies in the framework’s ability to cascade a common goal throughout an organization, increasing engagement and guiding focus. The way that organizational OKR goals are structured typically align with the levels of a company org chart – each set of proceeding OKRs support those above. This structure ensures that each department, all the way down to an individual employee, is contributing to an overall success of the organization.

At a company level, leadership will need to align on 1-3 company goals to focus on throughout the goal cycle, typically the duration of a quarter. 

Commit & Track

Once your OKRs are set, the next step is to ensure that everyone is committed to achieving them and that progress is being tracked consistently. Regular check-ins and transparent communication throughout the organization helps all teams stay on track.

Tracking OKRs isn’t just about ticking boxes and marking tasks complete—it’s about identifying what’s working, what’s not, and adjusting as needed. This helps teams solve and approach challenges that may arise as circumstances change.

Weekly or bi-weekly check-ins can be a great way to keep the momentum going and hold teams accountable. Doing so provides opportunities to discuss progress, share insights, and tackle any roadblocks as a team. Keeping everyone in the loop like this not only boosts engagement but also ensures that each team member understands how their work contributes to the bigger picture.

Stretch

OKRs are all about pushing boundaries, which is where stretch goals come in. These are ambitious targets designed to push your teams to achieve more than they might think possible. Stretch goals challenge the status quo and inspire teams to innovate and think creatively.

However, it’s important to keep a balance between a “moon shot” and what’s realistic. Stretch goals should be challenging, but not so unrealistic that they end up creating uncertainty. The sweet spot is where a goal feels just out of reach but still achievable. Incorporating stretch goals into your OKRs can drive higher performance and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Benefits of OKRs

Increase team focus and alignment

With the unique structure of OKRs, all teams throughout the organization are able to zoom in and work together to accomplish similar goals.

High team engagement

When employees understand how their work contributes to the company’s success, it boosts engagement and motivation. OKRs provide clear communication and expectations throughout teams, reducing burnout and helping employees feel more connected to the company’s mission. 

Company growth

OKR goals allow organizations to set aspirational yet strategic growth goals. Combined with increased focus and engagement, organizations see 70% of OKR goals set are completed successfully.

Get Started Crafting your OKRs

Download the OKR Crash Course to get started crafting your next set of OKR goals.

Align teams for growth 

In the professional services industry, where change is the only constant, the OKR framework is a way to keep teams focused, aligned, and motivated on the strategic growth of the organization. 

When it comes to strategizing and measuring the progress of your goals, we’re here to help. Parallax is a resource management platform built to provide professional service teams with the insights and alignment they need to identify key growth opportunities and measure the outcomes. 

Want to learn more? Watch a quick demo of Parallax.

Task Planning vs. Resource Planning in Professional Services

By Parallax |

Resource planning vs. task planning. What is the difference and how can you efficiently manage both tasks and resources? 

We’ve all been there—juggling deadlines, managing client expectations, and ensuring our teams are set up to do great work. But amid the chaos, there are clear benefits to separating resource plans from task plans.

Uncoupling the two planning methods allows professional services to plan ahead, reduce team burnout, and create a feedback loop for improvement.

Understanding Task Planning

In the world of professional services, task planning has become essential to managing multiple projects, deadlines, and “to-do’s”. 

Creating a task plan requires a great deal of subject knowledge to understand what needs to be done, how to get it done, and when it needs to be finished to propel the project forward. This involves breaking down projects with key objectives, detailed task overviews, precise timelines, and the hardest part, finding available team members to deliver them efficiently and effectively (project managers, we hear you – it’s no easy feat).

Challenges of Task-Based Resource Planning

Having a detailed task plan is a large contributor to the success of a project. Although task plans are highly intricate, they can’t account for all components of a project. So, what are they missing?  

Lack of insights on resource capacity & availability

Through task plans alone, it’s difficult for a project manager to coordinate schedules, availability and capacity when assigning tasks to team members. Not having this visibility when project planning can lead to improper team utilization, resulting in missing project margin goals or employee burnout.

Lack of flexibility

When challenges arise, budgets are tight, or a last minute client request comes up, task plans are highly detailed and difficult to adjust mid project. With task dependencies, strict deadlines, and booked schedules, adjusting one deadline may affect an array of others.

Lack of ability to view overall project health

When hours are billed down to the task, it’s hard to view the project’s overall health until after the project has already been billed out. When one task runs an hour beyond planned time, it doesn’t have a huge impact on the overall success of the project. However, when 7-8 tasks go hours beyond the plan, it starts to seriously affect your margin. 

Lack of ability to forecast & plan ahead

A granular task plan is difficult to build out for more than a couple of weeks at a time. With a limited view into the capacity of delivery teams and the projects in the pipeline, it can be hard to forecast where and when there are gaps in demand. Sales likely isn’t sure what project types will have the capacity to be sold, team leads aren’t confident as to whether they should or should not hire for a role, and delivery teams are stuck in a reactive state.

So how do we address project planning challenges that task planning alone doesn’t solve for? Let’s look at resource planning, another method digital agencies use to tackle these challenges. 

Understanding Resource Planning

Unlike task planning, resource planning is people-focused. It looks at the big picture plan rather than the nitty gritty details of each task. Resource planning involves strategically managing and allocating your team’s time, skills, and expertise to meet the demands of current and future projects. Rather than assigning team members to specific tasks, resource planning encourages identifying and allocating project resources via duration across the entire project.

For example, project “A” will need a web designer from July 10th – July 15th for 3 hours a day. This would be a piece of the project’s resource plan. A team member with the right availability, capacity, and skills will then be assigned to the project. Then, a task plan will break down each task in detail.

A resource plan is a high level initial project plan and is separate from a task plan. Adding this method to your project planning cadence allows for insight on resources, project health, and the ability to forecast.

Resource Planning Key Components

Documenting team member skills and expertise to create an inventory of team resources.

Allocating resources based on skills and availability to match employees to appropriate projects. 

Forecasting demand trends by integrating your CRM and resource planning tool to anticipate shifts in pipeline and plan for future resourcing requirements.

Task vs. Resource Planning. Should I do Both? 

Resource planning and task planning offer unique benefits that contribute to a successful project. However, relying on one planning strategy over the other can create obstacles in delivery.

Task planning provides a granular view into project logistics while resource planning ensures the right people are available and have the capacity to carry out those tasks. Think of resource planning as making sure you’ve got the right players on the field, while task planning is calling each play. If you forget to assign players to your team’s offense, winning the game becomes a challenge. 

Decoupling Task and Resource Planning Allows For: 

Visibility into the demands of current and future projects

Having a holistic view of required roles and level of commitment needed for in-pipeline projects allows you to confidently staff projects and hit utilization goals.

Capacity and utilization forecasting

Know ahead of time when there is a change in demand. Resource planning allows for forecasting utilization weeks to months in advance so leadership can advise when to get ahead of hiring curves or which projects to sell based on team capacity. 

Creation of a feedback loop

Resource plans are used as a baseline, guiding project plans based on trends from past similar projects. An overview of time trends, role requirements, and project costs are able to be constantly refined to create streamlined and efficient project delivery. 

Increased focus and quality of output

Undivided attention to the project at hand decreases burnout caused by juggling multiple tasks on different projects. Less multitasking encourages increased focus and timely, high quality work that your team is proud of. 

Take Control of Your Resource Plans

Decoupling resource planning and task planning allows for visibility and flexibility to forecast capacity, manage workloads, and prevent team burn out. Developing new operational processes is never easy – luckily, resource planning is our expertise! With resource planning tools like Parallax, teams are able to organize, analyze and strategize for success. 

Want more information on how to start resource planning? Book a demo.

Scaling Beyond Founder-Led Sales Through RevOps: A Guide for Growing Businesses

By Parallax |

As a founder, leading your company’s sales efforts can be exhilarating. In the early stages, wearing multiple hats and being involved in every aspect of the business is both challenging and rewarding. We know – it’s difficult to take a step back from something you’ve worked so hard to build; however, as your business continues to grow, it’s important to distribute those hats so you can focus on strategic growth and allow your team to specialize in the operational execution of your business model. 

During the webinar: Scaling Beyond Founder-Led Sales with RevOps, Tom O’Neill, CEO and founder of Parallax, and Kurt Schmidt, Consultant and founder of Schmidt Consulting group, shared their experiences as founders doing just that. They explained the importance of building a solid GTM strategy by utilizing revenue operations best practices and building habits that allow for growth beyond founder-led methods.  

Why Move Past Founder-Led Sales?

In the beginning, founder-led sales work well because of the founder’s passion, vision, and deep understanding of the product and market. However, as the company scales, this approach can become unsustainable. The constant need to juggle multiple roles—sales, delivery, HR, strategic planning—leads to burnout and limits well deserved attention to the strategic growth of the company. 

Professional service organizations often experience a continuous cycle of too much work or not enough work, making revenue streams unpredictable. This uncertainty affects the ability to pay bills, manage payroll, and scale operations effectively.

Because of this, founders are constantly switching between roles or “wearing a lot of hats”—selling, delivering, hiring, and strategic planning, trying to level out waves in the pipeline. There isn’t enough time or resources to track efforts, improve processes, and forecast financial health. This reactive approach prevents founders from focusing on long-term growth and strategic initiatives, ultimately, causing passion to fade. 

To enable growth and scalability, it’s essential to transition from founder-led sales to a more structured go-to-market approach. This is where Revenue Operations (RevOps) comes into play.

What is RevOps?

RevOps is the strategic approach that aligns sales, marketing, customer success and other operations to drive revenue growth in a consistent and predictable manner. 

RevOps ensures that all teams are working towards common goals and are equipped with the information, tools and best strategic operational procedures to help the organization succeed. With this, revenue operations aims to reduce the occurrence of unpredictable revenue streams through analyzing and implementing operational best practices that make a measurable impact on the organization’s revenue growth initiatives.

Responsibilities of a Revenue Operations Manager:   

  • Align Cross-Departmental Teams: Ensuring that sales, marketing, customer success, and other parts of the organization are working towards common objectives such as revenue goals, project timelines, and resource requirements.
  • Streamline Revenue Operations: Identifying key opportunities to streamline operational processes that impact the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization’s revenue operations. 
  • Connect Revenue Trends: Connecting key revenue trends in customer acquisition and delivery, recommending areas of improvement that aid in the organization’s current objectives.
  • Enable Team Success: Providing teams with the data, tools, and insights they need to perform efficiently and effectively.
  • Strategic Planning & Revenue Forecasting: Working with finance to align revenue operations with financial goals, providing insight on operational costs to maintain and plan for profitable operations.

Steps to Developing a RevOps focused GTM Strategy:

  1. Distribute the Hats: The only way to allow leadership to focus on strategic initiatives, is to pass off the many “hats” or responsibility ownership. Start by defining supporting roles and responsibilities across the organization to help distribute the hats and encourage efficiency in each business function. 
  2. Define a Cadence: Establish clear expectations for each role. Define how and when responsibilities will be delivered, how teams will work together, and which goals are independent to each function. Creating standardized operational best practices streamlines your workflow and makes it easier to see where adjustments need to be made or where you are seeing success! 
  3. Measure Success: Determine how success will be measured in these new roles. Set clear, achievable goals and establish metrics to track progress. RevOps ensures these metrics are aligned with overall business objectives.
  4. Empower Your Team: Build a healthy foundation by empowering your team with the necessary tools, feedback, trust, and support. A well-supported team can exceed expectations and drive the company forward.

Getting Started

We’ve developed a guide that includes helpful and inspiring resources, designed to help set leaders on the right path to scaling beyond founder-led sales methods and on to a strategic GTM strategy.

Plan for Future Success

Developing a strategy to ditch unpredictable revenue streams and encourage growth may seem daunting – we’re here to help get out of the unpredictable cycle in revenue and get ahead of unpredictable revenue trends before they occur through resource forecasting.

If you want to chat about professional services operations, reach out to hello@getparallax.com.