.jpg)
The dynamic and rapidly developing ecosystem of IT companies also sometimes faces sudden “unnecessary” personnel. Due to the active negative impact of the market situation, the number of employees getting into the bench is rapidly increasing. As a result, not only the company's profitability is undermined, but also its morale. Of course, a certain level of downtime is inevitable, but the longer it is, the less motivated and involved your employees become. Unbench knows how to minimize the time your candidates are benched and how to optimally use resources, ensuring sustainable company growth. We suggest you familiarize yourself with an effective strategy.
Understanding the Impact of Bench Time
- Bench time is not just extra paid vacation for your employee. For the company, it is a missed opportunity and lost profit. As a result, prolonged benching of your specialists entails:
- Financial collapse. If you do not receive income from the client and are forced to pay compensation from the reserve fund, then naturally you will lose profit.
- Skill atrophy. Long periods without active work on the project can lead to a decrease in skills, reduced attention to the latest trends in the market.
- Employee dissatisfaction. When a specialist does not have a project, a feeling of “uselessness” and “worthlessness” gradually increases, as a result, morale decreases and the desire to get acquainted with other offers on the market increases.
- Operational inefficiency. Unused resources indicate potential shortcomings in project forecasting and resource allocation.
Awareness of these consequences emphasizes the importance of proactive bench management.
Root Causes of Elevated Bench Time
Before you start developing a strategy for effective bench management, you need to understand the reasons, namely why the bench appears in the first place:
- Forecasting. Incorrect project estimation leads to inappropriate resource allocation.
- Communication. Sales managers must closely interact with resource managers and the recruiting team. Otherwise, resources will be allocated ineffectively.
- Rigid team structures. Inflexible organizational hierarchies prevent rapid redistribution of resources.
- Lack of transperancy. Chaotic CRM system management, rare data updates - will become a big obstacle to effective planning.
Eliminating these root causes forms the basis for effective strategies for reducing bench time.
Strategies to Minimize Bench Time
1. Enhance Resource Visibility
Implement special CRM systems that will help with resource management. And you will be able to understand the availability of each specialist in real time. For example, the Unbench platform has a section where you can add your specialists and set their status (busy, on bench, or part-time available). Another advantage is that if you specify the bench status for a specialist, he is automatically displayed in the bench section and other companies can offer him projects. Thus, you can not only monitor the availability of candidates, but also immediately search for new projects for them.
2. Strengthen Interdepartmental Communication
Ensure constant communication between departments. Schedule weekly or biweekly meetings where sales, resource managers, account managers and recruiting can discuss the current situation on projects and engage in joint planning. This will ensure that current projects are staffed and, if there are potential projects, the time it takes to find a candidate will be reduced.
3. Implement Agile Resource Allocation
Use flexible team structures that allow you to quickly reallocate resources based on project requirements. Cross-training employees can increase versatility, allowing them to contribute to different projects and reducing downtime.
4. Invest in Continuous Learning
Encourage employees to engage in self-development during the bench. Alternatively, these could be courses or other training programs purchased in advance by your company with unlimited access. As a result, this will not only expand the individual capabilities of specialists, but also prepare them for new projects with different requirements.
5. Leverage Predictive Analytics
Don't ignore analytics. Having predictive values will help you determine the need to retain specialists on the bench and understand who needs to improve what skills at this time.
6. Develop a Bench Monetization Strategy
Turn your work time into income opportunities by:
- Subcontracting: Offer available resources to partner organizations on a temporary basis. On the Unbench , you can both offer your resources to partners and vice versa, hire their specialists for your projects.
- Internal projects: Assign employees to jobs for internal initiatives that add value to the organization. This could be automation of individual tasks, improvement of the CRM system, or creation of an independent product for the purpose of business diversification.
- Product development: Talk to specialists about the availability of pet products, perhaps you will see an opportunity for investment in this.
7. Foster a Culture of Flexibility
Promote a workplace culture that values adaptability and continuous improvement. Encouraging employees to embrace different roles and responsibilities will not only increase overall productivity, but also their motivation and sense of value.
Case Study: Successful Bench Time Reduction
Let's look at a real-life example. A mid-sized IT company (50 people) was faced with the fact that many people were benched due to delays in potential projects and poor forecasting. As a result, by implementing a strategy for effective resource management and improving communication between teams, it was possible to:
- Reduce bench time by up to 30%: improved forecasting and communication led to more efficient resource allocation.
- Increased employee satisfaction: opportunities for continuous learning and diverse participation in projects increased morale and reduced turnover.
- Increased revenue: hiring subcontractors for short-term projects instead of direct hiring contributed to increased profits.
Conclusion
Effective bench time management is key to the financial health and operational efficiency of IT companies. By improving bench management and promoting effective communication within the team, bench time can become an asset. Adopting these strategies will not only minimize downtime, but also cultivate a resilient and adaptive workforce that is poised for sustained success.
.jpg)
