I recently heard a great quote – “You pay with peanuts – you get monkeys”.
My job is to source the best talent and accommodate a budget that often imposes itself on that talent and the margin. It’s difficult to get quality and industry expertise to work for less than the value they deserve. Standards are now defined by new criteria.
Naturally, we all look for the best deal. However, when it comes to specialties and producing the best product/service, we should put pennies aside and go for the best resources that are available and give fair compensation.
The objective is always to do a great job, deliver on time and do it within budget. If we don’t fight for a decent budget from the beginning that allows for all the resources to make that happen, we start with a disadvantage and everyone involved, including the client, suffers.
I am constantly trying to get my head around, “holy crap – that cost money?” It appears that the economy, despite getting better has created a new normal and there is no deviation from that behavior. Get it for me, get it now and get it for less. The display by many (there are always exceptions to the rule) is to exhibit a code of conduct that we can get it done for less and we can make sacrifices in the process. The question to ask – is it really worth it?
It’s not just budget either. Somehow, time has become a secondary element in the work flow.
Ben Franklin used to say, “Time is money”. In microeconomic theory, opportunity cost is the value of the best alternative. Managing time should not be measured by the bottom line.
However, to invest more time by paying less – don’t we dilute the profit margin? I think we do. If you assign more work to less people, you risk compromising quality, lowering morale and adding time to the process.
Almost always, the ROI will add up in your favor by getting additional resources
I talk to so many in all industries today and the common thread is we need more resources – we need more time.
The message is clear, but we are missing or ignoring the content and significance. Time is in fact, money. Workflow is based on the right people, good planning, execution and time management. Minimize this and you weaken the process and that takes more time to complete the task at hand.
Ask any manager, project manager, traffic manager operations officer or even the support team and they will ALL tell you the same thing. Without adequate resources – we need more time.