⚙ Operations & Productivity · Free Tool

Resource Allocation Tool

See at a glance whether your team is over-allocated, under-utilised or balanced. Enter current project commitments per person to find bottlenecks, capacity gaps and where to reallocate.

Free · No SignupUtilisation RatesBottleneck Identification
👥

Team Capacity & Allocation

36 hrs

Enter each team member and their allocated hours per week across projects:

📊

Team Utilisation

Team Avg Utilisation
Over-Allocated (>100%)
Under-Utilised (<70%)
Total Spare Capacity/Wk

Resource Allocation — Why Most Teams Are Both Over- and Under-Committed Simultaneously

Resource allocation problems are typically invisible until they become crises. Common pattern: 2-3 people are chronically over-allocated (constant fire-fighting, missed deadlines), while 1-2 others are significantly under-utilised (unclear priorities, insufficient work). The solution is visibility: explicit allocation tracking that surfaces both bottlenecks and spare capacity simultaneously.

Optimal Utilisation Rate

100% utilisation is not the goal — it is the enemy of quality and responsiveness. At 100% utilisation, there is no buffer for: unplanned urgent work, supporting colleagues, training and CPD, strategic thinking, or any task that takes longer than estimated. Best practice: target 70–85% planned utilisation, leaving 15–30% as buffer capacity. Teams consistently above 85% utilisation experience higher error rates, burnout and staff turnover.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the optimal team utilisation rate?

Target 70-85% for knowledge work teams. At 70-75%: good responsiveness to urgent issues, time for quality and thoughtful work. At 80-85%: efficient without being over-committed. Above 90%: inadequate buffer for unplanned work, higher error rates, stress. Above 95%: burnout risk, quality degradation, high staff turnover. Service teams (support, operations) can sustain higher utilisation than creative/knowledge teams. Never plan for 100% — it guarantees overrun and stress.