Resource Audit

A resource audit is a process used by organisations to assess their internal resources and capabilities. The audit typically involves identifying and evaluating the organisation's tangible and intangible assets, including its people, technology, infrastructure, brand, and intellectual property.

The purpose of a resource audit is to help organisations identify their strengths and weaknesses and determine how best to allocate resources to achieve their objectives. By assessing their resources and capabilities, organisations can identify areas where they can build on their strengths and invest in areas where they need to improve. For example, if you have expertise in customer service, but not in software development, it might make more sense for your organisation to focus on business activities that emphasise customer service.

The value of a resource audit lies in its ability to provide organisations with a comprehensive understanding of their internal capabilities and limitations. If your familiar with business architecture modelling, you may recognise the resource audit as being similar to a capability assessment model. By conducting a resource audit, organisations can develop a more informed and strategic approach to resource allocation and improve their overall performance.

To conduct a resource audit, an organisation typically follows a few key steps. These include:

1. Identifying the resources and capabilities to be audited: This involves determining which resources and capabilities are critical to the organisation's success and should be audited.

2. Gathering data: This involves collecting data on the organisation's resources and capabilities through a variety of sources, including financial reports, surveys, and interviews with key stakeholders.

3. Analysing the data: This involves analysing the data collected to identify patterns, trends, and areas of strength and weakness. It’s also important to consider the strengths and weaknesses of competitors at this stage.

4. Developing recommendations: Based on the analysis, the organisation can develop recommendations for how best to allocate resources to maximize its strengths and address its weaknesses.

5. Implementing the recommendations: This involves taking action to implement the recommendations and track progress over time.

Resource audits can help organisations seeking to improve their performance by understanding their internal resources and capabilities. By conducting a resource audit, organisations can develop a more informed and strategic approach to resource allocation and improve their overall competitiveness.

A last thought; you can do a resource audit at many different levels. You could assess a whole organisation, a division within an organisation, a department or even a small team. You might even want to consider a personal resource audit to understand the best path to follow as an individual.