To meet the increasing demands of clients today and better compete in the marketplace, many firms are asking themselves: How do I need to change as my clients are changing, so that we’re both successful? This is leading many to look inward at their operational processes and outward at the technology landscape to improve the way they work.
Here are some important things for professional services firms to consider as they think about how to change and evolve their organizations:
Improve your speed and sophistication of data and analytics. Success in professional services depends on the ability to understand resource availability and to know your employees’ skills and capabilities for meeting customer demand now and in the future. The ability to access this information quickly to inform decisions can have a direct impact on your financial performance.
This is no easy task. Many firms are challenged by data that is spread across multiple systems, making it difficult to understand resource capacity, and impeding the ability to make real-time operational and financial decisions. Moving to a single source of truth, where project, talent, and financial data live in one system, can help to simplify and improve decision-making. Firms can then have a complete and accurate picture of employee availability, project data and billing, and costs, enabling them to accurately assign resources and track project budgets to ensure better margin performance.
Real-time visibility into the business also gives firms the flexibility to make adjustments and course-correct when circumstances change. Firms can gain better insight into metrics that go beyond just revenue to look at the entire business, such as headcount planning, margin analysis, and employee engagement, enabling them to better plan for long-term success.