In the context of project-based work, capacity describes the maximum amount of work you can take on and complete within a specific time-frame. Capacity planning is used to determine whether you have the resources and skills available to do said work. In other words, it’s about looking ahead to ensure that your firm has the…
Professional services firms often struggle to deliver projects on-time and on-budget for several reasons. Complex projects have lots of moving parts – making it difficult to generate accurate estimates, timelines, and budgets. Communication issues can lead to delays or expensive rework. Firms might offer discounts to keep clients happy when projects hit a snag. The…
Proactive resource planning is crucial to the success of any project-based organization. There’s a lot on the line. Get it wrong, the business loses money, credibility, and potentially, even fails. Poor resource planning triggers destructive ripples across the entire organization — dealing multiple blows to the bottom line. For example, if you underestimate the resources…
Technology continues to shape the professional services industry in profound ways. For starters, cloud-based productivity apps and communication tools have given firms the ability to work remotely and engage clients in new ways. Advances in AI and machine learning can automate back-end processes that keep employees from performing valuable work — and as a result,…
Maximizing utilization is a top priority for any enterprise in the project-driven space. It’s about ensuring your skilled resources are actively contributing to revenue generation. But there’s more to the story than just billable hours. Benefits Beyond Billables Enhanced Customer Relationships: Highly utilized teams have more opportunities for face-to-face client interaction. This fosters stronger connections and…
The business landscape is constantly changing and leaders at professional service organizations are facing new challenges in 2022 that pose a direct threat to their business success and profitability. It feels like no matter where you turn, businesses are closing their doors or limiting services due to a variety of reasons. Professional service organizations, including…
Resource utilization rates are a great way to take the pulse of a professional services organization. Besides telling you if your resources are overworked or underutilized, utilization rates usually give you clues about how well the company functions in generating proposals, planning projects, and hiring resources. Yes, the utilization rate needs to be high enough…
Yes. Professional services firms are ditching on-premises ERPs for cloud-based systems in droves. But the mass exodus began more than a decade ago–making cloud-based ERPs less of a trend than an urgent priority–or even a basic competency. Organizations that remain loyal to their on-prem systems are taking on more risks than they might think. Worse,…
As project-based firms grow, they may find themselves with a teetering tech stack. At the beginning, spreadsheets and institutional knowledge were enough to get projects across the line. Over time, different platforms are added as new functionality and management software are chosen by your teams. One day you look up and your business is running…