A Key To Success For Professional Services Organization

The professional services industry has become a force to be reckoned with as it grows in different regions of the world. Yet, every professional services company has common challenges it has to deal with regularly.

Since almost every industry has to account for the new client-centric marketplace, everyone must leverage every tool available to facilitate growth and solve the challenges of the modern age.

One of the ways to do so is project management for the professional services industry, which has the potential to help companies thrive and keep their clients happy. 

But first, let’s take a closer look at this industry and the challenges every professional services company has to overcome.

What Are Professional Services?

A professional services company is any organization that doesn’t sell a product. Rather, their main ‘’export’’ is a service or expertise. For instance, they could be anything from a marketing company to an accounting firm. 

This definition also applies to all kinds of consultants since they also sell their expertise to clients. 

In short, the main role of professional service providers is to supply their clients with specialized knowledge and help them reach their goals.

A professional services company can be independent or embedded. The independent firm exists outside the company’s internal structure, and embedded teams are a core part of a larger company.

While they might do a similar job, their goals are different. Independent companies are more driven by client satisfaction while embedded teams are focused on reaching KPIs that are of the interest of their parent organization.

A professional service firm caters to a business in different ways. They can provide services that support the growth or even fulfill the technology goals of their client.

For example, a larger company may want to modernize its IT network by switching to a cloud-based service. To ensure the migration goes smoothly, they may hire a cloud migration consulting firm. 

On the other hand, a business might plan to refresh its online brand image and use its in-house (embedded) marketing and creative team to develop all the new promotional materials. 

Lastly, there are different levels of sophistication of the services that these companies offer, ranging from helping clients with simple routine problems all the way to companies that solve complex issues and help clients with mergers and acquisitions.

Challenges In The Professional Services Industry

While it’s hard to pinpoint a specific set of challenges faced by one type of professional service company since they’re all so different, in general, many firms report facing one of the following challenges:

1. Problems with billable hours

Your average professional services company is most likely tackling the issue of low employee utilization rates. This is usually a sign that resources are managed poorly or that the project the team is working on isn’t as profitable as it could be.

This is why firms offering legal services and such prioritize billable hours instead of abstract metrics like client satisfaction. Since they spend a lot of time working on tasks like filing documents, they have to account for their work.

However, this doesn’t mean that other professionals who offer services can’t hold billable hours in higher regard. By implementing tools that help with time tracking and automation, they could make sure they spend less time on non-billable tasks and focus on work that matters.

Following tactics such as this provides valuable insight into productivity levels, how profitable the work is, and which projects are even worth investing in.

2. Poor definition of the project

One of the biggest challenges plaguing any professional services company is a poor outline of a project, which usually leads to many problems like the dreaded scope creep (uncontrolled growth of a project’s scope after it begins).

This causes all sorts of havoc such as client dissatisfaction and even wasting valuable financial resources.

To avoid running into this situation, a professional services company must establish correct project parameters from the outset. 

Nevertheless, this might be easier said than done since clients can have changing and unreasonable expectations. So if a company decides that client satisfaction takes priority without accounting for resource constraints, a team might end up in a difficult position allocating their resources and executing the project properly.

Professional Services Management Is Vital To Success

A professional services company can avoid the challenges listed by paying extra attention to proper project management. By planning the project and managing team members so they contribute to achieving goals set in the project, companies can deliver projects in time within the constraints of their budget.

The brunt of professional services management is built around team coordination and managing contributors in the project to make certain deadlines are met, the project stays under budget, and is completed up to standard.

This includes tracking expenses, generating progress reports, receiving client feedback, and leading meetings.

The Role Of The Professional Services Manager

The person leading the charge, so to speak, is a professional services manager. They see to it that a professional services company can deliver the project on time and per the client’s standards.

A project manager is an important role filled with multiple tasks which are crucial in ensuring that the team and the client are perfectly aligned on the objectives and direction of the project.

In short, they’re in charge of overseeing all processes essential for planning and executing successful projects. They have responsibilities such as:

1. Client communications

They are generally in charge of handling all the communication with clients. In a lot of ways, the entire client relationship hinges on their communication style and how skilled they are in negotiating expectations from the project by sharing accurate updates. 

2. Fulfilling client needs

Since all industries are advancing at a rapid pace, a professional service company might need to create a new solution for the client. Professional service managers are the ones who make it possible by staying on top of the latest trends in their clients’ industries. They use this knowledge to come up with new ideas that will help their client. Usually, they’re also responsible for fine-tuning their services to better suit the needs of the client.

3. Keeping their team up to date with new technologies

Since new technology can drastically increase an organization’s efficiency and ultimately make its operations more profitable, professional services managers ensure their teams are up-to-date with the latest technology.

4. Hiring talent

Sometimes for a project to be successful, it requires hiring top talent. The talent you have on board can make or break a project. Here at Griffin Global, we’ve connected companies with the best professionals, and we've seen how just one skilled individual can turn a project around. Professional service managers are usually in charge of the task of hiring and retaining the best candidates, including finding highly qualified remote workers, if needed.

5. Managing stakeholders

Professional service managers don’t just lead their team into the battle - they are also primary liaisons to stakeholders.

Winning Against All Odds

As the industry grows, your run-of-the-mill professional services company is in a great position to capitalize on new business opportunities. 

However, while the challenges these companies are facing are real, the solution lies in hiring highly skilled professional service managers that can keep the entire team in check. This is one of the best ways to make certain your clients stay happy and the budget set aside for the project isn’t broken.

If you want to learn more about hiring top talent for your professional services company, get in touch with Griffin Global by filling out our contact form.