Relying on annual performance reviews as the main performance evaluation tool often feels like employees are given one big dose of criticism that has been saved up all year long. This process does a lot more harm than good as it is generally a collection of out-of-context feedback received long after projects have ended, and no improvements can be made. According to a 2019 Workhuman Analytics and Research study, 55 percent of workers believe annual reviews did not improve their performance, and a study from Gallup indicated that nearly 30 percent were so put off by a negative review that they started looking for a new job.

Annual Reviews are Obsolete

In actuality, many HR leaders are dissatisfied with annual performance reviews and find them obsolete. They realize that continuous and supportive feedback with more frequent reviews can help spur employee growth and development. While negative feedback is unavoidable, it should be given in small manageable amounts letting employees digest and make proactive changes. For project-based firms in particular, it is important to let team members know where they are doing well and indicate areas of improvement as the projects are happening rather than waiting until year end when it is too late. Additionally, continuous performance management is much better tailored to meet the needs of the modern workforce.

Reflects How Work Gets Done

Continuous performance management is reflective of how the work really gets done, and it increases employee engagement. Feedback is quite effective when check-ins are frequent, and according to Workhuman, employees who checked in with their manager at least weekly are five times less likely to be disengaged than those who never check-in. With the pandemic and remote working in 2020, the need for consistent feedback became even greater as the virtual nature of business made it harder to connect personally.

Shows Employees Their Value to the Firm

As employees are given continuous input on their performance, they begin to see how they are providing value to their firm. Motivated employees get their work done faster, are more creative and collaborative, and go above and beyond what is expected. Even given areas of improvement, motivated employees will work harder to make sure their goals are met. And when employees are more efficient, there is a positive impact on the firm’s bottom line.

Focuses on Career Development

When having more frequent conversations about performance, employees can be considering their next steps in career development. Talking about performance development is much more forward thinking, positive and employee focused. Doing this shows employees that their work is appreciated and that they are valued. When employees are invested in getting to another level in their career, they are motivated and harder working.

Communicates Expectations Clearly

In the past, employees often did not know what their expectations were, and the annual review was the first time they were able to see the bigger picture. When communication is increased in a continuous fashion, employees are able to understand immediate priorities and the firm’s ultimate goals and plans. These discussions provide a meaningful pathway to success for both employees and the firm as a whole. Therefore, employees feel engaged and are motivated to meet goals.

Offers Timely Feedback

If employees are not aware that something is wrong, they do not know to fix it. Without direct conversations regarding areas that need improvement, employees cannot be held accountable for not making corrections. Especially with projects, team members need to know what aspects of the project could be adjusted more appropriately to meet the firm’s goals. Not addressing these issues until year end does not provide any way to resolve them. As a result, continuous performance management is truly a necessity for project-based firms.

Continuous Performance Management is the Future

The modern project-based workforce demands a performance management system that focuses on autonomy, development, feedback and engagement. Shifting to a continuous performance management system simply requires effective processes and a technology solution that can facilitate them throughout the firm. With an effective talent management solution, your firm can realize project team success while truly engaging your quality talent using continuous performance management.

Financial statement data is vital for leadership teams. This data is the basis for measuring firm performance and influencing decisions regarding the firm’s future. There are several financial metrics that businesses track and rely on. Based on the findings of the 41^st Annual Deltek Clarity A&E Report, operating profit on net revenue has increased for ten years consecutively to 15.8%. This is a 1.4-point jump year-over-year. A variety of other important metrics were addressed in this year’s Clarity report as well. The Clarity report reveals where things measured up for 2019.

Top Financial Challenges

The financial challenges have remained similar year-over-year. This year the trend is towards challenges with increasing profitability, finding and retaining qualified staff, and managing firm growth. Although, finding qualified personnel and keeping turnover low is second to increasing profitability. It is also noteworthy that qualified staff is at the top of the list for greater than half of the respondents. Cash flow is floating in the ranks, but it seems that firms are managing it better than in years past. The unpredictable spending environment was only at 11% for 2019, though that is likely to change given the challenges many firms faced in 2020.

Building on Success

While there is economic uncertainty in the year 2020, the results show that firms strengthened their operations in 2019. Operating profit continues to rise steadily, as it has over the last decade. Of note, small businesses saw a strong increase, rising to 15.9% operating profit, up 3.5% from the prior year. The net labor multiplier has seen a minor increase as well, reaching 3.03 last year. That’s the highest multiplier measured for the industry in ten years.

Another significant metric tracked by firms is the utilization rate. It is calculated as cost of labor charged divided by total labor cost. This metric remained steady with the prior two years, except for Architecture firms that showed an increase of 2.3% points year-over-year. Employee retention is a factor within this metric. Firms with higher utilization also tend to show lower turnover rates as well as higher net revenue by employee. Does this show us that working employees are happy employees? Findings will show that investments in technology and training can keep employees engaged and productive in producing revenue.

Net revenue per employee is yet another metric to see a positive increase. This could be attributed again to the investment in technology and training, an already high productivity amongst employees, increased rates, or possibly better efficiency driving projects to completion. Since obtaining qualified staff remains difficult, firms are working with existing teams to accomplish more. Burn-out should be a consideration and cutting associated costs or wages could be disadvantageous.

With employee cost being a possible factor in retention it is important to track trends and analyze total employee cost as a metric. This is calculated as the sum of total labor and other labor related costs, (such as fringe benefits and taxes but excluding bonuses) divided by the average number of employees during a year. This returned data shows that there was not an overall noticeable change. Payroll expenses and employee numbers increased at higher percentages which in turn drove the decrease in overall cost. Where the year prior it had showed a small decline, we may see a more drastic change in 2020.

The average collection period calculation divides accounts receivable by annual total revenue, multiplied by 365. This is an important metric for cash flow stability and deserves a great deal of attention. There has been small improvement or decline in average days amongst all firms. In comparison, small businesses and high performers stand out as having notably improved. It is important to stay on top of the outstanding accounts receivable to maintain cash flow performance stability.

Preparing for the Future 

A&E firms have largely agreed that business process improvements and project management training have a strong impact on a firm’s financial health. In addition to those areas, better forecasting should continue to be a top focus area. Addressing and improving these key components can be the key to continued success, even in difficult and uncertain economic times. To read more about financial statement findings, visit the full Clarity report. 

Human Capital Management (HCM) is a vital process that must be taken seriously for firms to be successful. There are many aspects to HCM from talent acquisition, to employee learning and professional development to succession planning. Based on the findings of the 41^st Annual Deltek Clarity A&E Report, talent acquisition remains a major challenge for A&E firms and they must embrace technology and improve practices to attract the best candidates. This year’s Clarity report also addressed a variety of other hot HCM topics for A&E firms.

Tracked KPIs for Human Capital Management

According to the results of the report, the top four KPIs tracked by A&E firms included revenue per full-time equivalent (FTE), voluntary turnover, involuntary turnover, and employee retention. Identifying these particular KPIs shows that firms are concerned with retaining employees once they are hired. As a matter of fact, 74% of firms tracked revenue per FTE which indicates that financial-related metrics are being connected to HCM. However, only a minority of firms tracked other financial-related metrics. Those firms willing to look at the whole hiring and retention process will ultimately have less costly HCM systems thus making them more successful.

Managing Talent

Seeing that the top KPIs tracked are regarding turnover, it is no surprise that employers continue to focus on their initiatives for managing talent. The report stated that the top two talent management initiatives remained the same, develop more formal career development programs and create/improve succession and career development planning. Creating and improving mentorship programs moved to the third spot going from 28% to 45%. It is becoming clear to firms that knowledge must be transferred to those employees with less experience if they are to continue operating successfully. Unfortunately, however, only 10% of firms prioritized investing in a HCM solution even though 40% of firms currently use outdated HR solutions.

Surveys of Employee Engagement

Again, focused on the topic of retention, this annual Clarity report addressed employee engagement surveys. The results from the report indicated that 81% of firms conduct employee exit interviews and surveys. Only 60% of firms stated that they do annual employee surveys which means that the opportunity to address employee concerns is often missed. If those concerns were heard and addressed, then turnover could be reduced. Gauging employee sentiment is important to keep retention high so firms should move away from more traditional methods of survey towards more frequent survey models.

Talent Acquisition

Back to the issue of talent acquisition, the top talent acquisition initiative reported in the survey was improving the perception of the firm (54%) which is important since reputation helps attract the best candidates. Additionally, 41% of respondents picked improving onboarding processes and procedures which went up from 37% the prior year. On the other hand, the report showed that only 40% of firms were considering an enhanced compensation offering. Besides compensation, firms should consider leveraging technology to offer flexible/remote work options to attract candidates.

Firms Care About Human Capital Management

Despite a tough labor market, it does appear that A&E firms continue to improve their HCM processes. Acquiring and retaining top talent remains a priority for firms. They must continue to improve talent acquisition by tracking KPIs, considering enhanced compensation and leveraging technology. There should also be focus on succession planning and career development to ensure employee engagement and retention. For more detailed information on the 41^st Annual Deltek Clarity A&E Report, review it in full.

Many students started the new school year online, and parents continue to navigate this new way of learning with their children. Across grade levels, many students are still struggling with the challenges of learning remotely. Without direct guidance and reinforcement from teachers face to face, it often becomes overwhelming to manage the expectations of classwork. In this installment of our series, we will address how parents can help their kids stay organized in the digital learning environment.

Non-Distracting Workspace

Children should have a designated workspace that has minimal distractions. Parents should not pick the bedroom for schoolwork because kids can be tempted to do their work on their beds which can reduce productivity. Having a room outside of the bedroom designated for school work is the better option. Dining tables have been a popular choice when spare rooms aren't an option. Phones, televisions and other sources of entertainment provide further disruption opportunities so should be removed from the workspace. When taking a break, kids can go back and enjoy the amenities of their bedroom.

Time Management

Regardless of which class management tool is used, staying organized is now a bit easier than in the past since assignment due dates can be tracked online. However, procrastination remains a real problem for many students which can lead to feeling overwhelmed. The best way for parents to help kids manage time is to make sure there is a set schedule and daily routine. Daily tasks should be written down and crossed off when completed. All work can be prioritized and chunked so that assignments can be accomplished several days in advance of due dates.

Protect School Work

One of the biggest frustrations with online learning is technology failures. After spending hours on an assignment, no one wants to risk losing that work. Parents can make sure this doesn’t happen by having kids do their work in the cloud using Google docs or another cloud service. If the computer shuts down, the work will still be accessible when it reboots. Additionally, besides using a flash drive, other methods of saving work include sending the work to another location via email, like parents’ email. This is a great option for assignments that use Microsoft Word or Excel. Always have a backup source so assignments can be submitted on time.

Ask for Help

Another means of staying organized is for parents to encourage their children to ask for help. One benefit of online learning is connectivity to teachers through tools like Canvas and school email like Microsoft Outlook. Rather than waste a lot of time being confused or worried about something, just email the teacher for clarification. While teachers may not be able to respond immediately, they usually will within the day. Once the request has been sent off, make sure kids move on to another question or assignment. It is often hard to wait for an answer, but without asking teachers, there will be no resolution which ends up causing more stress.

Stay Prepared with Digital Learning

Parents should use these recommendations to stay organized with digital learning. It is hard to balance “real” jobs and the extra responsibility of managing students’ work, but with these measures in place, routines will be well established, and it will all get done. Another reason to keep those kids organized is to make room for a little “me” time. Good luck!

“The only constant in life is change.” In the business development world, truer words have never been spoken. The 41^st Annual A&E Deltek Clarity Report was conducted at the beginning of 2020 and shows how companies performed during the 2019 fiscal year. Since then, much has changed in the world. The United States is officially in a recession - defined as two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth. Recessions in the A&E industry have proven to be a high-pressure exercise in change management. So, what can we learn from the Clarity report and also from previous recessions in the A&E industry?

Business Development Trend Challenges

The Clarity report showed that challenges from a few years ago remain the same. Time is always a challenge, especially finding time to nurture client relationships. Competition for work continues to get tighter and many firms still struggle to identify new prospects. The A&E industry is overall accustomed to in-person interactions. That dynamic has changed drastically in 2020, requiring firms to identify new ways to develop connections and build relationships.

Getting into Position

Firms that participated in the study were asked to share in which markets they expect their firm’s position to grow, tread, or decline. Over the next 18 months, the transportation market takes the lead at 67% of firms expecting to grow there. Next up is the water/wastewater/stormwater market, followed by the health care market. Firms can remain flexible and be ready for a market shift given the election year and the global pandemic. Market research is always important, and now proves this notion even more.

Tracking the Hit Rate

The Clarity report shows that there’s room for improvement in how firms can use hit rate as a valuable metric. The six-year trend has varied from a 40% - 50% hit rate. Recently, more small and medium-sized firms have formalized a go/no go process, but consistency may be the biggest challenge. Formalizing the system can streamline processes, dedicate resources effectively, and drive the hit rate up. Firms should push business development teams to focus on quality of pursuits, rather than quantity. This is even more important when resources are limited to avoid burnout.

Bringing in the Work

As seen in the 41^st Annual Deltek Clarity report, most roles within a firm have some level of responsibility for business development. Executive teams take the lead on the responsibility along with business development staff if that is an option. Marketing groups seem to lead some efforts and the seller/doer model is common in A&E firms. Regardless of who is bringing in the business, only 41% of firms have a formal business development process. Streamlined processes could ensure teams are working efficiently and communicating effectively.

As part of broader marketing efforts, the study asked about marketing techniques for the first time. The survey showed social media posts are the primary marketing technique used by 87% of firms. Traditional trade shows and exhibits are a primary technique for 65% of firms. From there, thought leadership and content marketing are of importance as this showcases the industry experts. This will be a good one to track year after year to see where the trends take us. The survey also asked about the importance of these techniques over the next five years. Social media remains at the top, followed by thought leadership. Trade shows and exhibits surprisingly bump down to the number four spot. In today’s marketing, focusing on your online presence is even more critical.

The Outlook for Business Development

Change brings opportunities. Now more than ever, business development teams should concentrate on strategic planning to narrow in on how to refocus existing business opportunities and develop new business prospects. Firms focused on being flexible and adaptable will continue to flourish in our ever-changing world.

Technology is something that all firms must embrace to stay competitive. Project based firms both large and small especially benefit from investments in technology. According to the results of the 41^st Annual Deltek Clarity Report, A&E firms understand the necessity of technology yet are primarily applying it to project execution and management as part of strategic plans to gain a return on investment. The report also addressed challenges to the adoption of technology and the initiatives to overcome these challenges.

Applying Technology Trends

Based on Clarity results, A&E firms have identified the value of applying technology to their core operations and have invested in solutions that streamline project execution (60%) and project management (59%). Nonetheless, investments in other integrated functions like business administration, human capital management, resource and financial management all have shown modest declines year-over-year. With projects as the focal point for A&E firms, they have yet to take advantage of technology for integrated administrative functions. Not only can these technologies improve business processes, but they can also attract new employees with a forward-thinking attitude.

Technology Trend Challenges

The Clarity report showed the ranking of the top technology trend challenges facing firms in an upcoming three-year period. The challenges were like those from last report, with the top three being: 1. cost of technology, 2. prioritizing which trends were most applicable to business, and 3. employee education on trends and their application to A/E/C. However, this year firms appeared to be less challenged by a lack of time to invest in learning about technology trends, and more due to the lack of a champion to lead a technology initiative.

Emerging Technology

As part of the study, firms were asked to identify the importance of emerging technology to their business. The Internet of Things (IoT), geo location and augmented/virtual reality were chosen as the most important emerging technology. Though not at the top, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and wearable technology saw a considerable increase from last year. It is interesting to note that larger firms showed a broader focus on and higher interest in emerging technology trends.

Strategic Plan for Implementing Technology

In the survey, 73% of respondents indicated that creating a strategic plan for implementing technology trends was a high priority. Educating staff on technology trends is key to moving the initiative forward. Looking at the Clarity report’s top technology trend initiatives, businesses want to identify and develop subject matter experts to help with deployment and adoption within their firms. Businesses are also prioritizing the development of budgets for investments to manage costs.

Overcoming the Digital Transformation Dilemma

As seen in the 41^st Annual Deltek Clarity report, while some A&E companies are slow to accept technology, a greater openness to adoption and investing in solutions that will streamline business processes will bring forward a digital transformation. Projects will be delivered, and businesses will operate more efficiently. In the end, customers will be satisfied thus protecting the bottom line.

In order for project-based firms to be successful, they must employ the most qualified talent. Furthermore, the most talented employees need to feel empowered and engaged with their firm and look forward to growth in their career paths. Allowing staff to own their career paths ensures longevity with the firm, and the Deltek Core HR solution provides this capability. So, how does Deltek Core HR enable employees to own their career paths? Great question - let’s take a look at the key features that make it possible for employees to feel empowered.

Employee Self-Service

Today’s workers expect to have the ability to handle matters on their own. This is especially true for staff members that are on the go or working from home. Additionally, it is certainly much easier for employees to update information on their own rather than having to call or email HR. With self-service, staff can do this and ensure that their certifications and training requirements are up to date. With Deltek Core HR, employees are able to independently manage their personal data and keep it current.

Professional Development

According to a 2018 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, the number one reason employees felt held back with their professional development was because of time. With the Deltek Core HR solution, employees can easily take training in the system which is automatically built into their history. Instructor-led and e-learning classes are viewable in the course catalog and can be simply enrolled in when employees desire. Furthermore, certificates and education units achieved can be downloaded proving that job requirements are being met. Deltek Core HR allows employees to see all of their certifications and training so they can stay on top of their professional development.

Up to Date Resumes for Proposals

Another benefit of Deltek Core HR is that employees can maintain their resumes in the system, updating them as needed. Having access to resumes ensures that they are always the most recent ones especially when they are part of your firm’s proposal process. When selling professional services to clients, the top available talent needs to be evident to win the work. Employees who want to get the most desirable projects want to have their skill sets and certifications up to date. Deltek Core HR lets employees put their “best faces” forward by being current with their resumes.

Applying for Job Openings

Also, with resumes being immediately available in the system, staff can search and quickly apply for internal job openings that may be of interest to them. They can also see what the skill sets and requirements are for the open positions and of course easily sign up for the necessary training then add it to their resumes. With Deltek Core HR, employees are put in the driver’s seat of their career advancement by being able to choose what direction to take and how to get there.

Track Feedback

The best employees want to see that they are meeting or exceeding expectations. Within Deltek Core HR, the Deltek Talent Performance component offers the scheduling and tracking of continuous feedback. Employees choose the time of these feedback sessions and comments from both staff and managers are tracked. With feedback, employees are given guidance about their performance which ensures they are right on track with their career.

SMART Goals

One other aspect of owning career paths is setting goals. Deltek Core HR provides employees the tools to set up SMART goals – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Time-bound. The goals can be set up by preference whether it is a numerical target or complete/incomplete. From the My Goals link under Performance, employees can access their goals. When goals are being met, employees work even harder which ensures success for the firm as a whole.

Deltek Core HR Benefits All

In the end, Deltek Core HR is a solution that benefits both employees and business leaders. With the convenience of self-service and putting staff in charge of their career paths, there is more engagement and thus a desire to stay with the firm. Additionally, having many HR tasks handled by employees eases the burden on those who usually manage it which allows them to focus on business development and success.

Across the US, many parents have elected for their kids to do schooling at home, while others are only given the option of digital learning. Since working from a computer is not something many adults and kids are prepared to do, we decided to help out by starting a blog series on technology tips and tricks to adapt to this new environment. Our firm has been working remotely for more than two decades and the hope is that this series provides value to kids and adults alike. Please note that all of the tools mentioned in this first blog are geared towards a PC and Windows applications.

Must Know Keyboard Shortcuts

1. Create Browser Shortcuts – First things first. Create a bookmark for the applications that need to be accessed daily by navigating to the page you want to save and click Ctrl+D or click the “Star” next to the website address. Name the bookmark with a clear title. Now you have a quick link to access, so you don’t have to remember where to go each morning. 
2. Copy, Cut & Paste – Some of the most commonly used keyboard shortcuts are copy, cut and paste. They can save tons of typing time. To copy text, highlight the text and press the Ctrl+C buttons simultaneously. To paste the text, put your cursor where you want the text to go and press the Ctrl+V buttons simultaneously. To cut text, highlight the text you want to remove and press the Ctrl+X keys simultaneously. Pro trick: If you want to remove the style and paste as plain text, add the Shift button: Ctrl+Alt+V.
3. Select All, Undo & Redo – If you want to highlight an entire section of text, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+A and it will highlight the entire section of text. This is commonly used in combination with cutting or copying text. If you want to undo an action, press the Ctrl+Z to quickly reverse the previous action. This is commonly used when you accidentally remove text you want back or apply a style that you no longer want. If you would like to redo an action, press the Ctrl+Y keys. This is commonly used to apply a style again or insert an action you just did like a new column or row. These tricks can help you save mouse clicks.
4. Minimize All Windows – If you quickly want to view the desktop and minimize all windows, you can click on the Windows button + D. This is a helpful trick to minimize it all. Another quick way to minimize is to go to the bottom right hand on the task bar. To the far right there is a bar next to the time. When you click on it, all windows will minimize.
5. Moving Between Programs – When your work requires multiple applications to be open, it can sometimes be difficult to minimize and reopen the right application. One easy way to find your document or application is to use the Alt+Tab key. It will open all of your applications and allow you to tab over to the one you want with ease. Pro Tip: Add Shift to move to the previous tab (Alt+Shift+Tab).
6. Finding Information – Many times it is difficult to find the information you are wanting on a page. As long as the page is not an image, you can search for words on a webpage, pdf, etc. by clicking Ctrl+F. Then type in the word you are searching.
7. Revisit a Browser Tab That Was Accidentally Closed– If you accidentally closed out of a browser tab, there is a simple keyboard shortcut that can quickly bring it back open. Simply click Ctrl+Shift+T.
8. Format Painter – The format painter applies all attributions. Think of it as copying and pasting for formatting styles. Highlight the text, row, column, or graphic you want to apply to another object and click on the Format Painter icon under the Clipboard. From there, highlight the object you would like to apply the format to. Pro Tip: You can also click Ctrl+Shift+C to copy all formatting and Ctrl+Shift+V to apply the formatting.
9. Screenshot – To take a screenshot of the entire screen, click the Ctrl+PrtSc. If you only want to take a screenshot of the application or dialogue box that is up, click on that application or dialogue box and click the Alt+PrtSc. Chromebook Tip: Many schools are providing Chromebooks. It is important to note the instructions are different. Here is an article for Chromebook users: https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/14/21065295/chromebook-screenshots-how-to-take-keyboard-keys.
10. Screen Freeze – Many times when your computer is not responding, one program is causing an issue. A keyboard shortcut that all users should learn about is Ctrl+Shift+Esc. Many of you may have used Ctrl+Alt+Delete in the past and it still works, but Ctrl+Shift+Esc is a quicker way to pull up the Task Manager and see what programs are using CPU memory or which programs are not responding. Once you determine which program, you can close just that program down.
11. Dictation Tool - It isn’t a keyboard shortcut, but this button is a life saver for kids that don’t know how to type and struggle with spelling. In each Office product, there is a Dictation tool. An important reminder is to make sure they go back and re-read what they wrote. It might be good to have an adult review before an assignment is submitted, too.

Get Prepared for Digital Learning

We hope you found the first blog in our series helpful. Understanding keyboard shortcuts helps expedite the learning process and makes it easier to execute homework and assignments for both students and parents. If you have a technology topic you would like to see covered to help the digital learning process, let us know.

Every year, Deltek collaborates with ACEC, ACEC Canada, AIA and SMPS to conduct a study to measure the health of the AE industry. The 41^st Deltek AE Clarity Report provides a comprehensive assessment of the 2019 performance of AE firms. Furthermore, the study collected responses from more than 415 firms of all sizes within the AE industry. While many of you will eventually read over the findings, here is a summary of what you will discover in detail.

Clarity on AE Technology Trends

With no surprise, technology is a leading focus for AE firms. It seems like this is a trend every year, and it is now becoming even more important for AE firms to invest in technology to be competitive. Surprisingly, augmented and virtual reality is driving a deeper interest into technology investments for AE firms. Even more, firms that have been challenged by the costs of emerging technologies are finding them more affordable as they become more mainstream. According to responses from the Deltek Clarity survey, firms have accepted that the cost of investing in technology has a significant and beneficial impact on the efficiency of their operations.

Clarity on Financial Statements

2019 proved to be another great year for the AE industry in regard to financial performance. The report explains that over the past 10 years, the financial stability of the AE industry has remained strong and has shown growth. While many of the core metrics measuring financial strength demonstrate small changes from year to year, the changes are continuously positive. A significant finding is that operating profit on net revenue and net fixed assets per employee did rise in 2019. Furthermore, the benchmarks for operating profit on net revenue and net labor both surpassed the high performer thresholds which backs the findings of financial stability in the AE industry.

Clarity on Business Development

This section has some interesting findings. Win rates were down and so was revenue from the firm’s top three clients. However, there may be some factors that can explain these results. Is it because firms are lacking a formal go/no go process to improve new business pursuits, or are firms pursuing business in new markets? Are your firm’s top three clients doing less work? Perhaps it is a combination of all these things. But one thing remains certain, that business development continues to be a challenge for AE firms.

Clarity on Project Management

What, what, what? The 41^st Deltek Clarity Report found that AE firms, which are project-based businesses, have recognized they need to improve their project management capabilities. Yes, you read that right. Many AE firms are reporting they need to better define responsibilities and processes, develop better practices, and invest in project management training. How fantastic that AE firms are recognizing that project management and delivery is hindering the overall performance of their firm and acknowledging there is a need for change.

Clarity on Human Capital Management

Human Capital Management is a not a problem unique to the AE industry, and it affects nearly every profession. For AE firms, talent acquisition is the top challenge leaders face each year. Since a firm is only as good as the people it employs, acquiring and retaining top talent is essential to staying competitive. Unfortunately, talent acquisition is going to continue to be a challenge for AE firms since the number of available experts is limited. Also, AE firms continue to fall short due to lack of succession planning. This is something AE firms should evaluate as we approach a generational change and baby boomer retirements.

Learn More with the 41^st Deltek Clarity Report

For many, the Annual Deltek AE Clarity Report is a valuable tool used to benchmark the performance of your firm. It’s important to keep in mind that using this report from 2019 to compare to your current fiscal year of 2020 may give you skewed results as the global pandemic’s effects are still unseen and predicting the impact is nearly impossible. Good news though, you can still compare your 2019 results against the report findings, and Deltek plans on releasing the 42^nd Annual Clarity Report in 2021, which will most certainly shine light on the impact of the global pandemic.

Years ago, when a firm was looking to fill a position, there were limited resources for recruiting and there was a stagnant hiring process. The old-fashioned newspaper classified ad, a placement in a trade magazine or word of mouth were the go-to options for sourcing. After many hours of reviewing hard copy candidate resumes, interviews were set up by telephone, and connections were made. Once the right candidate was discovered, there was a printed offer letter to be mailed for acceptance and miles of hiring paperwork to be filled out by hand. It was certainly a time-consuming process.  Luckily, with the rise of the internet and technological advancements, the recruiting and hiring process has dramatically changed.

The Whole World is Your Oyster

With local classified ads, regional trade magazines and literal word of mouth, the reach for hiring managers was not very expansive. Using the internet, hiring managers now have access to the whole world when posting job ads. The open positions can be advertised directly on company websites, through professional networking on LinkedIn, or even more relaxed platforms such as Facebook or Twitter. Word of mouth has also gained momentum with email and information exchange. Thanks to the internet, the chances of finding the right candidate for your open employment position are greatly enlarged.

Time Savings Using Talent Management Software

Compared to the old way, talent management software saves hiring managers, candidates, and new hires a lot of time. Once jobs are posted online, resumes in response to open positions are uploaded and can be searched for specific hiring needs. Interviews can be scheduled more efficiently, and candidates can track the recruitment process. When new hires onboard, the “paperwork” is completed in advance online, so they can jump right into learning about their roles. Additionally, any certifications or licenses required can be obtained and monitored using talent management software.

Candidate Driven Job Market

In the past, employers drove the job market. It could take months before second and third interviews were done, and candidates were left in limbo. With the current competition for talent, however, the tides have turned. Hiring managers know that to get quality talent, they need to appeal to the candidates and give them the best recruiting and hiring experience. Candidates need to be informed and moved quickly through the hiring process. Furthermore, firms need to showcase their brands online through their websites and social media to attract the attention of these candidates.

Business Intelligence Can Help with Finding the Best Candidates

Business intelligence (BI) as it exists now was not available back in the day for talent acquisition. “Informed” decisions were made based on paper resumes and involved conversations. Fortunately, in today’s modern world, BI gives hiring managers a leg up. Using certain chosen data, hiring managers can establish a process to find the right candidates for open positions. They have realized that such data can be used to visualize patterns to predict future success. Rather than guessing on the right person to fill a role, they can look at specific information to see who would make the best addition to the team.

Take Advantage of Technology

So much time was wasted back in the days of placing classified ads…even if you like pina coladas and getting caught in the rain. Nowadays, everyone involved in the talent acquisition process benefits from technology. And every time technology improves, the process is made simpler and easier. Why not take advantage of what is right at your fingertips?