Congratulations! Your firm just won the largest project in its history and it’s time to celebrate, or is it? Unfortunately, winning the big project doesn’t guarantee success and big profits. For project-based firms, project management is synonymous with profit management, but many projects start in the red making it nearly impossible to make a profit. Here’s a look at some common pitfalls project-based firms face before they ever start a project.

Accurate Job Costing

If you have been on a proposal team, you know the feeling of relief that overcomes you once you finally submit the proposal. Weeks of working long hours reading and writing exhilarating technical content and attending meeting after meeting. All this work and time exhausted by several people when in reality, your final price is the biggest factor in winning. But, can your firm deliver the project on the proposed budget?

Accurate job costing requires accurate information, and most firms believe they have the right systems for their business model. Excel sheets and the time clock work, but these systems don’t communicate very well. Even more, consider the unreported overhead time to reconcile these systems and the mistakes made during this process.

“If it works, don’t fix it” doesn’t always apply, and information in more than one system doesn’t work when trying to maximize profit. When it comes to job costing, you already have to worry about inaccurate estimates from suppliers. These are costs you can’t control, so be sure to take control of your internal cost monitoring to create profitable bids you can deliver.

Establishing Key Performance Indicators

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are various quantifiable measurements used for determining the success of the project. The KPIs establish a guide to the project and are used as the basis for critical decision-making. More importantly, not executing on a specific KPI can affect the project’s profitability for your firm and your client’s satisfaction.

Here’s where some project-based firms struggle. In many cases, several of the KPIs are destined for failure before the project starts. The problem is that defining KPIs is truly challenging and your clients usually lack experience with the process. All too often, this results in KPIs that are unrealistic and unmeasurable.

Establishing realistic KPIs is the first step to managing the profit of a project. As the project manager, it’s in your best interest to have a strong role in creating the KPIs. Good project KPIs have values that can be accurately measured and clearly reported on. Further, they need to be understood and agreed to by all parties. To learn more about project KPIs, click here.

Risk Management

Projects are full of unforeseen obstacles and predicting these is not always possible, but this doesn’t mean your firm can’t minimize the impacts. They just need to have a formal risk management strategy. Although this might be a time consuming process, it’s a necessary process required to protect your profit.    

A study by Info-Tech Research Group found that organizations with a formal risk management strategy are more than half as likely to have project management success than those with a reactive approach. To put it another way, having a risk management strategy before the project gets started is critical to the project’s success and profitability.

A risk management strategy starts with identifying common risks such as unrealistic schedules and requirements that fail to align with the strategy of the project. Once these risks are identified, evaluate the impact each risk will have on the project. From there, make a contingency plan that has a pre-planned response to the unexpected event.       

Become a Profit Manager

Don’t start your next project in the red. Project management starts with project planning, and not having the right systems and processes in place can hinder the success of the project. If your firm is falling into any of these pitfalls, consider the changes that you can make to become an effective profit manager.  

In June Deltek announced iAccess. So what is iAccess? Deltek’s iAccess is a new, user-friendly interface that gives front office employees access to Deltek Vision information on-the-go. Users can access information from anywhere, anytime and the new interface is specifically built for tablets and mobile devices. 

I recently went on a trip and didn’t have internet access to my laptop, but I had cellular service on my iPad. I found the new interface a life saver as I needed to quickly access client data. Portions of the new feature may look familiar because iAccess was formerly called Navigator, but has received new and improved capabilities. It now also includes CRM related information. Best of all iAccess is free for all users. The Business Development component does require a CRM license. 

The new interface now provides users the ability to access three critical areas of Vision: 

• Employee Workspace: View, create and submit timesheets anywhere, anytime an employee has internet access. Provides a simplified way to manage and submit expenses with the ability to upload receipts from any mobile device.
• Project Management Workspace: Plan, manage, monitor and execute project in a centralized, easy-to-use tool. Quickly and simply view key project metrics and view alerts and warnings when projects are at risk.  
• Business Development Workspace: Manage clients, contacts and opportunities on-the-go. Business Development teams can review, add and update critical client data and add touchpoints after client meetings or calls.

As you can see, the tool is really intuitive and the sleek new interface provides a more modern look and feel. Vision iAccess does have to be set-up by your IT staff just like the Deltek Touch products. Users must have remote access capabilities. For more information, be sure to download the product sheet or view Full Sail Partners’ iAccess webinar. 

All too often, certain words and catchphrases are overused in business meetings to the point they have become trite and serve little to no real purpose. These words and phrases are used in business blogs, articles, websites, and day-to-day business emails. One such term, "client-focused", is thrown around as a marketing gimmick for professional services firms, but what does it really mean to be client-focused?

Before we get too far, here’s what you need to know:

1. There is a difference between saying you’re a client-focused firm and actually being client-focused.
2. Your firm’s culture dictates the level of service your clients receive. 
3. If your firm isn’t using technology to support your client relationships, you’re already behind.

The Firm-Focused vs. Client-Focused Professional Services Firm

Being truly client-focused depends on how your firm sees their clients. Sure, it is easy to talk the talk, but putting words into action is where things tend to get difficult.

When a firm places an enormous emphasis on the needs of their clients, they are firm-focused. A firm-focused business makes decisions based on the benefits to themselves and not with their client’s best interest in mind. 

On the contrary, truly "client-focused" firms make decisions that are determined by their client’s needs, as they are at the center of all such business decisions. They understand exactly what their clients need which helps to promote a symbiotic relationship between the firm and the clients.

Through the delivery of top-notch service aimed directly at the needs of their clients, a company will see a simultaneous rise in business performance. After all, the services provided were determined with the client and their needs in mind.  

Living the Firm’s Culture

Who are your clients? The answer might surprise you, but in the business world, there are two types: internal and external clients. 

Internal clients are members of your organization that rely on the help of other members to perform their job. These individuals can fall anywhere on the spectrum of your chain of command, from coworkers to upper management and executives. 

On the other hand, external clients are clients in the traditional sense of the term. They are the buyer of the services your firm provides. 

Do you feel you receive great service from the other internal customers within your firm? If you’re not receiving great service from within your own organization, imagine the service your external clients are receiving. Your firm’s culture is a reflected by the employees, and your clients can see if you live by the values you market.

If you’re not satisfied with your internal customer service, start communicating and living the values that define your firm. Your clients will notice the difference.

How Technology is Changing Playing Field  

Keep up with the Joneses - In order to be competitive and effective within an industry, your firm needs to ensure it is using innovative technology that helps promote success. Failing to innovate hinders a firms’ ability to adapt and grow while the "Joneses," aka your competitors, employ the use of industry leading technology enabling them to leave you in the dust. 

With a Client Relationship Management (CRM) software, you can take your company to the next level by keeping the functions of your company in a centralized system. This helps promote a conducive work environment in which the sales and marketing teams, and administration and finance teams can better work together to achieve client-focused results. To learn more about the basics to Deltek Vision CRM, click here.

An additional benefit of using innovative technology and software is that it enables you to access your work on-the-go. Today we have access to everything on our smartphone devices. From banking to entertainment, email to ordering pizza and everything in between, we can do incredible things with just one, single device. Having mobile access to your CRM allows you to -update client information on-the-go and enables other members of your organization access to the most up-to-date information about your clients. 

The Takeaway 

The importance of understanding what it means to be "client-focused" cannot be overstated. Your firm should define itself by its actions and not by catchphrases.

The goal of being client-focused is to nurture client relationships to retain clients and win more work. Remember, your existing clients are the lifeblood of your organization. According to Bain & Company, it cost 6 to 7 time more to acquire a new customer than retain an existing one. It seems smart to try to keep the clients you already have.

Sometimes life’s not fair. We’ve all been told this before, and if you are part of the human resources (HR) department, I’m sure you hear about fairness all the time. But what about you - the HR professional performing manual processes and navigating through a sea of paper work. Why do the accounting and operations departments have sophisticated software to make their lives easier? It’s just another one of life’s injustices, but it doesn’t have to be. That’s right, talent management systems are now being integrated into those awesome Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions your counterparts in other departments are using and are changing the way companies manage their human capital.

So how does managing talent with an ERP benefit your company? Let me explain. The purpose of a talent management system is to attract, retain, and develop a skilled workforce to ensure a company has the talent needed in order to grow in the future. More specifically, these systems are integrated software suites that address the three core areas of managing talent: recruitment, performance tracking, and employee development. Let’s look at how a talent management system can ease headaches for the HR department and can increase workforce engagement. 

Recruitment – Talent Acquisition

Admit it, the recruitment process is a daunting task and selecting the best candidate isn’t easy. One job posting can generate hundreds of responses from candidates with varying levels of skills, and reviewing all those resumes is a time consuming process. Why continue spending precious hours on the tedious recruitment process when a talent management system can reduce these headaches.

Talent management systems can eliminate several of the time consuming and tedious tasks related to the recruitment process. For starters, advertising new positions over multiple job board sites and social media sites happens with just one click, therefore reducing the time to advertise new positions. Speaking of saving time, the most time consuming component of the recruitment process is reviewing numerous cover letters and resumes. Quickly reduce the resume review time by eliminating underqualified candidates using pre-screening questions, and using standardized resume templates to enable an apples-to-apples comparison of qualified candidates.

Performance Tracking – Employee Acknowledgement and Engagement

When a company has an inconsistent appraisal processes, employees have a tendency to lose motivation. It’s human nature to desire to achieve goals and receive recognition for their accomplishments. Even worse, no one likes giving or receiving an unexpected poor review. Put an end to the inconsistent appraisal processes and create a process that motivates employee improvement.

By utilizing a talent management solution, the employee performance tracking program can increase accountability and the entire process is documented within one system, which ensures that the appraisal process is consistent across all departments. Talent management solutions are also designed to make sure the business goals align with employee goals and these individual impacts on the company bottom line are measured. Additionally, goals are tracked throughout the year enabling a multistage approach to the appraisal process so employees are aware their performance throughout the year.     

Employee Development – Succession Planning and Workforce Motivation

There’s nothing more demotivating at work than feeling pigeon-holed into a position. Sure, that recent raise was nice and even the bonus. But let’s get real, no one wants to be doing the same task day-in and day-out for an eternity and employees have aspirations of climbing the corporate ladder. Furthermore, employee development is a critical factor in succession planning. How does senior management identify the skills and talents of individual employees in rapidly growing organizations?  

The employee development component of a talent management system is critical for identifying top performing talent. For starters, these systems allow employees to build individual talent profiles where they add their skills and career goals to ensure alignment with their development plan. These profiles allow managers to create individual development plans based on the employee’s personal goals, strengths and weaknesses. As a result, employee learning and development are tracked within one centralized database where the employee and management can see their progress.  

Conclusion – Managing Talent by the Numbers

How important is it to have an effective talent management system in place? According to Josh Bersin, “Organizations with superior talent management practices generate 26% higher revenue per employee, 40% lower turnover among high potential employees and 29% higher employee engagement than their peers.” (Bersin by Deloitte 2013) Based on these stats, it only seems fair for HR to have a sophisticated ERP system. 

Full Sail Partners' VP of Sales and Marketing, Sarah Gonnella, spoke with Cathy Cushing, Office Manager; Malcolm Whyte, Executive Vice President; and Saul Macias, Vice President of Professional Services from SharedHR to discuss the human resources consulting services they provide to small- to medium-sized business and how having a project-based ERP system is critical to their success. 

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SharedHR is an experienced management consulting and human resource services firm. They believe the essence of an organization’s success rests with attracting, developing, and retaining the right talent. SharedHR takes the time to learn about your company and its culture in order to provide customized, service-orient- ed support to foster your success. SharedHR can supplement your payroll, benefits, and HR team or fully outsource your HR function. The SharedHR methodology streamlines your administrative processes using our cloud-based HR platform. Their approach offers flexible solutions to match the needs of your small to mid-sized business. They pair each client with a dedicated and experienced associate who offers access to the combined knowledge and resources of our entire knowledge base and senior team. SharedHR leverages paperless, cloud-based technology to integrate and optimize your HR and administrative processes so you can focus on high-value business priorities. 

Have you ever thought about all the information a firm collects on a daily basis? Think about it, every department is collecting information all the time. More importantly, information collected impacts your firm’s strategy and directly correlates to how successful you are at winning and retaining business. So what should your firm be doing with all of this information? The following five concepts answer this question and are the future of marketing for professional services firms. 

1.    Multiple Marketer Personality (MMP) – I disagree with the philosophy that being a jack of all trades is a bad thing. In today's world of marketing, your career depends on the fact that you must juggle multiple tasks at one time and that you can quickly grasp concepts that you may know nothing about. This complex role of the marketer requires us to have a disease called Multiple Marketer Personality (MMP).

How can you tell if you have MMP? One way to tell is your role requires you to understand, decipher and extract data. One of our past articles talks more about this specific requirement that identifies someone who is equally passionate about marketing and savvy with technology to become the Marketing Technologist. Other key symptoms indicative of MMP are understanding how HR, finance and operations impact marketing. Understanding strength and weakness of employee talents, how communication occurs between client and employee, and the ROI of marketing are critical to establishing a firm’s growth plan. A marketing strategy becomes a pipe dream, instead of a realistic strategy, without a good grasp of these areas.

2.    ‘Necessity is the Mother of Invention’ Says Your iPhone – Mobile is no longer what will happen, it is happening. Having mobile access will no longer be a nice to have, but a necessity. We actually collect and share an infinite amount of information on mobile devices and the cloud is changing the way we conduct business. Can you submit expense receipts or document a new opportunity with a client in real-time on your phone? More and more of our life is on a mobile device and computers are not always available. If your firm is not able to access information on-the-go, you will fall behind your competition. To learn more about mobile CRM, read “Mobile CRM: A Day in the Life of a Business Developer.”

3.    Fusion of Data Tools – What do you get when you have visibility into your entire organization? Inquiring professional service minds would wish to know. Marketing data is so spread out between Client Relationship Management (CRM) systems, website forms, email systems, accounting systems, project management system, etc. that having one place to report is nearly impossible. Moving into the future, firms need to make a conscious effort to connect these autonomous information systems. Marketing automation + ERP integration is the future. Marketing automation tools connect inbound marketing, outbound marketing emails, social scheduling, SEO and lead nurturing. Where ERP connects all business functions, from your Finance, Management Accounting, Project Management, Client Relationship Management (CRM), Human Resources, Inventory and Purchasing. Each can be very powerful alone, but together they become a powerhouse.

4.    Gathering Feedback that Impact Your Client – 65% of a company's business is from existing customers. This means that a happy client equals future revenue, but do you really know what your clients think of your firm? You should and you can. Client feedback tools are changing the way professional services firms manage their clients. Other industries have called them, Voice of the Customer (VOC), Client Experience Management (CEM), and Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM). But professional services firms have different needs and research has found that only 5% of them utilize a customer/client feedback system. Firms no longer have to wait until the end of a project to know that their client is unsatisfied. With client feedback tools, quick two-minute surveys are sent to clients during the life-cycle of the project. This allows your firm to proactively manage your client's expectations by knowing what makes the client happy and also identify things they would like to see changed. As addressed in this blog, “Using Project Feedback to Increase Profitability,” feedback is the key to stopping profitability loss during a project. 

5.    Sharing Firm Knowledge with Social Collaboration Tools – Are you working with a team and still sending out group emails? Stop! Social media changed how we communicate in our private life and it has changed how we communicate in business. Business collaboration tools are designed to ensure that teams work more effectively. No longer do you need to send a group email and worry that you left someone off. Business collaboration tools allow team members to share project related information on one site. They can also be integrated with other business tools, such as ERP and CRM systems, and Outlook. Since business collaboration tools are designed to be user-friendly, they are easy to implement and people are more likely use them. Additionally, business collaboration tools are not just for internal communication, but can also be shared with the client. Interested in how your firm can start utilizing social collaboration, this blog further highlighting the “5 Key Reasons Why Business Collaboration Tools are the Future.”
 
The future of marketing for professional services firms is based on the way we collect, share and use information. Is your firm taking the right steps to get ahead of the competition? Connect with us to discuss more about the future of your firm. 
 
*photo credit: http://www.business2community.com/  

The digital age has revolutionized every aspect of our lives. If you want to know something, simply search for the answer on the internet. Email and social media are now prevalent ways to communicate, and are becoming increasingly effective marketing channels. This revolution has changed how we conduct business. More importantly, the way we market our business evolves daily and has created a new role called the marketing technologist. 

The Impact of More Data

A Forrester Research study found that 96% of CMOs surveyed agreed that the pace of change in technology and marketing will continue to accelerate. As a result, firms cannot rely on mass marketing techniques that provide little return on investment. A wealth of information about your prospects and their level of interest is readily available with the right tools and knowledge. This modern marketing world is becoming more strategic and performance-driven. So with the rise of performance-driven marketing, marketing decisions are based on extremely accurate data. This new era of marketing has given birth to a new breed of marketing professionals known as marketing technologist.

What is Required of a Marketing Technologist?

A marketing technologist is a unique individual that is characterized as analytic and creative. They have a background that is a blend between information technology and marketing. Furthermore, a marketing technologist is the secret to staying ahead the technology curve and your competition. They know how to analyze the data collected from marketing campaigns to gain a deeper understanding of your customers. In fact, they can use this data to determine the level of interest of a potential lead to create a nurturing campaign that guides the lead through the business development process. In addition to creating content and evaluating campaign performance, marketing technologist are tech savvy and understand how new marketing technologies work. This increased ability to collect accurate data in near real-time is the direct result of the digital age and the advent of new technologies.

Why the Growing Demand of the Marketing Technologist

The marketing technology software industry is booming. International Data Corporation (IDC) recently reported that organizations worldwide will spend over $130 billion on software over the next five years for marketing departments alone. Today, having a website and a few social media accounts is the norm for business. Now there is a never ending sea of content management and marketing automation platforms that allows for all types of new creative ways to engage customers. More importantly, these platforms can be integrated with internal CRM solutions to increase marketing effectiveness by:

• Enabling lead nurturing before the sales team gets involved in the sales process.
• Gathering data about potential leads by tracking their web activities, browsing habits, and responses to marketing efforts.
• Prioritizing leads by scoring them based on their recorded activities and recognizing when a lead is ready to be engaged by the sales team.

As more technologies enter the marketplace, the demand for marketing technologist will grow.

The Future of the Marketing Technologist

Even though SHRM, the leading organization for human resources professionals, does not recognize “Marketing Technologist” as a job title, there are job postings on employment websites with similar job descriptions across the country. According to a recent study by Gartner analyst Laura McLellan, CMOs will be spend more on information technology than their counterpart CIOs by 2017. Marketing departments are spending more on technology than information technology departments - that is saying a lot about the future of marketing and is indicative of the future growth of the marketing technologist role. As companies invest more into their marketing technology, having a qualified individuals will be a requirement.

A current trend in many organizations is to closely align the marketing and technology departments to work together as a team. Not because they do not want to hire a marketing technologist, but rather the result of having a limited amount of people to choose from with experience in both marketing and information technology. The title of a recent article posted on Forbes, “The Rise of the Unicorns – Why Marketing Technologists will Rule Modern Marketing” supports this assertion and supports the real growth in the marketing technologist role.

You may have already asked the question or may be wondering, what will happen to Deltek Vision with the new announcement of Spartan?  For those that don’t know, Microsoft announced that the Windows 10 operating system will debut an entirely new web browser, code-named Spartan. Many IT savvy clients have already been asking the question, what does this mean for Deltek Vision? Will Deltek Vision still work? The short answer is, “Yes.” 

Microsoft made the following statement, “Project Spartan is Microsoft’s next generation browser, built just for Windows 10. We will continue to make Internet Explorer available with Windows 10 for enterprises and other customers who require legacy browser support.” Additionally, Kyle Pflug, program manager for Spartan, wrote in a blog post, “Based on strong feedback from our Windows Insiders and customers, today we're announcing that on Windows 10, Project Spartan will host our new engine exclusively. Internet Explorer 11 will remain fundamentally unchanged from Windows 8.1, continuing to host the legacy engine exclusively." He added, “Enterprises that adopt Windows 10 will be able to set IE11 as the OS's default browser using group policy settings”. 

Internet Explorer is a staple performer and Microsoft will continue to support it for years. Microsoft has promised to support the browser with security updates for at least the next eight years or through January 2023. So rest assured that Internet Explorer will still exist and therefore Deltek Vision will still work. 

With that being said, Deltek has already been looking at ways for firms to connect to Vision without Internet Explorer to become more system agnostic. New features that can run on any web browser include, the new project manager portal (Navigator) and an upcoming CRM portal. Additionally, Deltek product developers are looking at ways to further minimalize reliance on Internet Explorer with future releases. 

For those firms that need to connect to Deltek Vision from a MAC or any tablet or phone today, there is Vision Unleashed. This solution allows your firm to access your Deltek Vision data anywhere with almost any device. Additionally, a 30-day FREE provisional test period is available. 

Bottom line: 

1. Firms already have options already available to you to access your Deltek Vision data without Internet Explorer
2. Internet Explorer isn’t going away any time soon
3. Deltek is committed to the Vision product 

Should you have any questions regarding this or any other technical questions, we encourage you to reach out to your Deltek Partner.

Our modern day culture is often obsessed with perfection. Magazine covers are graced by photoshopped professional models and our TV screens are filled with successful eclectics whose wealth is their biggest problem.

Fortunately, perfection is not an attainable goal; the real goal is the path we follow as we strive for peak performance which is the essence of a 'perfect employee'.

It was Vince Lombardi that said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” Considering that the NFL Super Bowl trophy is named after Vince Lombardi, you could say he knew a thing or two about peak performance…

So, what qualities help us along this path to being the ‘perfect employee’? 

What are the 11 P's of Peak Performance?

If obtaining peak performance is our professional goal, then, what exactly are the attributes that we need to be the 'perfect employee'?  Following is the list of benchmark qualities you should strive for on your path:

1. Proficient. Sure, you can’t have all the answers but you know how to dive in or connect with the right people to figure them out. You come to the table with suggestions - not more problems. You are constantly looking at how to improve the process.

2. Proud. You are proud of your work because your efforts are always well thought out, tested and reviewed. You don't rely on others to finish your assignments but ask others to quality check your work to make sure it is always correct.

3. Persistent. We all know to learn from mistakes, but the 'perfect employee' personifies this concept. You admit when you are wrong sooner than later. If you don't know how to do something, you find out how … with no excuses.

4. Passionate. You LOVE what you do and radiate emotion when you talk about your work!  You learn on your own, offer improvements, and share with others what you know.

5. Productive. Your willingness to push up your sleeves and work overtime while not jeopardizing other commitments is renowned. While we all have parts of our jobs that are not favorable, 'perfect employees' realize the goal of those less desirable tasks and get them done.

6. Positive. You exemplify “Can Do!” by accepting that you can always improve, you see challenges as opportunities, and you think about how things can be done instead of complaining about what you can't change (including the past).

7. Professional. You understand that while comradery is important with co-workers and clients, there is a fine line between “fun” and unprofessional “fooling around.” You make sure your work is top notch and your comments will not ever be construed as childish or offensive.

8. Able to keep Promises. You are always thinking about priorities and when the job will be completed in order to deliver in order to keep your promise. You communicate when a conflict arises but still look to deliver on time. You are faithful about deadlines and rarely provide excuses.

9. Punctual. You understand the value of time, yours as well as others. People think “punctual” is your middle name.

10. Able to Promote … others and yourself. You promote great deeds and great work regardless of who completed it. You are always thinking and talking about ways to make the workplace a better environment for your colleagues and services better for clients.

11. Purposeful. Each day has a purpose. You take each day and every action seriously; constantly thinking about what needs to be accomplished and how to generate purposeful results.

HOW to be “perfect” (or close)?