Full Sail Partners Blog (62)

Of all the metrics that professional services firms can track, two of the most important are utilization and realization.  These are different, but related ways of measuring employee productivity and profitability. Both can be measured with a high degree of accuracy — and made visible to management — using software.

A quick jargon review

Utilization measures the hours charged to a client’s project compared to the total available hours (usually 40 hours per week). For example, if an employees’ expected work week is 40 hours and the employee achieves 35 hours of client chargeable work then their utilization rate is 87.5%.

Utilization is not necessarily within an employee’s control: for example, an employee might be working on an important internal project that can’t be billed. Because of the many variables that affect utilization, the longer the period over which it’s tracked — say, over the course of a year — the more useful it is in evaluating performance against employee and company goals.

The second metric, realization, refers to the actual revenue based on employees’ hours charged and billed to clients compared to what they should have generated from their utilization achieved. It’s a measure of their profitability, and a metric that provides valuable insight into how well a company is able to translate hours worked on projects into revenue. In a perfect world utilization and realization will be equal, but this is rarely the case.  Realization can also help in compensation and promotion reviews, staffing decisions, project and unit pricing and assessing the health of the company itself.

The impact of measuring employee productivity and profitability can be enhanced further by a commitment to Earned Value Management (EVM), a project management technique for objectively measuring project performance and progress. Together, these techniques help a firm gain a clear, objective view of employee and project performance, identify where resources are over- and under-utilized, and optimize workforce utilization and profitability.

Software solutions

There are a number of software solutions for measuring employee productivity and profitability. Some focus specifically on project and resource management, while others provide these functions as part of larger, more integrated solutions. 

For example, Deltek Vision can provide a firm with comprehensive visibility into its organization, efficient oversight of its projects and people, and efficient automation of processes. Most significantly, it allows the firm to be proactive rather than reactive in addressing resource management issues, thus increasing the probability of project success. On a more tactical level, the product’s Employee Realization feature allows a user to track and report on realization values, compare utilization vs. realization, optimize staff utilization, minimize scheduling conflict, and substantially reduce the potential for missed milestones. 

Whatever approach an organization uses in measuring employee productivity and profitability, doing so requires a sustained effort and commitment on the part of management. Handled correctly, however, the payoff is immense: instant visibility into resource commitments across an entire organization, and granular awareness of who is available (and when) with the skills needed to satisfy projects’ technical requirements.

Project delivery is all about taking an idea from concept through to production. Firms want their projects completed in the fastest and most cost-efficient manner possible, all without sacrificing quality. Incorporating feedback into a firm’s process helps the team perform at their best, while the very act of asking for feedback shows clients proactive and professional care. To help jumpstart your client feedback process, we’ve listed the top 10 feedback techniques to facilitate project delivery. 

1. Make it Comfortable.

When requesting feedback make sure the process is comfortable to use for all parties. The more comfortable the process, the more likely both parties are to participate. A comfortable process means clients will not feel put on the spot and concerned about a confrontation. Focus questions on processes, not personalities, and offer a flexible answer scale to capture subtle nuances of perceptions. 

2. Create Actionable Results.
An effective feedback technique requires data to enable follow-up. Be sure you are asking questions that allow you to retrieve measurable, actionable data. If the questions are too vague or too open ended, you won’t have the information that you need to take action.  

3. Process Focused.

The questions asked should be about process rather than people or products. We aren’t looking to find out how well the client “liked” us, but rather where our process is working great and where it might need some improvement.  

4. Go Beyond Satisfaction.

Ask your clients questions focused on their expectations, instead of their satisfaction, because satisfaction is the expected norm. The client’s perception of how you performed compared to their expectations is the key to knowing where to improve your project delivery process. Additionally, you’ll find 500% more exceptionally positive feedback than you will challenging feedback – and we all love to discover good news. 

5. Reduce Liability.

When asking for feedback, focus on questions that can reduce liability and encourage positive outcomes. Just by asking for feedback throughout a project, you are creating a record of the service perceptions all along the way, reducing the chance of a lawsuit and increasing your ability to meet their needs. Feedback helps keep you and your client aligned on a common goal - a successful project outcome. 

6. Don’t Wait.

Collect feedback throughout the project, not just at the end - when it’s too late to improve that project. Response rates are highest when the client senses his feedback might improve the project outcome. Once the project is over, the incentive to respond is gone. 

7. Make it Trackable.

Tracking feedback responses isn’t complicated, but making sure everyone on your team gets the feedback they need, reviews it, and takes appropriate action can be much more challenging. Deploy good tools to capture who is asking for feedback, who’s responding, and who takes what action on each critical response. 

8. Use Instant Alerts.

Collect feedback in a way that you can be instantly alerted to new feedback and drive real-time follow-up.  A good system will establish score thresholds that indicate, in real-time, when follow-up is required for exceptional circumstances. Make sure the right people are alerted so nothing falls through the cracks. 

9. Keep the Client First.

Structure your feedback techniques so that it is quick and easy for the client to give you feedback. Don’t waste their time with long surveys or questions with answers that only matter to you.  Response rates are higher with multiple short surveys over a period of time, than with one or two long surveys sent less frequently. 

10. Follow up.

Don’t neglect the follow up! A survey should always start a conversation, not replace one. Typically, follow-up is simply a personal acknowledgement that you saw and read the response. However, if any special situations were noted (either in scores or comments) be sure you open a dialogue to show how the feedback will change the process and project going forward. 

Each of these feedback techniques focus on a deliberate approach to your feedback collection efforts. Set your goals to collect actionable feedback in way that is easy for the client. Make understanding the results and following up easy for you too. See feedback as the opportunity that it is to improve your process, reduce your liability and become your client’s expert.

Interested in learning more about how you can start collecting client feedback?

Now that Spring has arrived, it is an excellent time to clean-up your database. Is your data clean, consistent, and accurate? Almost everyone you talk to would answer this question with an emphatic "NO" for one reason or another. Data is always degrading in any database you review because information is constantly changing. Contacts leave companies, projects progress, and opportunities move through the sales cycle.

Data integrity impacts our ability to determine business trends, success rate, and just know who and what to pursue. Misleading queries and inaccurate reports result in making wrong decisions when data is incomplete or incorrect. With an integrated ERP system everyone can help with the clean-up, but on the other hand they can sometimes add to the mess. So what do you need to keep in mind when tackling data clean-up?

Clean your dirty data by evaluating these four areas: decision points, standardization, automated clean-up, and dedicated resources.  Let’s walk through an example and apply each of these four areas to project data.

• Step 1 –  Decision Points: It is helpful to start by doing a search criteria to help make a decision. First, determine what fields need to be cleaned-up and what fields need to be evaluated so you can narrow down the list.  Maybe we want to update the project status to determine if it should be dormant, inactive, or active. Our first criteria could be to search all projects that are active to see how many we need to evaluate. Then we need to narrow the search. Depending on what information you can search, you could do a search on when the project was opened and/or if time has been billed in the past two months.  Understanding your decision points narrows down the list and reduces the number of projects that need to be evaluated.
• Step 2 – Standardization: Sometimes during the clean-up you realize there are fields or options that are not really needed. This is a great time to establish or re-establish corporate standards and expectations. Is everyone using the same definition? In our example, are you finding employees that are using inactive instead of dormant?  Adding tool tips can provide a definition to help users know how to update the field.
• Step 3 – Automated Clean-up: Now that you have gone through the exercise of cleaning up the information. Think about how you can update the information periodically or better yet provide an alert to you or employees when they should update the information. Is there a specific timeframe that the status should be evaluated? Workflows can help keep the data accurate. By identifying a trigger, a workflow could alert someone to review the information or even update the status to dormant based on lack of activity.
• Step 4 – Dedicated Resources: As the saying goes, the information is only as good as the data on which is based. So dedicate the necessary resources to clean it up and better yet, maintain the data. Setting up a quality control schedule and setting expectations helps keep the data clean and manageable.

Does your firm have dirty data? For a fresh clean feeling, take the time to establish your firm’s process to clean it up! By following these four steps, your firm will improve data integrity.

In keeping up with CRM related forums, someone asked about the best approach to handling and maintaining their CRM system.  It started to make me think about the value of what is communicated in these forums and how much people trust advice from others they believe to be their peers. It made me wonder why people instantly trust others that may or may not have all of the background information that top consulting firms discover when providing their services.  

In this situation, I observed people giving advice as opposed to just sharing experiences.  I found it curious that contributors to the forum assumed many of the variables the person inquiring had not provided and further, the person making the inquiry hoped to find solutions without providing any background or specifics.  

No two companies are alike. Sure there are similarities, but my experience in consulting has led me to believe that if you want a true solution to your issue, you have to take the time to identify the “who”, “what”, “where”, “when”, “why”, and “how” (wwwwwh) questions and the most important question, “What do you need?”.  As the forum conversation continued the inquirer thanked people for their input, but soon added more information as the responses were not really the direction they were looking for.  This occurred to me to somewhat frustrate many of the individuals that had already offered their “advice”.  One such comment was “well if you had told me that when you asked the question.” 

So What Happened?

When we ask a question, individuals drive off of their experience and what worked for them. However, they don’t necessarily provide context of why that worked for them and include those specific reasons. This poses a huge problem to the answers they receive. Many people go directly to wanting a solution without having any true understanding of the context of their question. When the basic “wwwww” are not qualified, the inquirer runs the risk of not addressing their true needs. Even some of the top consulting firms tend to take the same approach with their clients.  In fact earlier in my career I used the phrase, “when I was in industry, what worked for us was…”. 

So why do individuals seek a solution in these forums before building context and clearly defining what they need?  Here are a few thoughts I had on why this may occur:

1)     We seek good ideas from others in the same industry

2)     We crave solutions with little challenge

3)     We need immediate answers

4)     We love FREE advice!

Just like the advice provided by contributors in a forum, consultants sometimes fall into this pitfall of providing quick advice. In order to not challenge a client, consultants may diminish the level of anxiety to both their client and themselves by giving “a solution”.  As a consultant, ready-made solutions give a sense of accomplishment.  But sometimes that solution is short-term because the question asked is out of context of the bigger issue.  Because the question was asked in a vacuum (forum), there is little room for further qualifying discovery. 

Inquiring about what others in industry are doing and or have done allows one to know others experiences.  From this may come ideas that generate further inquiry, but the inquirer should look to put this further inquiry in context of their “wwwww” questions.  The key here is to be able to have these “wwwww” questions already established and to quickly hear the advice against what you already know.  The same preparation should be part of ones working relationship with the consultant. The difference is, one can dynamically interact with a consultant and establish the context.

So an important distinction the next time one works with a consultant: if the consultant is not looking to build the context of your issue, they likely are going to only provide short-term solutions that do not fit well in the long run with your company’s needs. 

Do you have any stories to share about a consultant that applied the “wwwwwh” principals that allowed you to develop a true solution and avoid thinking short-term? Share in our comments section below. 

SaaS, ERP, CRM, LOL blah, blah, blah. Today everything seems to be reduced down to acronyms, to fit into our fast paced instant message, text, and Twitter world.  However, many times we can be left out of the story because we don’t know what they mean.  So, what does ERP mean and what are some of the common related terms? To help you decipher this business jargon, let’s discuss what it is and how it can help firms.

ERP – Enterprise Resource Planning is a system facilitating the flow of information between all business functions, from your Finance and Management Accounting to Project management, Client Relationship Management (CRM – see more below), Human Resources, Inventory and Purchasing. 

The benefit of an ERP is your business efficiency can improve dramatically as all your business processes are automatically synchronized.  The real-time functionality allows for upper management to react quickly to changing dynamics in the company and the economy. 

Some of the characteristics to look for in a “good” ERP solution are:

• Operates in “Real-Time”, reflecting what is going on with your business now
• Database that supports all applications and allows for minimal duplication of efforts
• Consistent interface throughout the system for ease in training staff

SaaS – Software as a Service is a software model where the software and data are centrally located on the “cloud” (see below).  SaaS solutions are typically accessed via a web browser allowing access from any location.  SaaS solutions have become popular over the last several years.

Some of the benefits of a SasS model are:

• Easier administration at the client level as all updates, and patches are handled by the provider on a timely basis
• Management of the data back-ups
• Subscription feel providing a lower up-front investment compared to traditional software models

CRM - Customer Relationship Management is a model for managing a company’s interactions with current and future customers.  A typical CRM system will synchronize sales, marketing, customer service and technical support (if applicable).

Some benefits of a CRM system are:

• Identification of top clients allowing for better customer service focus
• Increasing information sharing between employees
• Allowing systems to track client contacts
• Providing visibility into sales and marketing efforts

SQL – Structured Query Language is a programming language that allows access to and management of large amounts of data. The data is stored in a relational database and offers the user the ability to manipulate and view the data in various ways. Efficiency is the main benefit of a relational database as the data can be easily formatted providing ease of grouping and comparison.

Cloud refers to using the internet to access programs and data.  Operating in the cloud has some real advantages in that you can access your data anywhere at any time and the cost of maintaining local hardware and operating systems are reduced (somewhat replaced by the cost of the cloud operations).  Some concerns are ensuring data integrity and security, reliability, limited customization and latency.  Be sure to check out this whitepaper for more information about the cloud.

Project-Based ERP is an ERP system built to meet the needs of project-based industries.  Project-based industries generate most of their business via individual projects (as opposed to producing widgets).  A project-based ERP will allow managers to track the life-cycle of individual projects from the initial proposal through project close-out.  This allows management analysis of the success (or challenges) of individual efforts, apply best practices and come up with a company policies and procedures.

Open Architecture refers to the ability to add-on, customize or upgrade components of existing system software.  Software that has open architecture publishes or makes available its structure allowing for developers to access and manipulate.  In some cases this allows direct access via an OBDC (yet another acronym meaning Open Database Connectivity) connection or information sharing via an API (Application Programming Interface). 

Of course this is only a snapshot of what you hear out there. Hopefully it will serve as a starting point so you expand your research ERP.  New terms are created daily (just check any 15 year olds text messages to see) so this may be obsolete by the time it is published.  However, it does help you get a handle on the terms you have heard on the news, business reports, and around the office.  And now when someone asks you ‘What does ERP mean,’ you’ll have the answer!

So, you’ve heard about the new Vision Unleashed, Deltek Touch Time and CRM mobile applications and want your smartphone users to be able to utilize these applications to access Vision offsite. Perhaps you like the idea of your Vision users having the ability to work from home or abroad or maybe you think the new Navigator interface would be really helpful for project managers out in the field.  However, you feel opening up Vision access from the web sounds kind of scary and you have questions. Is it safe? Is it expensive to set up? Is it hard to configure? 

Well, let’s take a look!  

Is it safe?

Yes it is!  When properly deployed using Secure HTTP and a strong password policy, accessing your Vision data from anywhere is as safe as accessing your banking information. 

Is it expensive?

Only in the time to set up (generally an hour or two) and the purchase of a security certificate. The certificate is good for several years and costs only a few hundred dollars. 

Is it hard to configure?

For a single server install the process is simple and can be completed with very little downtime or afterhours with proper planning.  Multi-tier installs offer a bit more complexity and should be discussed to ensure all the nuances are covered before beginning.  Full Sail Partners has assisted many firms with the transition. Feel free to reach out to us for support.  

Here are the steps to open Deltek Vision to the internet to allow your firm access to new features like Deltek Touch.

1. Configure a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) that you will use to reach Vision from offsite. ‘Vision.yourcompanyname.com’ is a common format.
2. Purchase and install a SSL security certificate for your new FQDN on your Vision server.
3. Modify your firewall rules to allow port 443 (secure http) traffic to be forwarded to your Vision server. Note: This is a good time to try visiting your Vision login page to see if everything is on the right track, in Internet Explorer. Visit HTTPS://Vision.yourcompanyname.com and make sure it loads.
4. Verify the FQDN is also reachable internally, DNS may need tweaking.
5. In Reporting Services Configuration Manager, under the Web Service URL tab, add the SSL identities now available since applying the new security certificate.
6. In the Vision Weblink, on the reporting tab, change the Server URL to your new FQDN/reportserver. For example: https://vision.yourcompanyname.com/reportserver. Note: Be sure to click the Test button to verify you have it right!
7. Voila! You should now be able to log in from both onsite and offsite and successfully run reports.  Once verified, you can notify all of your users to use the new link for their Vision needs. 

iAccess, Deltek Touch, and Vision Unleashed can now be deployed.  Enjoy safely and securely accessing Vision, anywhere, anytime! Let us know your experience.

Every firm is looking for ways to improve workplace efficiency.  Why?  Because the results are happier employees, improved bottom line, and a streamlined work environment.  There are a number of ways to achieve this goal, but what are the top ways to increase business productivity?  Let’s take a look at 5 ways to improve workplace efficiency:

1. Visibility
   Has your firm ever been guilty of making a sales call to the same client as someone else at your firm during the same week or even worse, submitting on the same proposal? When a client calls, do you know within a couple of minutes who the last person was that worked on the job or talked to them, and if there are any previous issues that are unresolved? In order to make quick, informed decisions and have the right information at the right time, it’s important to have real-time access and accurate visibility. Firms with the ability to instantly understand over and underutilization of resources by project and employee are able to quickly re-assign resources to increase productivity. Many firms utilize an ERP system to gain a global view of their company.
   
   
2. Repeatable Process
   Another inefficiency we find are firms that don’t think about developing processes that are repeatable. Firms that take the time to think through processes, document them, and test against them avoid recreating processes and errors each time they are carried out.
   
   Two examples are the execution of a project and hiring a new employee. Both of these should have repeatable processes that everyone knows within your company. What happens when you miss an important step in either of these examples?  You lose money. By not executing the steps outlined during a project, you run the risk of overrun and a project that fails. By not following a hiring process, you run the risk of not having the same standards of candidates throughout the company, which could result in the wrong hire.
   
   
3. Measuring the Right Statistics
   I had an old co-worker that used to create as many activities in the system as they could because that is what was important to their boss. The philosophy was more calls, emails, activities resulted in more sales and opportunities. The problem with this was there were two important factors left out: the quality of the activities and the results of those efforts.  In order to affect results, you have to choose the right statistics then track the results.  Establishing the right measurable goals and expectations help employees understand the value they bring to the company. When setting up metrics for employees remember to:
• Establish goals for the company
• Work with each employee to identify how they will contribute to the success of the firm and gain agreement on those goals
• Measure them at set time periods
  
  
4. Manage Customer Expectations
   Managing customer expectations impacts your long-term relationship with a client. When your customers are happy, your firm spends less time performing tasks that could have been avoided to get the client or project back on track. However, managing those expectations can be difficult to do throughout the project delivery. One way to manage customer expectation is to check-in with the client at multiple times throughout the project. Period check-ins provide your team with the time needed to make adjustments if something is not meeting the client’s expectations. Additionally, handling a small issue is much easier then handling a client that unloads their bottled up frustrations all at once.
   
   
5. Develop Engaged Employees
   Did you know that a recent Gallup poll revealed that disengaged employees – least productive employees -- cost the US economy $370 billion every year?  In the review, three types of employees were identified: Engaged, Not Engaged, and Disengaged.  Engaged employees innovate and use their talents to build the company, while disengaged employees tear down the infrastructure by questioning and disagreeing with anything and everything.  Another set of employees are those that are not engaged. They sit back and avoid committing themselves.  It went on to show that of the US workforce, 29% is actively engaged, 55% is not engaged, and 16% is disengaged. So in essence only a third of your firm is operating at their full capacity.
   
   Each employee has different needs or desires. At times, money is important to employees. However, many employees find other things much more important in a firm: flexible work hours, recognition of talent, or an outlined career path. Ultimately firms should establish an open communication with employees and establish trust. Lack of transparency and understanding of the big picture and goals of the company leave employees wondering and concerned about the future.

The key to improve workplace efficiency is to constantly evaluate, adjust, and improve. What are your thoughts? Do you think your firm could benefit from these 5 steps? Try them and see if your overall efficiency impacts productivity and profitability.

Okay, here goes…I actually love doing my timesheet on a daily basis.  There, I said it and I feel so much better. But hold on, let me back up a little.  Maybe “love” is too strong.  Let’s go with “like”.  I actually like doing my timesheet on a daily basis.

However this was not always the case.  Like most of you, the idea of filling out a timesheet was akin to having a root canal, but only worse.  In our firm, timesheets are due on a semi-monthly basis, but we have a policy that timesheets must to be completed daily.  I know, right?

This policy was easy to ignore until one day, much to my surprise, I received an e-mail alert that my timesheet had not been completed the day before.  AN ALERT!  It turns out that not only did I receive an alert, but a notation was made in my Employee Info Center record of my violation.  The powers that be had sunk to a new low and now I’m faced with two options; continue ignoring the policy and get an annoying alert on a daily basis, or start doing my timesheet every day.

Being the flexible guy that I am (this is sarcasm for those of you who don’t know me), I started doing my timesheet after each completed task.  And much to my chagrin (read surprise), it wasn’t that bad!  First of all my utilization went up.  Some of those short, billable items that fell through the cracks when I was doing my timesheet at the last minute were now being captured. 

Another plus to filling out my timesheet daily is that my comments are more descriptive.  No longer am I putting “call with so-and-so” in the comments field.  I am actually able to put what was discussed in the comment.  This has made reviewing my draft invoices so much easier because I am no longer second guessing the hours I billed to my projects or having to go back to e-mails hoping I find some clue about what was discussed. 

Also, my projects are easier to manage.  I know at any given time how many hours have been charged to my projects so there are no surprises when it comes time to review my draft invoices.

I am also amazed at how little time it takes.  What seemed like hours before, my timesheet now just takes a few minutes each day to complete.

And as if it couldn’t get any better, there is now a timesheet app for iPhone, iPad, Android and other smart devices.  Now I can do my timesheet on the go.  This has come in handy on many occasions when I’m out of the office but still conducting business.

I think the key here is that my timesheet is always up on my desktop.  Even if I open it up in another window, I always have access to it so that I can record my time as soon as I complete a task.

I challenge anyone to give this a shot!  You’ll save time and alerts popping up on your dashboard or in your e-mail box will become a thing of the past.

Interested in learning more about how firms are getting their employees to submit timesheets daily? Click here.

Are you a Deltek Vision user? Check out the newest custom solution from Full Sail Partners and start getting your staff to complete timesheets daily:

For many of us, the mere mention of cash basis is not unlike the old “fingernails on a chalkboard” – not something we want to hear.  However, cash basis accounting need not be something that is left only to your CPA.  Your Deltek Vision system can be set to easily track your transactions and financials on both an accrual basis and on a cash basis with minimal effort. 

What is Cash Basis Accounting?

Cash basis accounting is the process of recognizing revenue and expense at the time that you actually receive and disburse cash in your accounting system.  Accrual basis accounting, on the other hand, recognizes revenue when you produce invoices (creating accounts receivable) and recognizes expense when you enter vendor invoices (creating accounts payable).  For firms utilizing Vision’s Revenue Generation feature, revenue can be generated when time and expense is posted to the system – prior to invoicing the client.  Most firms that we consult for maintain their day-to-day books on an accrual basis and leave cash basis for their CPA to calculate at year-end for filing of tax returns. 

How and when should I get started with cash basis accounting?

To start using cash basis accounting in Vision, you will need to get with your CPA and make a plan.  It is generally best to enable cash basis at the beginning of your fiscal year, however, it can be enabled at any time.   You will also need to get copies of your year-end accrual and cash-basis financials from your CPA to ensure that your beginning balances for both methods are correct in Vision.  Most firms get accrual based closing entries from their CPA, but may not be getting cash-based closing entries.  Talk with your CPA and setup a time to bring your Vision accounting system up to date as of your most recent fiscal year end. 

The next thing you will need to do is to map your Accounts Receivable account(s) to the proper Revenue account(s) in the Chart of Accounts Info Center.  This setting lets Vision know which Revenue account(s) to credit when you record a Cash Receipt transaction in the transaction center.  The following illustration shows the process of recognizing both accrual and cash basis revenue in Vision:

Taking Cash Basis accounting to the next level:

• You and your CPA may want to recognize cash basis revenue using multiple revenue accounts.  This can easily be accomplished by creating multiple AR accounts – one for each type of revenue.  Your AR reporting does not need to change and you and your CPA will have better detail
• Many options are available for cash-basis reporting regarding timesheet postings and payroll.  Ask your Full Sail Partners Consultant when you are ready to explore these options, including the use of a Payroll Payable liability account as opposed to your Job Cost Variance expense account.

Has your firm implemented cash-basis accounting? Leave a comment and let us know your experience.

Be sure to check out other articles written by Rick Childs.