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At Full Sail Partners, we firmly believe in the transformative power of the business benchmarking process. It serves as a vital tool that empowers professional services firms like yours to make well-informed decisions, streamline operations, and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace. To achieve optimal results, we advocate adopting an approach that encompasses four essential steps. These steps lay the foundation for a comprehensive and effective benchmarking strategy, allowing you to unlock the full potential of your business. 

#1 Look for Benchmarking Resources

If you're just getting started in the world of benchmarking, it's always beneficial to get a glimpse of how other professional services firms handle this process and measure up against your own company. There's an abundance of industry experts and organizations out there who generously share valuable insights into their benchmarking practices.

By taking advantage of these resources, you'll gain valuable knowledge and a broader perspective on benchmarking strategies. You'll be able to see firsthand how successful companies approach this process and uncover valuable tips and tricks to apply within your own professional services firm. So, don't hesitate to tap into this wealth of information and discover the key to benchmarking excellence.

Here are a few of our personal favorite resources that you'll want to check out:

• Deltek 
• Forrester 
• Gartner
• Hinge Marketing 
• IDC 
• Society for Marketing Professional Services 
• Vision Edge Marketing 

There are countless other companies and organizations out there who are also avid benchmarkers, so don't hesitate to explore further and discover even more insightful resources.

#2 Choose Your KPIs to Measure Success 

This is where we get to choose the meaningful measurements that will serve as your benchmarks or standards. Don't worry, we've got an array of exciting key performance indicators (KPIs) to explore—financial and project-related statistics that provide valuable insights into your professional services firm's performance. It’s like finding the perfect recipe for success! 

In the world of professional services firms, there's a whole bunch of KPIs that can help you gauge your organization's financial and operational health. Here are some of the widely used favorites: 

• Accounts Receivable
• Average Collection Period
• Chargeable Ratio
• Chargeable Ratio times Net Multiplier
• Current Ratio
• Debt to Equity Ratio
• Employee Realization
• Employee Utilization
• Estimate at Completion (EAC)
• Estimated to Complete (ETC)
• Net Multiplier
• Net Revenue per Technical Staff
• Net Revenue per Total Staff
• Overhead before Discretionary Distributions
• Profit on Net Revenues before Taxes and Distributions
• Return on Owners’ Equity
  
  

Now, it's time to do some soul-searching and consider which of these metrics truly encapsulates success for your unique organization. Establish corresponding benchmarks that align with your firm's historical performance, industry surveys, specialized standards, your company's philosophy, or even a delightful combination of factors. The goal is to create a tailored measuring tape that fits your organization like a glove.

When selecting professional services firms to benchmark against, think about factors like industry, geography, and size. The more similarities they share with your firm, the more relevant and valid their metrics will be. It's all about finding those perfect benchmarking buddies who can inspire and guide you toward greatness.

#3 Diligently Track Your Data

With the metrics identified and the benchmarks set to evaluate your professional services firm's performance, it's time to engage in diligent data tracking. Fortunately, there are various options available to streamline this process. 

While traditional methods like one-off spreadsheets and makeshift workarounds may seem tempting, we highly recommend exploring sophisticated software packages tailored to your specific needs. These solutions range from advanced accounting software that effectively monitors financial statistics to specialized project management tools designed to meticulously track individual projects. 

However, allow me to introduce an even more compelling alternative: a purpose-built Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system such as Deltek Vantagepoint. This comprehensive solution seamlessly integrates data from both the front office (project-related activities) and the back office (accounting operations). Imagine having a reliable sidekick that offers real-time, comprehensive visibility into all the aforementioned metrics. But it doesn't stop there—Deltek Vantagepoint also optimizes project and staff oversight, automates manual processes (including Customer Relationship Management and business development), and significantly enhances operational efficiency. 

Whether you opt for a combination of software programs or embrace the unified power of Deltek Vantagepoint, it is essential to utilize consistent and continuous data collection. This is an ongoing endeavor that ensures you stay well-informed and propels your professional services firm towards remarkable achievements. So, let's implement robust systems, leverage cutting-edge technology, and diligently track that data to stay ahead of the curve as accomplished benchmarkers. 

#4 Use Your Benchmarks to Make Data-Driven Decisions 

This is where we close the loop and ensure that the right data reaches the right people in a timely manner. It's all about fostering a management commitment to utilizing data for decision making and trust me, it's a game-changer. 

Imagine this scenario: You have schedule-based metrics at your disposal. Not only do they help you determine if a project is currently on budget, but they also shed light on whether it will ultimately stay within the overall budget. If the Estimate at Completion (EAC) surpasses the overall budget, management faces a pivotal choice. They might decide to reduce future expenditures or accept that the project will go over budget, while also identifying where the slippage occurred (perhaps those additional services contracts slipped through the cracks). Mind you, this is just one example. Depending on the specific underperforming metric and the degree of deviation from the desired benchmark, management will have an array of options and decisions to make. 

Now, let's uncover the secret to success in this phase of the benchmarking process: granting management access to all the vital metrics at any given moment. While manual methods can be employed to gather and present this information, there's a far more efficient way to do it—automated KPI dashboards. These customizable features, available in Deltek Vantagepoint, serve as your trusty sidekick, delivering essential data to management in a snap. 

By embracing this data-driven decision-making approach, you unlock the power to steer your professional services firm with precision and confidence. So, let's ensure the flow of valuable insights reaches decision-makers in a timely manner, empowering them to make informed choices that propel your company to new heights of success. 

Don’t Wait, Start Now! 

Regardless of the approach you choose to identify and track your professional services firm's benchmarking information, rest assured that the process yields substantial dividends. It grants your firm a more relevant and up-to-date understanding of its performance, positioning you for success. Equally important, it enables proactive measures to address underlying issues before they escalate into significant challenges, thereby increasing the likelihood of achieving both project and financial success.   

The future of a professional services firm's success begins with benchmarking. Embrace it, harness it, and let it guide us towards a prosperous tomorrow.  

Have you heard of doing a temperature check to help you gauge the health of your relationships? While Employee Engagement Surveys are temperature checks for the Employer-Employee relationship, equally important is the Employer-Candidate (Talent Acquisition) relationship. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are great ways to measure the effectiveness of a company’s recruitment process.  

To stay competitive in the Professional Services industry talent market for 2023, HR professionals and business leaders are reevaluating their recruiting strategies. Determining your company’s top talent acquisition KPIs is an effective way to identify critical strategies. KPIs provide data to recruiters and HR professionals on areas of improvement and show the value and ROI for specific recruitment actions. So, what are some popular talent acquisition KPIs for this year? Let’s look at 5 top talent acquisition KPIs for 2023. 

1. Time to Hire 

Unlike the Time to Fill, which measures the number of days it takes to fill an open position from the date a job requisition is posted to the date a new hire accepts the position, the formula for the Time to Hire is the day they accept the job minus the day the recruiter first contacts the candidate. According to the 2020-2021 Recruitment & Retention Report of AEC Firms, “most firms (56%) need between 30 and 60 days to hire. According to each firm’s listed recruitment and retention metrics, the median time it takes to hire a candidate is 43 days. This is higher than the U.S. average of 36 days according to SHRM’s Talent Acquisition Benchmarking Report, which is common for a technical sector like the AEC industry.” However, statistics show that the best candidates are off the market in 10 days, so employers are trying to streamline their hiring processes, trim down the number of candidate interviews and firm up their candidate evaluation process to make more timely and efficient hiring decisions.  

2. Application Completion Rates 

Calculating the Time to Hire requires that candidates are able to successfully complete their applications. The number of completed applications by prospective employees shows how well a company’s application process is set up. A poorly designed application process is either too long, too cumbersome, or too complex. Research has shown that as much as 73% of candidates will abandon a job application if it is taking too long to complete.  

Furthermore, longer applications are directly correlated to higher costs per applicant. According to Recruiter.com, an application that takes less than 5 minutes to complete costs around $4 per applicant. When the application takes 15 minutes to complete, the cost-per-applicant rises to $13.85, which is 65% more than the shorter application process. Consider these steps to improve your application completion rates: 

• Evaluate your abandoned applications to determine the most frequent points of the drop-off in the applications.   
• Ensure your application process is easily accessible and user-friendly. Almost 90% of job seekers will use their mobile phones when searching for new job opportunities. Most candidates are anxiously looking to start their new opportunity, so too many steps and obstacles create a delay in the process, so they will just move on to the companies that have less delay in their time to fill. 
• Keep questions to a minimum. Save more detailed, position-related questions for the interview. On the application ask identifying, work history, and availability questions like the candidate’s contact details, availability, and work preferences (the location, number of days, and shifts they would be available to work).  

3. Sourcing Efficiency 

The sourcing channel metric gives insight into the effectiveness of a company’s sourcing channels. The formula for calculating sourcing effectiveness is (the total number of hires via the channel /total number of applications via the channel) x 100. For example, if you get 100 applications via LinkedIn and 12 hires, then your sourcing efficiency would be 12/100 x 100 = 12%. It is important to understand the difference between determining your sourcing channels’ Source of Applications efficiency versus their Source of Hire efficiency.   

This brings into question if the company values quantity or quality. According to a study posted on Jobvite.com, job boards yield the highest percentage of applicants, but the lowest percentage of actual hires. It also revealed that the most effective sourcing channels are internal hiring (18X more effective) and referrals (5X more effective). You’ve heard the phrase “consider the source.” This 100% applies to the talent acquisition process.  

4. Offer Acceptance Rate 

Sometimes the issue is not that you can’t find enough qualified or top-tier candidates to extend offers to, but that not enough are accepting your company’s offers. The formula for calculating the offer acceptance rate is (the number of accepted job offers/the number of all offers) x 100. According to an article in Inc. magazine, 5 reasons candidates reject job offers are: 

• You’re too slow. 
• You didn’t make a good impression. 
• Your job description doesn’t match the role. 
• You unknowingly raised a red flag. 
• They just weren’t that into you. 

Basically, the longer you keep a candidate waiting, the more they will question their interest in your position and your interest in them. This also gives the candidate time to re-think if they even want to leave their current position. Often, managers have the mindset that it is the candidate’s job to impress them because the candidate is the job seeker, however, the hiring managers need to remember that they are the employee seeker and want to acquire the best talent available. Companies also have a need to fill a vacancy, and just as they have choices, candidates have choices as well.  

Yes, companies are encouraged to make their job descriptions stand out by highlighting the company culture and company benefits, but the actual description of the job duties needs to be as accurate and as detailed as possible so as not to be misleading. You do not want candidates to feel like they have experienced a bait-and-switch during the interview process. Sometimes there are even factors that the company has no control over.  

As an example, the culture of the company or nature of the position may have been revealed in the interview process or job offer process that confirmed for certain candidates that either the company wasn’t a good fit for them or that they weren’t a good fit for the position. The hardest truth to accept is that sometimes candidates simply lose interest in your company, which results in them moving on. The candidates may not communicate this with the company to avoid any awkwardness, so they keep the door open to receive an offer even though they are not intending on accepting. 

5. Candidate Net Promoter Score (NPS) 

The NPS is the number of people who promote the company minus the number of those who detract from the company. Promoters are candidates and former employees who speak positively about their experience with the company and would recommend employment there. Detractors are those that provide negative feedback and cause potential candidates to question their interest in the position and/or company. This illustrates the importance of ensuring that an employee has a positive full life-cycle experience at a company, from application to termination (whether voluntary or involuntary). Also, it is a reminder to be mindful and professional with all candidates, whether they move forward in the process or not. 

Is it Time to Re-Visit Recruitment Strategies?  

So, which recruitment strategies yield the top talent your firm needs to ensure future success?  

By using these key performance indicators in their recruiting metrics, firm leaders can evaluate which strategies are worth keeping and which are not beneficial. Need help with deciding which talent acquisition KPIs to focus on? Full Sail Partners can help with our HR Consulting Services. 

For professional services firms to be successful, they need a client relationship management (CRM) system to help them focus their business development strategies to identify prospective projects and to nurture client relationships to ensure they win new projects. Furthermore, an effective CRM system requires firm employees to use the system and this is not just directed to the business development team. This requires the entire firm to be updating client records to ensure the most up-to-date information is available for business development. However, firms that have invested in a CRM system seem to have a common hurdle which is employee adoption. Here are a few things that can negatively impact user adoption at your firm.

The Lack of Defined Processes

Time and time again, firms roll out a new CRM system with the assumption that it’s just requires switching it on, and it’ll take care of itself. However, this is not the case. Firms need to first start off by identifying what goals they want to achieve so they can actually see results. Once they have their goals identified, a formal process needs to be outlined to ensure the CRM system is utilized in a way the benefits firm and aligns with current marketing and business development procedures. Here are some things to consider when defining a process:

• What is a lead and when does a lead become an opportunity?
• Who has the information at your firm that needs to be entered about a contact?
• Who can update contacts and what can they update?
• What role is responsible for cleaning up the CRM database?
• What reports are required for different roles?

Misguided Goals

Goal setting for business development teams are far too often focused on dollar amounts and win rates. However, this thought process ignores setting goals that align with the firm’s strategy for achieving their targeted dollar amounts and win rates. For example, the sales cycle to win a project for many professional services firms can be months to years depending on the industry. Therefore, having a goal that helps the business development team keep up with touchpoints helps ensure client relationships are being properly managed. So when considering goals, it’s important to develop goals that align with your firm’s strategic client management process.

Picking the Wrong CRM Solution for Your Firm

There are several things to consider when selecting a CRM solution for your firm. Firstly, not all CRM systems are the same and have different capabilities to support different industries. For instance, having a CRM system that integrates with your firm’s accounting and project management platforms is essential for professional services firms. Especially if you want all your firm’s data in one central location and your desire is for people to utilize the CRM system. An example of this is a firm that uses Deltek Vantagepoint or Vision for their accounting and project management, the obvious CRM system selection is Deltek CRM.

Additionally, system integration is great, but having a CRM system that has a friendly user interface is important as well to increase user adoption. By selecting a system that is intuitive and well designed, implementing a CRM adoption directive will most likely succeed across your firm.

Increase CRM Adoption

Many firms struggle with getting employees to adopt a new system. However, this does not have to be the case. By setting goals and processes for different teams within your organization to encourage use, your employees will be able to see the value of the CRM system. Lastly, make sure to point out the fact that a CRM system will help your firm continue to grow and be successful in the future.   

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.

Full Sail Partners works very hard to provide our clients with the most up to date, valuable and interesting content relevant to the professional services industry. One convenient avenue for disseminating information is through our weekly blogs. We know that with everyone’s busy schedule, not everything in the inbox can be read upon receipt. With that in mind, we make our content accessible online so it can be reviewed and digested on the client’s timeline. So, in case you missed them and to pique interest for further discovery, here is a quick summary of the top 10 blogs of 2020.

2020 Trends in the Professional Services Industry

Firms in the professional services industry must adapt to compete in today’s world. Through acquisitions and other partnerships, many professional services firms have been entering into new markets and now have the need to offer a wider range of services to a larger client base. What are the top trends as they deal with evolving client expectations and staying competitive?

• On Demand Workforce
• More Flexible Service Rendering
• Perception as Advisors
• Leveraging Automation

>>>Click here to learn more!

Deltek Vantagepoint – A New Era for Project-based Professional Services Firms

A two-decade era of Deltek Vision is winding down, but it will continue to be supported through at least January 2023. Its legacy continues under a new name - Deltek Vantagepoint. Just like Vision, Vantagepoint will continue to help your people manage your projects from start to finish, but with a reimagined, intuitive interface focused on efficiency.

• Available Resources at Your Fingertips
• Preparing for Success
• Bring Everything and Everyone Together

>>>Find out what you need to know abut Vantagepoint! 

The Value of the Deltek Vantagepoint Readiness Report

As the launchpad to Deltek Vantagepoint, the Full Sail Partners’ Vantagepoint Readiness Report can be used as a guide for your firm’s cleanup efforts and next steps. This valuable resource is such a strong starting point for firms as they consider when and how to upgrade from Deltek Vision to Vantagepoint.

• How to Get There
• Start with a High Impact Tool
• Benefit from the Results

>>>Be more prepared to may the upgrade to Vantagepoint!

The Value of the Deltek Vantagepoint Transition Copy Scripts

During the Vantagepoint testing process, firms will need to address some key areas including workflows, saved searches, reports and configuration settings before moving forward with a production environment. Our Vantagepoint Transition Copy Scripts are a valuable resource to ensure the work you put into addressing issues does not require rework when you move from test-to-test environment or to your final production environment.

• Vantagepoint Preview Environment
• Vantagepoint Preview Becomes Testing Environment
• Benefits of Using Transition Copy Scripts

>>>Learn how copy scripts help ensure a seamless upgrade!

Improve Project Planning with Deltek Vantagepoint

With Deltek Vantagepoint, project planning has been taken to the next level with a focus on the features and functionality that project managers need. Here are some key features of Vantagepoint that will assist project managers with delivering successful and profitable projects.

• Use Project Templates
• Take Advantage of Labor Codes
• Adjust Project Timelines with the Interactive Gannt Chart

>>>Learn about the features in Vantagepoint that improve project delivery!

Easily Capture Project Information Using Deltek Vantagepoint

Gathering accurate project details in a timely manner is a nearly everyday challenge of marketing and proposal managers at project-based firms. Fortunately, with Deltek Vantagepoint, teams can easily capture project information and reference it quickly when it matters most– during proposal crunch time. 

• Identify Key Project Information
• Capture Information While Pursuing the Project
• Move from Pursuit to Billable Project without Losing Key Information
• Access Data You Need When You Need it

>>>Tracking critical project information has never been easier! 

The Value of Vantagepoint for Business Development

When firms can successfully manage interactions, identify projects that add to our pipeline, and collect the right information to position our firm better than our competitors, we win more projects, improve client satisfaction, and increase loyalty. The abilities of Deltek Vantagepoint CRM can provide business developers, project managers, marketing staff, and executives with real-time information on client touchpoints, project pipelines, marketing and service efforts.

• Record Interactions On-the-Fly
• Easily Uncover Client and Contact Relationships
• Support the Entire BD and Project Lifecycle

>>>When more business with Vantagepoint!

The Value of Deltek Talent for Human Resources Professionals

More and more professional services firms are finding value in having a methodical human capital management (HCM) practice in place. Deltek, the leading software solution provider for professional services firms, noticed that this specific market vertical has unique needs and released Deltek Talent, an HCM designed for professional services.

• Recruit and Hire Top Industry Talent
• Provide Development and Advancement Opportunities
• Performance Management
• Seamless Integration with Deltek Vantagepoint

>>>Improve the employee experience with Deltek Talent! 

Creating the Intentional Client Experience

When it comes to your clients, building strong long-term relationships is priority, and the quality of these relationships can make or break your business. Most importantly, clients desire an overall exceptional experience, and the intentional client experience benefits your company.

• Begins with a Plan
• Takes Being Client Centric
• Leads to Efficiency
• Ensures Positive Client Feedback

>>>Learn to create an experience that will delight your clients!

Key Findings from the Annual Deltek AE Clarity Report

The 41^st Deltek AE Clarity Report provided a comprehensive assessment of the 2019 performance of AE firms. This year’s study collected responses from more than 415 firms of all sizes within the AE industry and provided a summary of trends in:

• Technology
• Financial statements
• Business Development
• Project Management
• Human Capital Management

>>>See how your firm measures up against your peers! 

We’ve Got You Covered

Into 2021, we have all sorts of interesting ideas for relevant industry content just bubbling out of our experts’ heads. So, while you’re trying to stay afloat with your responsibilities at your firm, please know that Full Sail Partners is working to make your job easier. In the months to come, keep an eye out for future blogs on what is new and exciting for professional services firms. And, as always, feel free to check out our content online.

A new year often brings new goals to set and work toward and doing so helps you focus and improve behaviors to better yourself. Personal goals are a must – health, organization, time, etc. – the list can go on and on. However, professional goals have great importance as well. There are always areas we can work to improve upon in the workplace. These can be personal, for a team, or even for the firm as a whole. Let’s take a look at some new year’s resolutions that project-based firms may consider in 2021.

New Year’s Resolutions for Professionals

1. Use technology more efficiently

Firms may have numerous software options available, various calendars, and maybe a plethora of tracking files. Try consolidating and mastering a different resource, one at a time. Master it, share with your team, and promote a wider usage for consistency. By focusing on one new tool each quarter, four cleaner processes may be established by one employee alone!

2. Make technology accessible by all

The last year has taught us the value of being able to work from anywhere. Some IT groups were ready to roll, and others had to pull together additional resources to get employees the access needed for business continuity. If your firm has not invested in accessibility, this is the time.

There are numerous cloud options that firms can consider to be more accessible by all. There may have been IT projects put on hold, but perhaps moving forward with them will see a greater outcome once complete.

3. Be adaptable

There may have been some frustrating moments in 2020 when plans suddenly had to change. With many scenarios out of our individual control, our reactions make a huge impact on the future. Therefore, being adaptable and open to change can actually lead to great things for firms. It allows us to change the narrative instead of using the workplace curse words of, “This is how we’ve always done it.” I never liked hearing those words anyway.

Being adaptable allows employees to have a quicker rebound, with less downtime as they try to figure out each little detail. Modifications can be made along the way as needed. Also, try to see things from another’s perspective. We all have our own challenges and can work together for effective solutions.

4. Promote employee growth

Don’t forget about training, mentoring, and collaborating. Executives, managers, and employees alike should have opportunities for learning and growth regardless of what the office looks like. Employees can still be paired with a more senior position to continue learning, executives can collaborate and check in on teams, and managers can continue training on a virtual platform. This goal will always be important for a firm’s success.

5. Support local communities

Communities need each other. Find ways to use local businesses and support community-based organizations. By doing this, more money can stay within the community and help other small businesses and families directly in your area.

6. Adopt a new habit as a team

There are many tools at our fingertips that can help teams communicate and collaborate. As new information or details emerge about opportunities or projects, do yourself and your colleagues a favor and record them properly. Think of the new information as a shared company resource and use technology to make it accessible to others. I encourage you to collaborate with your colleagues to modify some professional processes for a more streamlined workday. New year = new technology habits.

7. Time management

Be intentional with how your time is spent. We can all get caught up in mundane tasks but identifying important professional tasks can keep us on track. Block time off on your calendar for various projects to ensure chunks of time are available to focus on independent work. This helps protect your own work time while working efficiently for clients too.

8. Keep learning and add value

Let’s face it – we know a lot, but we do not know everything. Even an expert in a particular field has more to learn and room to grow. Step out of your comfort zone and dive into something new. It can be a new hobby, a new skill, or sharpening and fine tuning a skill you are already promoting. There are ways to add value to your life and to your work. Allow yourself to be inspired and empower others to learn and grow. Personal development expands your horizons and what you have to offer!

Keep Pressing On

A new year does not necessarily equal a new you. Instead, it welcomes the opportunity for improvements over time. Our work is never complete and that’s part of the fun. Our personal and professional lives can be so intertwined. Improvements in one area may bring success to the other as well. Best of luck with your resolutions – you can do this!

Last year kept us busy with all the new developments of Deltek Vantagepoint, not to mention the large number of firms upgrading from Vision to Vantagepoint. However, we planned for this back in 2019 and decided to roll out a series of mini demonstrations focused on specific features and functions available in Vantagepoint.

This new format proved to be overwhelmingly successful. Therefore, as you review the top 10 watched webinars of 2020, you will likely notice that many of them are part of our “Powering Project Success with Deltek Vantagepoint” mini demonstration series. Enough with the introduction, here are the top 10 webinars you and your peers watched in 2020.

Top 10 Full Sail Partners’ Webinars of 2020

1. Deltek Vantagepoint – The Best All in One Package – This webinar is an ideal webinar to watch if you are new to or have very little knowledge of Vantagepoint. If you watch this webinar, you will learn what Vantagepoint is, what resources and information are available, and you will learn more about the steps to upgrade from Vision to Vantagepoint. Make sure to check this traditional one-hour webinar out to also learn about our favorite new features. Did I mention that this webinar aired live in 2019? It made the 2020 top watched list since the on-demand video was downloaded by so many people.
2. Powering Project Success with Deltek Talent – Candidate Engagement – Professional services firms are quickly realizing that acquiring and retaining industry top talent is becoming a necessity to stay competitive. Deltek has recognized this need as well and created Deltek Talent to assist firms in automating the employee experience and lifecycle. This mini demo hosted by Joel Slater features Deltek Talent and the specific tools within this human capital management system that support the candidate engagement experience to help attract the future leaders of your firm.
3. Powering Project Success with Deltek Vantagepoint – Update Your Timesheet Using the Deltek Calendar– Billable employees struggling with staying organized with meetings and client appointments will benefit from this mini demo. No one wants to worry about completing the dreaded timesheet. With Vantagepoint, the challenge of keeping up with all your daily tasks has been simplified with the Deltek Calendar. During this mini demo, Nicole Temple will show how the Deltek Calendar helps users keep up with their billable engagements and how this information easily transfers over to a user’s timesheet.
4. Powering Project Success with Deltek Vantagepoint – Quickly Build Project Plans – Maintaining successful projects requires all team members to have the information they need when they need it most. Furthermore, project plans often necessitate adjustments during the life of the project and this must happen quickly and easily. This mini demo is hosted by Rana Blair and shows users how to quickly build project plans and update them in Vantagepoint. This is a must watch for project managers.
5. Tale of Two Firms: Tackling Business Intelligence –Business intelligence (BI) is booming in all industries as more and more BI tools enter the market. But you don’t have to take our word for it! During this webinar moderated by Sarah Gonnella, two of our clients that represent different firms share how the Informer 5 BI tool has revolutionized their business analytics capabilities. Make sure to watch this webinar on-demand to learn ways your firm can embrace the power of BI.
6. Powering Project Success with Deltek Vantagepoint - Mobile CRM – Getting out and talking with existing and prospective clients is a standard part of business development and essential to winning new business. With Vantagepoint’s mobile capabilities, updating touchpoints while on-the-go has never been easier. Watch this mini demo hosted by Kevin Hebblethwaite to see how Vantagepoint streamlines the business development process with mobile functionality.
7. Powering Project Success with Deltek Vantagepoint – Create Flexible Billing Terms – Not all projects are the same, nor are project billing terms. However, this is not a problem for Vantagepoint users. During this mini-demo, Scott Gailhouse shows how simple it is to create unique billing terms for projects in Vantagepoint.
8. Powering Project Success with Deltek Vantagepoint – Streamline and Expedite the Invoice Review Process - In any business, getting paid is the name of the game. However, professional services firms have a lot to track to create accurate invoices that can be sent to clients. With Vantagepoint, the old days of printing invoices and marking them up by hand are long gone. Now project managers can use the invoice review features to streamline the review process. If you are in accounting or project management, you will want to see Rick Childs’ demonstration that is available on-demand.
9. Powering Project Success with Deltek Vantagepoint – Capture Project Information for Proposals – As many of you know, having high quality proposals that address all the requirements contained in an RFP is essential for winning new projects. Even more, proposal teams are usually up against tight timelines to draft and finalize a winning RFP response. With Deltek Vantagepoint, this struggle can be better managed. This webinar is a guided tour by Lindsay Diven to show users the features in Vantagepoint that enable the quick creation of winning proposals.
10. Powering Project Success with Deltek Vantagepoint – Project Templates and Plan Settings – The most popular webinar of 2020 was part of our Vantagepoint mini demonstration series. During this presentation, Theresa DePew shows users how to quickly create templates that have the correct pre-defined WBS so that entering data into the correct fields is the only task a user has to complete. Watch this outstanding demo to see how Vantagepoint has made planning a new project quick and easy.

What to Expect in 2021?

In 2021, we are planning on hosting a mix of traditional one-hour webinars and continuing to add to the “Powering Project Success with Deltek Vantagepoint” mini demonstration series. We will continue to promote these webinars using our newsletter and email notifications. Please make sure to pay attention to the amount of time allotted for a specific live webinar event on the registration page. Mini demonstrations are typically 30 minutes long with the actual demonstration being from 7 to 15 minutes long followed by live QA with the presenter.

We hope to see you at our live virtual events in 2021! In the meantime, catch up on past webinars you may have missed that are available on-demand. Enjoy learning!

As 2020 draws closer to the end, we reflect on the past and think about the future. A two-decade era of Deltek Vision is winding down. As a result, we are encouraging firms to make the move to Vantagepoint when it's right for them. Additionally, Deltek will continue to support Vision beyond 2023, with no end of life yet determined by Deltek. Its legacy will continue under a new name - Deltek Vantagepoint. Just like Vision, Vantagepoint will continue to help your people manage your projects from start to finish, but with a reimagined, intuitive interface focused on efficiency. Throughout 2020, our firm has communicated with more than 250 firms about their plans to upgrade from Vision to Vantagepoint. In 2021, we look forward to continuing the conversation with many more firms and demonstrating why Deltek Vantagepoint is the gold standard for project-based firms.

Available Resources at Your Fingertips

As the Deltek Vision product continues to evolve to Deltek Vantagepoint, clients are looking for answers and clarification on how the change will impact them. The foundation of this new solution is based on Vision with enhanced features and capabilities that users should be aware of before they upgrade. Full Sail Partners has dedicated two years to providing firms with resources to help answer questions and simplify the upgrade process. If you are just starting this journey, be sure to review these resources:

• Understanding the Journey with Deltek Vantagepoint Best All In One Package
• Preparing to Upgrade to Deltek Vantagepoint Series
• Deltek Vantagepoint Mini Demonstration Series

In 2021, we plan to continue educating firms about the latest features as new versions are released. Be sure to sign-up for two webinars focused on the latest release of version 3.5. Both of these webinars will be an hour long and experts will be available to answer your questions.

• Introducing New Features in Deltek Vantagepoint 3.5 Part 1
• Introducing New Features in Deltek Vantagepoint 3.5 Part 2

Preparing for Success

For firms that are ready to jump into 2021 with a plan in hand, we recommend checking out our webinar Preparing for a Successful Move from Vision to Vantagepoint and our Vantagepoint Transition Services to learn more about our 3-step process. Full Sail Partners is helping firms navigate through the upgrade process to deliver a smoother result. Our process reveals the “sins” over the years that might need to be addressed and helps answer the questions of where to start. We have dedicated resources ready to help you outline a plan, train your staff on new features, and make the process more efficient.

Bringing Everything and Everyone Together

Deltek Vantagepoint is designed for the needs of everyone throughout the project lifecycle. The solution was built specifically for professional services firms to improve productivity, boost collaboration, and increase profitability. Suffice to say it was purpose-built with people and projects in mind, bringing all critical business processes into one unified platform. Deltek Vantagepoint brings value to all roles within your firm:

• Executives
• Project Managers
• Accounting
• Business Development
• IT Departments

The Future is Deltek Vantagepoint

We understand there are other products that your firm may consider, but we suspect none of them will match the superior levels of project intelligence, management and collaboration needed to grow your business. In 2021, we look forward to helping existing and new project-based businesses better understand the power of Deltek Vantagepoint. Wherever you may be in your Deltek journey, let Full Sail Partners help you navigate your way!

Professional services firms have historically overlooked the importance of a formalized and systematic talent management process. However, more and more firms are now finding value in having a methodical human capital management (HCM) practice in place. In fact, 74% of AE firms reported that they are tracking revenue per fulltime equivalent and other financial metrics that are related to HCM according to the 41^st Deltek AE Clarity Report.

Even more interesting, technology companies have become aware of this desire for HCM, and a countless number of HCM software packages have flooded the market. Nonetheless, most of these HCM software offerings are generic to serve any industry. But Deltek, the leading software solution provider for professional services firms, noticed that this specific market vertical has unique needs and released Deltek Talent, an HCM designed for professional services. Here are some ways Deltek Talent adds value for human resources (HR) professionals.

Recruit and Hire Top Industry Talent

Finding and attracting top talent in the professional services industry is becoming extremely competitive. Essentially, firms are realizing that the quality and experience of their people has a significant impact on the quality of projects they deliver. Therefore, quickly enticing the “right” people is becoming priority.

Deltek Talent offers benefits such as:

• Faster talent acquisition
• Enhancing visibility and insight into the applicant pipeline
• Improving communication with applicants, candidates and hiring managers
• Putting new hires to work faster with an automated onboarding process

Firms likely receive numerous submissions from potential candidates for new job openings, and unfortunately, not every applicant meets the minimum job requirements. However, those applicants can still be good fits for different positions that may open in the future. With Deltek Talent, HR managers can create “talent pools” which organize applicants based on their qualifications and provide a group to target for new positions that are within their skill sets.

Provide Development and Advancement Opportunities

To retain top talent, firms must show that they are invested in their people. This could involve coaching and learning opportunities, certifications, or laying out a clear path for career development. Deltek Talent provides the perfect platform for firms to demonstrate that they are invested in the advancement and professional development of their employees.

The Learning Management System (LMS) within Talent allows HR professionals to:

• Reduce compliance risks with expiring certifications
• Create individual learning plans to ensure employees achieve their goals
• Improve employee engagement

Even more, the Deltek Talent LMS is designed to support the continuous educational needs of professional services firms. Some key features of Talent LMS include:

• Easy tracking of required industry specific training and certifications
• Maintaining organizational compliance and managing certification programs
• Using automatic reminders and notifications about expiring certifications
• Creating and tracking individual learning plans with industry specific courses from RedVector
• Storing internal training documents creating a one-stop shop for all learning materials

Performance Management

Long gone are the days of annual reviews. Today, HR professionals view annual reviews as an antiquated method for performance management. The trend now is for ongoing improvement by providing instant feedback about performance. With a continuous improvement model, firm leaders and managers can recognize positive or handle less than acceptable performance on an ongoing and regular basis. This ensures employees are always aware of areas they excel at or need to improve upon.

The performance monitoring tool within Deltek Talent significantly benefits HR professionals by:

• Reducing performance management cycle times
• Recognizing and rewarding top performers
• Greatly improving employee engagement and motivation

Seamless Integration with Deltek Vantagepoint

A huge benefit of Deltek Talent for Vantagepoint users is that it fully integrates with the following Vantagepoint modules:

• Accounting
• Resource Planning
• CRM
• PSA

From the moment a new applicant’s information is captured, it is stored within the Talent platform. Once a candidate becomes an employee, Vantagepoint creates a new employee record from that information. The integration collects data such as first, middle, and last name, email, home address, phone numbers, and social security number, eliminating duplicate entry of information across firm departments which saves time and reduces errors.

Manage the Entire Employee Lifecycle with Deltek Talent

HR professionals will finally get the tools they require to make them more productive and efficient in their roles. With Deltek Talent, professional services firms can enjoy the benefits of an HCM solution designed to meet their unique industry needs. Is it time for your firm to formalize an effective talent management strategy? Find out more about how Deltek Talent can help create an automated, employee focused HCM plan.