Almost all businesses utilize key performance indicators (KPIs) to identify trends and to measure performance against set goals. KPIs can fall into one of two categories: drivers and outcomes. Drivers measure current and future activity whereas outcomes measure the success of past activity. Furthermore, powerful KPIs should have some key characteristics to ensure they are clear and easily measurable.

Characteristics of Powerful Key Performance Indicators

1. Simple – KPIs should be simple to understand and to measure. It is extremely important that employees know what a KPI is measuring and how it is being calculated. KPIs should also be concise so that are manageable and do not overwhelm employees with too much information.
2. Relevant – KPIs need to be relevant to the organization. This can be done by making the KPIs for employees relate to the strategic goals and objectives of the company.
3. Measurable – Employees need to be able to analyze their performance which is the goal of using KPIs. Therefore, KPIs must be measurable but not all will have a quantitative goal.
4. Actionable – KPIs should prompt decisions and not create more questions. In other words, KPIs cannot be effective if employees are unsure of what to do with the information.
5. Timely – KPIs should be reported frequently enough to allow employees to make timely decisions. However, avoid having the reporting too frequent as this can overwhelm employees with too much information.
6. Visible – KPIs should be visible across the entire organization. This allows employees to see how their work is helping achieve the goals of the entire organization. It also provides incentives to employees to work harder and be more productive.

Using Key Performance Indicators to Drive Success

For a business to be successful, it must have goals it wants to achieve. These goals are a way to measure the performance of the company and its employees. Lastly and most importantly, a KPI is useless if the objective and the result cannot be reported on. Thus, KPIs must be meaningful to be powerful.

For many firms, measuring the financial health of their projects requires them to utilize a variety of different analytics and statistics. However, firms often use project invoices as the primary and only measurement to determine the financial health of a project. Although project invoices are an important element in both a project and firm’s concern, they aren’t necessarily a measure of success. 

Besides key performance indicators (KPIs), which are leading indicators geared toward firm management, there are other statistics firms need to consider. These include measurements at specific milestones to help evaluate a project’s financial position and make proactive decisions to keep a project on track or facilitate corrective actions.

The Essentials to Determining a Project’s Financial Health 

For starters, some key components of the evaluation entail every project being documented with: 

• A current and accurate fee
• A work breakdown structure (WBS) reflective of fee and scope
• The proper revenue recognition method 

Understanding the Components of a Project’s Financial Health 

To best focus on the financial success of a project, firms should use job-to-date (JTD) as the measurement of time. Here are some key stats that can be found or created in Deltek Vision’s Project Earnings Report: 

• Profit or Variance – This provides a comparison between revenue/earnings and spent at either cost or burden. For projects billed on time and materials (T&M), the project profit should be built into billing rates and therefore a zero variance is an indication of profitability. A negative variance is the result of the writing off time charged. For fixed fee/lump sum work, the goal is to incur the minimal amount of cost while still executing the scope and not compromising the quality. 

• Projected Profit or Variance – In order to calculate this metric, an estimate to complete (ETC) needs to be updated and managed. Using the ETC plus the JTD cost results in an estimate at completion (EAC). By comparing the EAC to the Fee, we can establish how healthy the project will be when complete. This can also be a good indicator of scope creep. Additionally, using actual and projected profit in tandem provides 4 scenarios and a matrix approach can be developed for the review of a project’s financial health: 

1. JTD is showing a profit but projecting a reduction in that profit moving forward
2. JTD is showing a profit and continued or increased profit is forecasted
3. JTD is showing a loss but some or all that loss can be mitigated moving forward
4. JTD is showing a loss that will continue or grow 

• Direct Labor Multiplier – How much revenue is being generated per labor dollar charged is key to managing a specific project and beneficial to measuring against the firm’s overall metric and the goals set. At the inception of a project, the budget will provide the estimated multiplier. Keep in mind that a statistic requires having something to compare it to.

• Work in Process (WIP) – This is calculated as the difference between project revenue and the amount invoiced. Furthermore, this will help mitigate any at risk to earnings from a project. If revenue is accrued, we must be mindful of the time associated with it being billed and collected. Deferring revenue can minimize or mitigate the risk. 

• Backlog – Indicates what is left to be earned. In other words, it is the future available revenue stream. When combined with all projects, it provides one of the lines on a KPI graph. In addition, it reflects the required full time equivalent man hours to complete and deliver contracted work. 

It is important to note that all the above work in tandem. For example, backlog can be derived from the ETC. 

Make Your Project Profitable 

Measuring the financial health of a project requires using several metrics. Additionally, projects should be monitored during the entire cycle from inception to completion. This will allow project managers to foresee possible shortcomings and take corrective action.

Attending a professional conference is a great way to learn solutions to obstacles you currently face, new ways to challenge yourself, and learn about trends in your industry. Additionally, you should never hesitate to ask your employer to allow you to attend a good and relevant conference on their dollar. Furthermore, managers should require employees to go to professional conferences to get out of the office and learn new things they can bring back to share with their coworkers. So, what are the benefits of attending a professional conference?

Network with Likeminded People

Sure, your LinkedIn network is huge. However, when was the last time you spoke to someone in your network face to face, or have you ever met them face to face? Professional conferences attract people from all different geographies from different continents to regional or smaller local conferences. In other words, conferences bring people together in one place in an environment that promotes talking to others. So, don’t be shy! Get out there and meet new people.

Get Fresh Ideas

In reality, you sit in our workspace and either not talk to coworkers about your ideas and their ideas because you are the only person in that role, or you’re talking to the same people about the same ideas every day. As a result, you tend to grow stale on the subject that you’re respected as an authority upon. Therefore, this is probably the number one reason to attend a professional conference.

When attending a conference, you get to attend seminars and panel discussions led by respected industry leaders and take part in roundtable sessions. Here you can get fresh ideas on challenges others are facing industry trends. Remember, you’re going to be inundated with a lot of information, so make sure to stay attentive and take notes.

Present Your Ideas to Others

In today’s age, your company’s brand is built on the brand of its employees. Prospects and clients are more likely to make a purchase from a company that they know, and trust employs thought leaders in their respected industry. This means employees must build their personal brand by showing they are a thought leader in their industry.

Becoming a thought leader requires making presentations about your ideas to peers to develop your “authority” reputation. It will also give you confidence in your work. Here’s a tip, make your presentation fun and interactive to keep the audience’s attention.  

Meet an Expert

You read their blogs and books, and if they have a television show or podcast, you probably tune into that too. Even more, their a mentor to you, but you’ve never talked or corresponded. However, that doesn’t have to be the case anymore.

Industry experts attend the conferences you should want to attend. They give presentations about their ideas, you know…the ones you read about, but now you can easily interact with your mentor and ask questions while attending a conference. Most importantly, experts also attend the conference social events, giving you a chance to have a face to face conversation. Keep in mind, they’re humans too. So, don’t get nervous when having your one on one time.

Make the Most of Every Professional Conference You Attend

Last tip! Keep a pen handy and remember your business cards at all times! Conferences are short, and you’ll be having a lot of fun. Remembering what you talked to someone about and having them remember you isn’t easy. With your pen, write notes other people’s business cards about what you talked about and make sure you have your cards, so they can do the same. There are so many benefits to attending a conference, but it’s up to you to make the most out of it.

Many people don’t realize that talent management is a key business strategy and is vital to a firm’s success. It begins with recruiting potential hires and follows employees throughout their entire life cycles with a firm. Since talent management has such a great financial impact on a firm, talent metrics should be used to show return on investment and to make informed business decisions. So, which metrics are the most significant?

5 Important Talent Management Metrics 

1. Cost to Hire

It is very expensive to hire a new employee. Up front, you have ad placement and sourcing costs. Additionally, there is the time spent by the recruiter and managers to interview and determine the best candidate from the pool. As much effort and time will be put into selecting and onboarding the right match for a position at your firm, you want to ensure the new hire is a good return on investment. You also want to assess whether your ad placements and sourcing tools are getting you the quality candidates you desire. 

2. Time to Full Productivity

Every new hire needs some time to become acquainted with the new position and learn the ropes. Generally, it requires several months before a new hire can be fully productive. However, it is imperative that your firm has an effective onboarding and training program to get new hires up to speed as fast as possible. The quicker a new hire moves to full productivity, the faster there is the return on investment. 

3. High Potential Talent

As part of your talent management plan, you should hire a percentage of people that you expect to provide more value down the road for the organization. This talent should be the best of the best. These employees will be the ones you pull from for future succession into higher-level roles. Making sure you hire talent with potential is necessary to avoid more costs of hiring. 

4. Talent Mobility

Retention of talent is another important factor to consider, especially when concerned with the financial impact of hiring a replacement. Employees need to know that there are opportunities for them to move within the firm, so they don’t stagnate in the same position after several years. Your firm should offer career paths for upward mobility for top performers who seek new challenges. 

5. Talent Turnover

Turnover is probably the most relevant metric of all. Your firm will want to keep this number as low as possible to reduce its financial impact. With turnover, you have the cost of replacing the position with a new hire and the loss of the knowledge gleaned during the years of service. Additionally, turnover stops the cohesive flow of business and causes efficiency to wane.

Manage Your Talent Well

Of course, there are cases where turnover cannot be prevented no matter what the firm does. Overall though, your talent should be chosen wisely, trained properly and given opportunities for mobility. When you manage your talent well, you will in fact reduce your costs because word of mouth is free and high potential talent will come to you.

Business analytics has become increasingly important for professional services firms. However, finding a business intelligence (BI) tool that works with Deltek Vision and gives us the analytics we want has been challenging. We need flexibility, customization and ease of use to answer important questions about our firms yet often we find that this type of analysis is not accessible in Vision. Thus, we are faced with the export/import/number crunch process in an external tool like Excel plus countless hours spent doing the calculations over and over. We need a better solution, instant access, and easy updates.

Enter Informer 5

Introducing Informer 5, the BI tool which works with Deltek Vision to make instant analytics readily available. Informer 5 is an integrated customizable interface to Vision data for use in various analytical scenarios. Using the Blackbox Connector, direct integration with Vision is now a reality.  

You simply select the data fields you want in your database including standard Vision fields, User Defined Fields, and User Defined Info Centers, and you’ll quickly be able to visually see project metrics, employee measurements, marketing results, and firm forecasting. You’ll be able to answer questions such as: 

• How are my projects performing?
• How is that new branch office doing?
• Are my employees billing enough hours?
• How is the firm doing compared to the last three years?

Also, remember those spreadsheets with all that data we built over the past years? Informer 5 can integrate this data with your Vision data. No need to reinvent the wheel, we can use it as a data source. Other data sources? Informer 5 can access those too.

Visualize Your Data with Informer 5

Are you interested in where your work is being done and where the profits are made? Well, Informer 5 also includes geographical presentations including maps. You can easily visualize and determine these specifics with Informer 5.

You can even find the numbers behind the pictures. Informer 5 has built in drill down capabilities that can take you directly to the detail data. From Profit Center to Project Manager, Project Manager to Project, and all the way down to line item detail, data can be acquired with Informer 5, and all of this can be gathered from the same graph with no need to run additional reports.

Make Smarter Decisions with Informer 5

On a final note, the Informer 5 package includes set calculations for many of our industry standard metrics. Additional calculations can be added to customize this solution for any firm. Also, firm data can be updated regularly on schedule or updated on demand from Vision. It is up to you. So, with all of these awesome features of Informer 5 and its integration with Vision, isn’t it time for your firm to start making smarter decisions?

Many firms have a plethora of data regarding existing clients, prospects, and wins and losses just sitting around being underutilized or possibly not being used at all.  So, what should these firms be doing with all this data? Well, this significant information needs to be analyzed to create actionable insights which will help drive business development decisions. Here are some thoughts to ensure a proper data analysis.

Reports Don’t Equal Analysis

Reports are pretty and give you an easy view of your data. The line goes up and you smile, the line goes down and you frown. However, quickly glancing over these reports doesn’t actually answer why these are the results you see?

Analyzing means taking those results to the next level and learning why these are the trends your firm is experiencing. You must ask the right questions to find answers in your data and then form a hypothesis to test your data against. This will allow you to find the reason behind your numbers.  

Using Analysis to Achieve the Real Goals

As simple as this sounds, getting the right information from your data analysis can affect achieving your firm’s goals. To make actionable decisions, the goals of the business must be what drives your measurement strategy. Using the correct data analysis technique requires that you know what questions you’re trying to answer.

Think about it, generic questions tend to lead to generic answers. To determine what you’re trying to figure out from your data analysis, you’ll need to have clear objectives provided by the firm’s stakeholders. Without having a specific question to answer, you won’t get a clear answer.     

Creating Metrics That Promote Action

Communicating the results of your analysis in a way to create actionable insights can often be difficult. It doesn’t have to be when the results of your analysis answer the questions that have been established by the business objectives. Therefore, communicating actionable insights requires being able to quantitatively measure the success of the plan you recommend.

The findings of the analysis should drive the development of key performance indicators (KPIs). With these KPIs, the company knows what quantifiable objectives determine the success of the business. Keep in mind, your KPIs need to be realistic based on your data. 

Good Data in Equals Good Data out

Collecting the right data and maintaining it is the most important part of data analysis. For project-based firms, projects are the lifeblood of the business. Winning more projects is essential to generating more revenue. As a result, discovering key project related data from your analysis is integral to creating compelling proposals that win new business. 

Making Data Work for Your Firm

To learn more about project data collection and maintenance best practices, make sure to attend this year’s SMPS Pacific Regional Conference and the Southeast Regional Conference. Lindsay Diven, Full Sail Partners’ Senior Consultant, will be presenting a session titled, “Develop Your Data Collection & Maintenance Program – No CRM Needed” to address this specific topic. Let your data work for you.

With all the hot topics of last year, we thought it would be interesting to see which ones were valued the most by Deltek Users. To figure this out, we compiled a list of the top 10 read Full Sail Partners’ blogs of 2017. From finance, to marketing, to HR, to project managers, it seems that we offered a little something for everyone. Let’s check them out:

1. The Unknown Features of Timesheets in Deltek Vision

It is a mystery why we deal with time management so badly. This is our commodity which we sell to our clients. However, we treat it like a curse, as if it’s an evil process that accounting forces on us. It somehow escapes us that this is the lifeblood of our business, and without it, we are out of business. So why don’t we manage this better and how can we improve our firm’s practices? Find out now! 

2. Maximizing Organizational Breakdown Structure and Work Breakdown Structure in Deltek Vision

As Deltek Vision systems are implemented and processes are written, the common denominator is most often the connection between the Organizational Breakdown Structure (OBS) and the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS). Whether it be the uniqueness of each or the relationship between the two, the attention paid to these early stages of development is instrumental in the flow and reporting of information in your Vision database. Click here to explore some areas to consider when designing the structure of your database. 

3. Is This the End of Deltek Vision's Revenue Method B?

Revenue Method B is the most widely used revenue method in Deltek Vision. In fairness, this is Vision’s default method for projects whose charge type is Regular. As a result, most firms use it since it’s easy to deploy and seems to work, or so we think. Learn more about Revenue Method B here. 

4. The Truth Behind Why Your CRM System Sucks!

The main reason why CRM implementations usually fail isn’t because of the system, it’s because of you. I told you this was going to be hard to swallow. A CRM system is meant to provide a place to house all of the important information about your clients and opportunities. However, many firms purchase a CRM system thinking it will miraculously do the work for them with no effort required. Find out what your firm needs to know to have a successful CRM system. 

5. 6 Key Statistics that Fuel the Competition for Talent Management

Organizations with antiquated talent management philosophies will struggle to attract, nurture and retain top talent in 2017. Many HR teams make the common mistake of having decentralized or ineffective systems and processes. Check out six key statistics that demonstrate why HR teams can no longer be reactionary and should evaluate their talent management processes and systems. 

6. Using Multi-Company in Deltek Vision: The When, Why and How

Within Deltek Vision lies a very handy tool which enables a firm to have multi-company functionality. However, the benefits of this multi-company functionality feature seem to elude many firms that would greatly appreciate its capabilities. So, let’s talk in detail about multi-company functionality and the why, when and how firms should use this fantastic feature. 

7. Ten Firm Initiatives to Improve Deltek Vision

Although it is easy to accept the status quo, there is always room for improvement. Once improvements are made, it is hard to believe that we operated the way we did before. So, there it is, the continuous cycle of breaking the status quo to improve our firm processes which ultimately ensures future success. As Deltek Vision users, we should focus on initiatives which enhance our Vision systems and allow us to remain efficient and effective in business. Find out which initiatives your firm can take on in 2018. 

8. Why You Should Be Using Deltek Dashboards

Are you maximizing your time by taking advantage of a dashboard? Dashboards are one of the most beneficial and functional parts of a system and yet are often the most underutilized. Dashboards are comprised of dashparts, or widgets, which are used as a portal into your Deltek database. For firms using Deltek Vision or Deltek Talent, the dashparts are extensive and include reports, metrics, links, alerts, tips and more. Find out why your firm should be using dashboards. 

9. Understanding and Effectively Using Cross Charge in Deltek Vision

Cross charge capabilities in Vision are based on similar theories as multi-company but are focused on the interaction within a company and its organizational breakdown structure (OBS). It is important to understand that cross charging is a financial tool and is based on the general ledger. It is not an attribute of project reporting since time charged to a project remains on the project for billing and reporting purposes. Cross charge is labor focused and occurs after the timesheet is posted. Still confused? Learn what you need to know to effectively use cross charge. 

10. Introducing Deltek for Professional Services

Welcome to Deltek for Professional Services (DPS), the next generation solution for professional services automation (PSA). If PSA is a new term for you, think of it as a specialized system like an enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution except specifically designed for the professional services industry. So, what can DPS do for your firm? Let’s see how this new cutting-edge solution will add value.

The Full Sail Partners’ team strives to provide our clients with useful resources that add value to their Vision systems. We hope that these widely read blogs from 2017 did just that. If you haven’t had the chance to review them yet, we hope you’ll do so now. Also, remember to keep an eye out for what’s coming in 2018!

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the architectural and engineering (A&E) industry are on the rise. Unfortunately, many firms are not prepared to successfully implement the M&A process. With an acquisition, it is imperative that the “buying” entity have a well-defined set of procedures to easily onboard the incoming firm. In the case of a merger, all involved firms would need a set plan which would dictate the transition to a new firm. However, first a firm must decide the direction it will take regarding the M&A process and evaluate how it will affect the current organization’s structure.

Navigating Forks in the Road for Your Firm 

There are many reasons a firm may decide to begin the M&A process. Each firm has its own vision for the future. On this path, there are 3 “forks in the road,” and a firm must choose one:

1. Absorbing the acquisition into an existing organization
2. Creating a new organization within an existing company
3. Creating a new company 

Making the Acquired Company Part of the Buying Company

Absorbing the acquisition into an existing organization is the easiest and most straight forward. This scenario is usually the result of a simple employee purchase. For example, a design engineering firm acquires a mechanical engineering firm. In this case, the incoming engineers are integrated into an existing profit center (department). They may have brought projects with them or are going to be staffed on existing projects. Since it requires no structural changes to the database, very little of any testing is needed. The focus would be more human resources related blending the culture of the acquired firm into the existing one. 

Making a New Organization within the Buying Company 

Creating a new organization within an existing company is most often the result of expanding service offerings. For example, a base building architectural firm acquires an interiors firm. If the firm’s current structure is studio based, a new studio would be required for the interior work. Under this scenario, a change to the existing structure is made that will require testing. This will include: 

• Cross Charging
• Overhead Allocation
• T&E group management 

In addition, reporting parameters need to be updated to ensure the new organization is included in all metrics and indicators. This will require reasonable lead time to do a test and final cutover. 

Making a New Company Altogether

Creating a new company by merging firms is the most common scenario, and regardless of the dynamics, is often driven by numerous outside factors such as: 

• Tax implications
• Buyout and payout provisions
• Currency requirements
• Country, state, and other municipal requirements
• Banking relationships
• Investment and or holding company requirements
• Professional licensing requirements 

In a merger situation, a change to the existing structure is made that will require testing. This will include: 

• Intercompany Billing
• Foreign currency management
• Consolidated reporting (in addition to the reporting parameter updates noted above) 

Additional factors that will need to be considered in risk mitigation are: 

• Rules defining internal pricing
• New currency being introduced into the environment 

This situation will require at least one test cutover and lead time needs to be considered during the process. 

Final Considerations for Mergers and Acquisitions   

Once you have selected which of the forks on the M&A road to take, the real work begins. Beyond the integration testing noted above, there are two other risk areas that must be considered. 

1. Data import
2. Revenue management 

Regardless of which direction your firm chooses to take in the M&A process, Full Sail Partners can offer consulting from subject matter experts. Contact us and we will be happy to help. You don’t have to walk alone. Additionally, we will be at the 2018 Southeast States M&A Symposium in Miami, Florida on January 24th and 25th. 

“Project Controls” are formidable words, ones that are necessary for successful project outcomes. Those of you who have used Deltek Vision for many years may recall that “project controls” remain at the core of the Vision system and are the datacenter for all other Vision applications such as billing, CRM, proposals, resource planning, and time and expense. Fortunately for Vision users, accessing project controls has gotten a lot easier with Deltek iAccess.

What are Project Controls? 

There is no industry jargon in the name project controls. They do exactly what the name implies. They allow you to manage and control your projects. Furthermore, a complete project control system such as Vision, allows users to: 

• Document project attributes
• Coordinate project activities
• Track employee time and expense
• Apply direct and overhead costs
• Monitor project progress
• Generate project reports
• Maintain project budgets 

Controlling projects requires understanding and making decisions based on the information collected. This can be a challenge if data is not updated in a timely fashion or there is too much information to absorb. So, how can Vision users make these processes simpler? 

Enter Deltek iAccess for Project Management 

With the addition of iAccess for Deltek Vision, visibility into and ease of digesting information has enjoyed a renaissance. The iAccess interface allows firms to proactively manage and track projects from creation through closeout. The real-time connection to Vision, graphical views, and simple interactive tools for planning and managing the budget make quick work of understanding the status of the project. As a result, users can efficiently manage project future costs and review the expected outcomes. 

Gain Better Control of Your Projects with Deltek iAccess 

The ability to drive your projects with a full understanding of the past and predictions for the future is the ultimate control. With iAccess for Deltek Vision, this becomes possible. So, what are you waiting for? Take control of your projects, and extend the capabilities of Vision project controls with iAccess.

The long-term success of a sports team cannot be determined by looking at just one factor. For a sports team to truly excel, it must triumph on many fronts. From scouting the best talent to strategizing offensive and defensive plays for cohesive team execution, the team manager must create a winning formula that, when utilized, brings continuous success for the team. This is also true for professional services firms, and finding the right formula for your team can become less of a guessing game with the tools available from Deltek. Let’s see how Deltek can help your firm knock it out of the park.

Winning the War for Talent

We all know that finding and attracting the best players for your team is a time-consuming process. Even more, tracking their training and development can be laborious. With Deltek Talent, however, professional services firms can easily overcome these challenges.

Deltek Talent provides a complete view of the entire human capital management process. From recruiting new talent to career development and employee performance management, Deltek Talent is a unified talent management solution designed to help your firm recruit and retain top talent. Using this Deltek tool, your team will be a group of all-stars.

Winning Repeat and New Business

Taking advantage of every opportunity and identifying every weakness in your opponent is how to win a game, and the same can be said for acquiring business in the professional services industry. Using Deltek CRM, your firm will gain visibility into the entire business development process, from prospect to opportunity to gaining the new business. Most importantly, presenting your winning solution in a compelling way to your key contacts is vital to setting your firm apart from the competition.

With Deltek CRM, you can access the actual past performance of similar projects you’re bidding on with the data stored within Deltek Vision and Deltek for Professional Services. This feature easily allows you to create proposals based on actual firm performance, and they are quick to produce with the proposal automation capabilities of Deltek CRM. Now, that’s a game changer.

Winning with Project Delivery

To build your game plan, you must first know who is available to play or whose injury would prevent the best performance. The same goes for project management in a professional services firm. Using Deltek Vision and Deltek for Professional Services, your firm will have the resource planning capabilities needed to ensure staff utilization is being maximized so that you are never blindsided in your projects. Even more, instant access to project metrics and performance data helps guarantee projects will stay on track.

Win with Deltek

In Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis, there is a Pete Palmer quote, “Managers tend to pick a strategy that is the least likely to fail, rather than to pick a strategy that is most efficient. The pain of looking bad is worse than the gain of making the best move.” Fortunately, professional services firms don’t need to play this guessing game when using Deltek tools. Let Deltek help your team find the right formula to win on all fronts. Wouldn’t you like to have the upper hand?