Service-based organizations are addressing many new challenges posed by evolving business models and competitive pressures. Professional services (PS) organizations need better data insights and improved automation to overcome these challenges. However, many PS companies are hampered by outdated technology and time-consuming manual processes.
According to a recent IDC InfoBrief sponsored by Workday (Leveraging Technology and Workflow Automation to Build a Competitive Advantage in Professional Services, IDC #US51013523, August 2023), PS Leaders prioritize accuracy in quotation and delivery. Project efficiency and profitability. and resource and skills planning. However, they lack the integrated, data-driven business systems needed to deliver projects that achieve these goals.
Dealing with inaccurate data
When PS leaders were asked about their biggest challenges in managing systems, processes, and functions, they most often cited poor customer experiences due to inaccurate data, projects, and people. That was it.
The more than 400 PS leaders surveyed were also challenged by manual financial processes such as billing and consolidation, which are slow, costly and inefficient, as well as cumbersome project tracking and resource management processes.
More than a third expressed lack of confidence in data to drive impactful decisions.
Against this backdrop of fragmented data and manual processes, changes in the way we work present opportunities for PS businesses to evolve and thrive. However, this is only if the core enterprise systems can support this.
The increase in on-site remote working means that resources can be allocated more flexibly and people can work on projects in parallel rather than one at a time. Making the most of your staff's time doing billable work has a huge impact on profitability. However, this depends on PS businesses being able to track skills and availability and plan work programs efficiently.
With faster product development, it's important to stay on top of skill development and workforce planning.
A system that allows PS companies to analyze profit margins down to the level of individual projects and clients makes it easier to understand which types of work and clients are the most and least profitable. In this way, pricing, quoting, and sales and marketing strategies can be adjusted accordingly, but only if you first have detailed cost allocations for labor and other resources. The growth of subscription pricing and packaged services also requires greater sophistication in analyzing and allocating costs and margins.
Legacy systems and manual processes
By more effectively mapping quotes and quotations to available resources, you can start projects faster and deliver on time and within budget. This is the ultimate goal for service-based organizations. Although the technology to accomplish this is available, many PS operations are performed using legacy, homegrown, or outdated software packages. Based on manual records and spreadsheets, these systems don't have the integration or agility needed to achieve much, if any, of the above.
The continued evolution of AI will impact all of the pressures and demands mentioned above, further raising the bar for competition.
Professional services companies are eager to integrate automation into their core business systems and are acutely aware of its benefits. According to an IDC InfoBrief, more than half say they are missing key components of project accounting, such as revenue, reservations, and billing, due to lack of integration. On the other hand, resource management such as employee skills, capacity planning, and forecasting is also lacking.
These companies also cannot take advantage of AI workflows to automate processes, as it would be too expensive to update their existing legacy systems in this way.
By using integrated cloud services in their systems, more than half of businesses cite improved efficiency and agility to respond to changing market conditions as the main benefits, while half say they have better data They cite improved risk management through insights and better decision-making.
Financials, people, and project data are critical components of PS projects, so companies like Acxiom, Cognizant, and Bill Gosling Outsourcing have demonstrated that you can get all three from a single cloud-based platform. The ability to manage and analyze has multiple benefits.
Integration and automation
For marketing services company Acxiom, obtaining a single version of the truth was the goal. The business was challenged by approximately 80 different systems supporting human resources and financial processes and needed to integrate these outdated technology platforms. After implementing Workday's cloud-based HR and finance applications, Acxiom now has one data source that provides up-to-date, accurate information and a simplified application landscape. Axiom commented:
With Workday, we've been able to reduce our large number of systems to six, align our HR and financial data, and access all our data in one place.
Cognizant, a technology consulting company experiencing a period of rapid growth, needed an integrated system that could scale and decided to invest in Workday's single platform for HR, projects, and finance.
This has given Cognizant the efficiency and agility to support a growing employee base and standardize and automate business processes globally. Workday Professional Services Automation (PSA) streamlines time tracking, invoicing, and billing processes, giving managers real-time visibility into P&L spending through budget and actual reporting.
The system for managing all human resources, projects, and finances was a game changer for the company. He said:
We have a 360-degree view of your business, not only from an employee perspective, but also from an operations and project perspective. Be more agile with real-time information to make quick decisions about employee resourcing.
Another company benefiting from Workday's automation capabilities is Bill Gosling Outsourcing. The company wanted an HR system that would ease the administrative burden faced by its finance department.
Since implementing Workday Financial Management and Workday Human Capital Management, the company has realized faster decision-making and increased agility. Bill Gosling Outsourcing was able to automate many routine processes, reduce sales revenue, and improve reporting. Joe Fanutti, Chief Integration Officer at Bill Gosling Outsourcing, explains:
After automating transactions with Workday, finance managers can now spend more time analyzing data and providing guidance to the business. With Workday Analytics, you can see your data in a multidimensional format, not just linearly like in traditional ERP systems.
conclusion
With a single system for finance, human resources, operations, and planning, service-based organizations can execute projects in the most efficient and cost-effective manner and empower employees to make the best decisions. Arm yourself with the data you need to keep your business healthy. You will be able to respond quickly to changes.
Companies still running legacy systems cannot take advantage of AI and automation. Instead, significant time is spent running manual processes, redoing estimates and budgets based on outdated or missing information, and assigning staff to projects that don't necessarily require the resources.
With accurate and timely planning, financial, project, and employee data available in one place, project managers can quickly respond to any variable or permutation to keep projects on track and time to value. It can be shortened.
Modern technology and data intelligence are essential for PS companies looking to benefit from automation, AI innovation, workflow efficiencies, improved customer experiences, and the increased profitability that all of this brings.