Let’s face it: Many professional services companies are disorganized and are nowhere near as efficient as they could be. This dysfunction frustrates employees and clients and prevents organizations from reaching their full potential.
It’s becoming increasingly difficult for many professional services companies to make sure the right people are in the right places at the right time. As a result, costs increase, projects are delayed, quality of service suffers, and employees and clients alike get frustrated.
Let’s look at two reasons for this disorganization when it comes to service-based models (and a solution).
Resource Management Challenge for Professional Services: Your People
Of course, companies are only as strong as the people who power them.
In the age of the gig economy and an increasingly distributed workforce, more and more professional services organizations are working with remote teams and contractors.
Most project managers can’t just walk to the cubicle next to them to find everyone they need for a specific project. And many of them can’t simply head over to a single repository to find and assign all of the resources they need for any specific project.
Resource Management Challenge for Professional Services: Your Technology
Technology is a major driver of this disorganization in resource allocation and management.
Although new tools and devices have certainly helped professional services organizations deliver more value to their clients in recent years, these tools also present a number of unique challenges.
A recent study found that the average employee uses 35 mission-critical applications to do their job, switching between these platforms upwards of 1,100 times a day, making automation of key processes and workflows virtually impossible.
With so many vital apps in place, data can be spread out among seemingly countless repositories, making it difficult—if not altogether impossible—to make sense of it all.
The good news is that there is one tool that can help solve your people and technology problems—and then some. Enter, professional services automation software.
What Is Professional Services Automation Software?
Professional services automation (PSA) software brings all project management resources together to help providers keep their fingers on the pulse of client engagements from conception to completion.
The technology gives organizations a single interface that centralizes all critical components of project management under one roof. Instead of being required to hop from one platform to the next and back again, project managers can simply consult a single app to find the information and functionality they need to do their jobs—such as invoicing, time-tracking, contract management, resource management, collaboration, scheduling, document management, project management, and more.
Thanks to PSA solutions, project managers have deeper insight into resource allocation—making it that much easier to make sure client expectations are met with each project.
What Are the Benefits of PSA Solutions?
Because of the benefits the technology delivers, PSA software is becoming increasingly integrated into the tech stacks used by today’s best professional services providers. With that in mind, let’s take a look at four of the main reasons more and more companies are turning to PSA solutions.
1. Productivity gains
With the right PSA solution in place, project managers no longer have to toggle between an endless number of platforms to allocate resources appropriately; approve expenses, timesheets, and invoices; and find the information and assets they need to make sure jobs are done the right way. As a result, they are able to approach their work more efficiently—getting better results while being able to do more in less time.
2. Project timelines are met
PSA platforms help project managers move faster, and they also give them a bird’s-eye view of each project. At the same time, these solutions help professional services workers who are out in the field accelerate their workflows by easily staying on top of communications and submitting time and expense reports in just a few clicks, for example. These features help project managers ensure that timelines are kept and resources that were allocated for particular projects are always available—which might not be the case when start dates shift.
3. Profitability increases
By gaining more insight into each project and better understanding their organizations through robust reporting functionality, project managers are able to continuously refine their workflows, figure out how to allocate resources more effectively, and determine the best people for each kind of job. Over time, this helps them delegate assets and resources more effectively, boosting profitability and bolstering the bottom line along the way.
4. Customers are happier
Faster timelines and stronger resource allocation work together to ensure that clients have a positive experience during each project. As a result, customers are happier—and more likely to recommend your professional services firm to folks in their networks.
Changepoint PSA: Project Management for Today’s Leading Professional Services Firms
If you’re looking to improve your professional services firm’s efficiency by gaining more visibility into all of your projects, a solution like Changepoint PSA can help.
With Changepoint PSA, all aspects of projects—including financial management, contract management, resource management, project management, time and expense management, and revenue management—are at the fingertips of project managers, giving them granular insight into each project.
The end result? Increased productivity, smarter decisions, and happier customers—which translate into a more profitable company. What’s not to like?
