Adopting Automation Technology for Optimal Professional Services Operations

Introduction: Adopting Automation Technology is Hard

Business operations have shifted. Business operations and customer relations have moved from pen, paper, spreadsheets, manually created reports, and calculators to modern software tools. Automation (or the more popular term, Digital Transformation) is the new norm. Employees are continually expected to do more with less and a focus on billable hours to sustain operations and facilitate growth. Management teams need to report this data to executives to justify expenditures and show progress. The investment in software can be high upfront, however by performing due diligence and generating a list of reports and data to use as a baseline, the ROI on software to automate business processes and drive reporting can be significant. This article provides an overview of how expertly implemented automation technology can help optimize operations and create more fluidity within the organization.

Prepare for Change

To successfully change, preparation is critical. Failure to adequately prepare will likely result in lost efficiencies, rework, and budget overages during the software implementation. A good first step is defining the business goals as a foundation for achieving what success means to your organization. Determine where the pain points are. Why is the company considering replacing the current process with new automation software? What isn’t working, what is working, and what is the company hoping to achieve? 

Select a partner with whom to work. Assuming that your organization doesn’t already have an in-house expert with an abundance of time on their hands, it is critical that you employ an experienced team who can not only get the work done but also provide best practice guidance. Your partner should be able to coach and enable you in how to utilize the obvious benefits of the software. They also should have the knowledge and experience to discuss the lesser-known features that would work for you based on your business needs, as well as any considerations where certain configurations or processes may not drive optimal results for your team. 

Your business goals should be the basis for change management and process improvement. Does what you are doing, or would like to do, align with the goals and objectives? A key task which your implementation partner should guide you through is a detailed workshop that assesses each of your teams and processes impacted by the software, and a soon-to-be new process should be included. Your partner should be knowledgeable and have industry as well as software expertise to drive effective conversation. 

The more time spent during planning, preparation, and discovery sessions will result in a smoother long-term process and more successful implementation.

Define Standards. Enforce Accountability with Automation

Upon completion of the requirements workshop, it will be determined what changes will be made and why. These requirements will come full circle in the reporting of outcomes, ROI, and success measurement. Policy and procedure documents outlining the expectations should be created at this stage. If your organization prefers a less formal approach, perhaps the requirements can serve as a base for simple communication and training to your team. 

There can never be too much stakeholder buy-in; creating vested members of the leadership team are critical in this stage. Establishing guidelines for what management and staff are expected to know, complete, and report on is equally important. Establish regular meetings or intervals for information sharing. Discuss adding these metrics as a part of an accountability KPI report or dashboard to be shared with stakeholders. Generate reports to drive action and results.

Following through is arguably the most important component in enforcing these new standards. While detailed assessments, requirements definition, and follow-up will take more work up front, this will also increase the probability of long-term success. Know the risks if something were to fall through. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to the team if something is incomplete. Building a habit or routine takes approximately 21 days. Chances are, after the first month, those involved in the process will have come to incorporate the new software into their routine. The infrastructure will start to ground itself and truly become a part of business operations.

Think Big Picture 

Determine how your requirements will be implemented, how you will support your new automation technology, and how the system will be rolled out to the users. Working alongside your team of experts will allow a greater understanding of how the system is configured and enable those individuals to best support their team when the system is live. Your implementation partner should guide you through these processes and ensure that you are equipped for success. 

Automation software supports the alignment of financial, project, resource, and time management of a project. Using automation technology provides the ability to monitor real-time deliverables and status while maintaining consistency across teams. One example of consistency resides in using project templates, which allow for a part-by-part comparison between data points across projects or portfolios. Information sharing across departments becomes more streamlined, and the same data can be provided by different team members, all of which pull from the same central source. In addition to the need for value delivery to clients, staying on top of delivery milestones and budget are essential parts of client satisfaction and quality outcomes. 

Utilizing software to track project risks and work them from a shared system, for example, provides visibility into potential challenges and allows the organization to take a proactive approach; more so than if a single spreadsheet were used and perhaps unable to be viewed as readily. Organizations can set up business rules and logic within the software for notifications based on critical milestones or entry of such things as risks or issues. Again, your implementation partner should have examples and knowledge of how to think creatively, if necessary, to track such items. The quicker a challenge can be addressed and the less reactive the solution – often results in a higher quality response to the client and the project.

The ability to holistically review a project or a client through a single software system, rather than through individual documents and manual efforts, allows for a greater degree of excellence.

Reporting & Outcomes

Now that the data has been collected for a period of time, the opportunity exists to determine results. Meaningful reports typically come several weeks or months post-go-live and take some practice and refinement to achieve desired processes and inputs. The saying “Garbage In, Garbage Out” is entirely applicable in any software implementation. Whether poor or inadequate data is going into a perfectly defined system or perfect data is going into an ill-conceived software system, the output is the same and is of no value.

There will likely be increases in efficiency for the team, such as converting timesheet hours to billable time or the project setup process. In addition to the day-to-day tasks, data now populating reports will provide a more holistic view of operations. Common examples of post-go-live data include:

• Employee billable utilization
• Employee non-billable time
• Timesheet status
• Forecasted revenue
• Resource availability

Having data readily available is a great value. By monitoring employee utilization, for example, identification of resource scheduling is made apparent. Do some employees need more or less work? Is there a hiring need? Identifying missing timesheets will ensure that utilization is up to date and that complete hourly billing is completed during invoicing. Data tracked through these reports will open opportunities for more business optimization. 

Provide a summary of what the data means to key stakeholders and the organization as a whole. Act on reported data. Reports provide the groundwork for action; what changes need to be made due to the data? Make a plan and execute it. These actions will lead to greater optimization within your organization. Processes will likely require modifications after the initial rounds of data and reports are available; however, this is expected and is a step toward optimal operations.

Act on Results to Refine Processes and Reduce Wasted Effort

Queue up efficiency. Monitor the changes adopted. Share the information. Help staff understand how important their inputs are and how their inputs are significant to the team’s longevity and success.  When the team is provided with this information, a greater level of adoption is achieved as the actual results of the inputs are visible. If the team knows that data is being reviewed – and acted upon – they are much more apt to provide more frequent and complete information. After all, didn’t you implement the automation technology to drive change? 

In Summary                                    

There are many facets to a successful automation software implementation. By following each of these steps will lead to long-term success and business optimization.

• Plan & Prepare
• Communicate
• Gather Baseline Data
• Define Success Metrics
• Establish and Enforce Accountability
• Measure & Communicate Results
• Act on Results to Refine Processes

Having a clear path defined and paved for execution is key to professional services automation software implementation and the optimization of professional services business operations through the use of technology.