When done in a right way, digital transformation can reinvent any business process and significantly improve it. Unsurprisingly, providers of professional digital transformation services thrive, helping their clients embark on the digital transformation journey. But the paradox is that they sometimes pay insufficient attention to optimizing their own business with state-of-the-art technology. A global survey by Workday says that 48% of service companies around the world admit that their own key performance indicators are insufficient.
We will talk about three critical areas of business, which, if not digitized, may really ruin corporate performance.
Planning and forecasting
In many companies, planning is done once a year or only on demand of executives. This approach causes a big problem: in fact, forecasts must change as the business changes. Moreover, planning processes in different areas are not integrated with each other.
What can we do? Link planning processes into end-to-end operational processes. For example, initial planning of staff count should be based on actual job roles, talent profiles, skills, and recruitment applications, and at the same time, include the analysis of financial impact from project management and accounting systems. Active planning is based on a higher number of "live" data sources; it reflects the operational state of the business and connects more participants with each other.
In the age of digitalization, you have two strategic options—either to innovate or to struggle fighting new competitors. We advise you to choose the first path.
Talent management and development
According to a Fortune survey, the main reasons people quit their jobs are boredom and long hours in the office. While long hours can be quite successfully compensated by a flexible schedule or home office, boredom and burnout are more complicated. However, talent management can save your company from these problems.
Many managers have the necessary experience and flair for talent but are unable to identify and match the skills vital for the company with the company's capabilities.
To develop internal talent, you need to adopt a digital employee engagement strategy supported by lifelong learning and a variety of career opportunities.
Did you know that employees who have the opportunity to learn while working are 47% less stressed, 39% more likely to feel productive and successful, and 23% more likely to take on additional responsibilities? That's why companies should invest in personalized lifelong learning programs that promote one's professional growth.
To help employees develop their careers, provide a digital system that will inform your colleagues about career paths, offer mentor support, and create career progression opportunities in different areas. Digital assessment and learning solutions, various tests, and online surveys can simplify the process of collecting and keeping data on the hidden talents of your employees.
Profit monitoring
Business success depends on a clear understanding of profitability across all areas of work, customers, and regions. The crucial component of the profitability analysis for service companies is project-level profitability. Few of them have sufficient data in this domain. Historically, the project profitability analysis has been separated from financial planning and reporting processes, making it challenging to evaluate profitable deals and clients.
We recommend to service companies to implement a standard practice of tracking the project-level profitability and include it in KPIs. Implement a PSA (Professional Services Automation) system and track expenses and revenues in real-time according to transaction processing. Such systems enable project-level financial data analysis for further planning and increase the visibility of indicators in real time.
The digitization of key processes in a company makes it leaner and more flexible. It decreases the amount of manual labor and leaves you more time to focus on meaningful work driving the business forward.
