Technology Consulting Firm Streamlines Resource Management, Increases Billable Utilization and Improves Client Satisfaction

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Executive Summary

A professional services firm specializing in technology consulting was struggling with resource management, needed to improve billable utilization and increase efficiency and effectiveness of their staffing processes. After an initial assessment, Withum implemented a resource management office resulting in the firm’s dramatic increase in billable utilization and client satisfaction, among other efficiencies.

The Client

The Client is a technology consulting firm based in Maryland. At the time of our engagement with the Client, the company was experiencing growth of 30% year over year. Growth was expected to continue as the company transitioned from working as a sub-contractor to becoming a prime contractor with the Federal Government. Additionally, the firm saw an increase in its commercial business.

The Challenge

The Client struggled with staffing projects in light of the dynamic growth, as resources were often pulled from role to role across
projects before completing their work. This resulted in missed deliverable dates, misalignment across the organization and client dissatisfaction.

While a Professional Services Automation (PSA) tool was in place, the accuracy of the data was in question (due to all the shifting of resources and time lags in updating data), ultimately limiting the usefulness of the data for decision making. To optimize performance and improve profitability, the Client was looking to:

• Improve billable utilization — as it was operating below industry benchmarks
• Increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the staffing processes to address client dissatisfaction
• Improve forecasting of future resourcing needs to enable more proactive recruiting and partnering

The Approach And Solution

Withum’s Services Optimization team engaged with Client leadership to analyze its processes and performance relative to industry-leading practices for both the tactical (staffing) and strategic (forecasting) aspects of resource management. After the initial assessment, Withum designed and implemented a centralized Resource Management Office to:

• Facilitate the movement of resources in a more timely and efficient manner
• Enable the capture, recording, and analysis of resourcing information within its PSA to improve confidence
  in data analytics
• Execute a “resourcing pipeline” to enable 1) improved forecasting of resourcing needs and 2) management
  decision making on if/when and how to add resources to meet demand

The Results, ROI

As a result of Withum’s engagement, the Client saw a dramatic increase in billable utilization and client satisfaction due to the changes. The results included:

• Improved forecasting, which enabled the growth of both headcount and billable revenue
• Client satisfaction increased as a result of more consistent staffing and on-time delivery