Have you ever wondered how effective an accounting agency would be without an accounting system? Or how successful a recruitment company could be without a recruitment platform?
Similarly, imagine a sales company operating without a CRM system. To achieve success, work efficiently, and simplify the lives of employees, businesses require robust tools that support their key processes. Finance demands a financial system, sales teams rely on CRM systems, and consulting companies should prioritize a comprehensive consulting system.
Today, we come across both small and large consulting companies that lack a consulting system tailored to their specific business needs. Instead, they often resort to using systems developed by other entities or rely on self-built systems, which are often inadequate or depend on a cumbersome folder structure for managing consultants' CVs (hoping everyone saves the latest version correctly). Additionally, traditional Excel spreadsheets are commonly employed for occupancy planning, making it difficult to ensure accurate information entry and timely updates.
Often, companies establish work processes that suited their needs when they were small, but fail to evaluate their effectiveness and suitability for present-day requirements. It's essential to reflect on how we can simplify and improve our current ways of working to increase efficiency.
Medium-sized consulting companies have been at the forefront of realizing the benefits of adopting the right support systems. These companies have witnessed significant improvements in efficiency, resulting in better margins and overall outcomes.
By implementing a robust assignment and occupancy planning tool, Zington, a consulting company, was able to reduce the time spent on reconciliations between managers and salespeople before assigning consultants to projects. As a result, they improved response times by an impressive 50%.
In larger consulting firms lacking a professional consulting system, consultant managers often have to make do with utilizing systems designed for other departments. While these systems may assist with certain aspects of their daily work, they were never intended to address the specific needs of consultant management. As a result, they only partially serve the purpose, leaving significant gaps in functionality and integration.
The traditional flow of the consulting business involves utilizing separate systems for various functions, such as CRM for sales, finance/ERP systems for accounting, and HR systems for employee management. However, these systems often lack the ability to seamlessly interact with one another, leading to inefficiencies and information silos.
For example, CRM systems typically cannot provide insight into consultants' skills and availability for assignments. Finance systems may not offer a user-friendly interface for non-finance personnel, hindering efficient collaboration. HR systems often struggle to provide transparent information on employee skills and development needs.
The key challenge faced by consulting professionals is achieving a flexible way of working while having access to a comprehensive, business-specific system. The current reality often involves spending extra time searching for information and juggling between different systems, each with separate access requirements. This complexity makes tasks like developing follow-up forecasts and monitoring occupancy rates more challenging.
As the market for intelligent, digitized solutions that streamline employee workflows and enhance management control continues to expand, consulting companies must ask themselves a crucial question: How effective is a consulting company without a business-related consulting system encompassing assignment management, occupancy planning, and a centralized CV database?
Rather than completely altering existing workflows and systems that benefit your colleagues significantly, consider adding a comprehensive support system tailored to consultants' needs. Create a hub around the consulting business and integrate existing systems through APIs.
Bizzcoo is a comprehensive solution that supports all aspects of the consulting business, offering seamless integration.