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Employees are simultaneously your biggest cost and your biggest source of revenue. To drive performance at the bottom line, it’s therefore crucial to utilise your resources as best you can.
Across the legal industry, competitive pressures are rising. As well as contending with the threat of new providers entering the legal services market, litigation firms must adapt their fee models to comply with the Jackson reforms of 2013. To successfully navigate their way through a period of significant change, it is more important than ever to ensure high levels of operational cost-effectiveness.
In the last decade, practically every industry has experienced the impact of disruptive innovation. The legal sector is no exception. As technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) mature and enter the mainstream, nimble new entrants are competing with traditional law firms in ways that are fundamentally reshaping the industry.
Whether you work at a small practice or a Magic Circle firm, human resource utilisation is a crucial metric. In an environment where downward pressure on fees is stronger than ever, how effectively each member of the team is using their time has a growing impact on financial performance.
When firms first started adopting resource planning software over two decades ago, the need was rather straight forward: how could software be leveraged to make the most of available resource. Furthermore, where was capacity available and where was over utilisation occurring?
Resource Planning, if done well, can have a hugely positive impact on any business: a more streamlined planning process, overall efficiencies, and breaking down of business silos being amongst them. All of this quite apart from the core aim of efficient planning, namely improved utilisation, leading to maximising profitability.
Are you planning on implementing a new resource planning platform? A smooth transition to your new system is imperative for the success of the project. There are companies that rush the process, only to encounter problems later down the line.
There's a common acceptance. Staff are the biggest cost to an organization, but also the biggest source of revenue. An effective method of managing these staff can have a seriously positive impact on how progressive you are as a department – not to mention your profitability.
For accountancy firms, where skilled staff represent both their biggest cost and biggest source of revenue, effective resource management is critical to creating client value, enhancing profitability and maintaining a competitive edge.
Let’s say times are great for your firm. You have a range of clients all wanting your services and throwing money in your direction. Is this the easiest time to be a consultancy? For some firms, it could be one of the hardest.
The strength of the delivery team is a vital factor in determining how successful a project will be, so making sure you have the right people for the job is crucial. The key challenge is to find the optimum combination of experience, skills and pay grade to ensure the most cost-efficient resources are allocated to the project.
Responding to ebbs and flows in market demand presents a continuous challenge for professional services firms tasked with creating bespoke solutions for project delivery. Client extensions, change requests and other project ‘peaks and troughs’ also make managing people resources a complex task.