Professional Services firms have had to quickly transition their practices to manage projects remotely. The COVID-19 situation has put a spotlight on the importance of effective communication, empowered employees and technologies that support flexible working. I attended a session on “how to execute projects with military precision (even in times of crisis)” presented by leaders of Unit4’s Professional Services Team–Billy O’Riordan (Global SVP, Professional Services) and Denis Hucafol (Sales and Professional Services Director, S. Europe). Below is a summary of how they are adapting to this ‘new normal’ to run their business.
> Effective Communication is key. The tools are only part of the equation.
Tools like Zoom and MS Teams have aided in how we communicate in an distributed environment, but there needs to be a style difference between 1-to-1 and 1-to-many interactions. We need ensure we’re testing for understanding and agreement both individually and collectively. Asking questions like, “Did that make sense? Do you agree? What is your feedback?” helps. It is very different than in-person interactions, yet we need to ensure there’s 2-way dialogue and whenever possible, and seek out non-verbal cues in video.
> The Services Business is a People Business.
If you are in the services business, your people are your product. “At Unit4, we have to make sure we’re keeping our people motivated and morale high. I have a goal that every 2 weeks, I have at least one, 1:1 interaction with every person. With 700 employees, that makes for a very full diary but it ensures I can gauge the pulse and morale of the team,” said Billy O’Riordan. He went on to describe three specific types of interactions he seeks:
1. 1:1 conversations to gauge how employees are doing personally. Typically this means the focus is less about work and more about what is going on outside normal business hours. We stress ‘hard stops on work’ to ensure employees have the right work-life balance and don’t experience burn-out.
2. Team Virtual Coffees which helps facilitate larger group dialogue and a more formal style of communication and interaction.
3. Friday 1:1 Team Calls / Office Hours which aids in impromptu discussions based upon situational needs that arise.
> Consistency. Be clear on what you want, when and how you want it. With a distributed work environment, this is more critical than ever.
> On “Running a Bench”. In the past, if you managed a Professional Services team, you didn’t want to ‘run a bench’ (e.g. have consultants not actively working on projects), but now it’s actually a good thing. There are projects that all of a sudden need to be accelerated, or someone gets sick / has to go on leave and it’s imperative you have another resource that can quickly step in and take over. Having a bench of resources at the ready has been a benefit. Because of the fluid nature of the situation, it makes it that much more important to have good documentation on all our projects so knowledge transfer is quick and effective. We do random project audits to ensure that this is being done consistently.
> Technology, Management Structures & Engagement have been stress-tested like never before.
The COVID-19 crisis has stress-tested every business’s existing tech infrastructure, management and employee engagement in a very dramatic way. Now more than ever, every business needs to focus on clear, short term goals for each, be clear on the outcomes needed and consistently measure progress along the way. It’s okay to make a mistake, but it’s important to call it out and be transparent, then learn from it.