Professional Services Practice​

Company Background:

A professional services practice formed by the amalgamation of several smaller practices, covering a wide range of residential and commercial projects. Growth has been good, but in some ways, too good.

Challenge: People

While the directors had spent time ‘on the business’ agreeing on a direction, the value each brought to the table and the values they shared, there was still a sense that something was missing. What brought this to a head was rapid growth in terms of work and staff and the follow-on problems of inconsistency of outputs and performance. This resulted in erosion of margin and reputation.

Solution:

Initial discussions with the client revealed a lack of clarity around aims, and a desire to be crystal clear about how the business operates. Bowman Associates’ focus therefore was to:

• Look at individual aims across a range of areas for each director/shareholder
• Clarify those aims and combine to inform the business aims (what does the business have to do to satisfy the shareholders)
• Hold a workshop for directors and key staff to create a future that all staff are aligned to and motivated by 
• Determine an emotional connector as the backbone for internal and external communication
• Determine a high-level plan to take the business from its current state to the future state, by understanding the resources available/needed
• Set up a structure to flesh out the details of the plan, then implement that plan 

Results:

A focused and energised team where everyone could articulate what the business was about, their role in the business and the value that clients got from engaging with them. Because of this, the business profitability grew by 18% in six months, clients were happier (the business was delivering) and the directors found that the time previously spent fighting fires, could now be focused on further enhancing the business. ROI: the return on investment in taking this path was $6 for every $1 invested.