How our strategy-driven project and portfolio management solution helped a global talent consultancy during a major business expansion. Increasing visibility, business value, competitiveness, profitability and revenue growth.
Client overview
In operation since 1946, our client is one of the largest and oldest recruitment companies in the world. Operating out of 40 countries, with a revenue of $5 billion and 7000 employees around the globe, they connect over 500,000 people, at all levels and across sectors, to work.
Challenge
In preparation for evolving customer demands, our client decided to expand their service offerings to include the formation of a strategic consulting practice. The practice would sit within the organization alongside other well-established and successful business functions. As part of a decentralized organization, the new practice was faced with a number of challenges which included:
- A lack of visibility into consulting opportunities, advisory which had previously been included as a part of other services
- Tools to manage the consulting portfolio pipeline
- Coordination of available resources to deliver the work
- Tools and resources to upskill the sales team–enabling them to sell consulting work effectively
- Limited governance to support accurate performance monitoring against business objectives
As a result, it became apparent that additional support was required to ensure the future success of the practice.
With aggressive timelines, pressing revenue targets and the need to secure further funding, we were asked to partner with our client, and provide a tailor-made portfolio management solution. One that would not only support the practice, but would also demonstrate its value within the wider business.
Approach
As the practice was already operating, we began by gaining visibility and control over the tracking of work status, timelines and costs. This lay the groundwork for an in-depth portfolio risk assessment. Once complete, we were able to look at the broader portfolio management needs—including business alignment, governance and benefits realisation—working to optimize the strategic and financial value of the portfolio and the practice potential. And by involving the leadership team from the beginning, we were able to clarify what needed to be measured, linking it back to the return on investment (ROI).
Included in approach
Governance:
- Implemented mechanisms to track the scope and status of ongoing work
- Assessed the in-flight portfolio for risk, making recommendations for change
- Established clear procedures for pipeline and resource management
- Produced a best-practice plan to roll out improved governance—designed to enhance performance with limited disruption to ongoing work
- Supported the alignment of management processes with strategic objectives
Communications infrastructure:
- Engaging with key stakeholders—assessed current communication infrastructure, challenges, risks and objectives
- Produced a communications strategy linked to the organization’s overarching narrative identifying and setting clear goals, including the development of branded marketing material, supporting the growth agenda
Continuous improvement:
- Analysis of portfolio management reports, dashboards and visualisations to enable meaningful discussions with the leadership team
Results
- Quick Return on Investment (ROI), with our client realising over $2.5M in consulting revenue in their first 2 years
- A successful tailor-made portfolio management solution powered by a standardized toolkit, increasing efficiency by 35%
- Safe expansion of the consulting practice from 6 to 15 consultants
- Increased visibility across the organization
- Demonstrable commitment to business value and clear results—through meaningful metrics, strategic alignment, transparency, control and by taking a proactive approach
Conclusion
Working together as one-team—connecting, listening and collaborating—we built a portfolio management solution based on our clients’ needs. Even with aggressive timelines, we were able to rapidly deploy a successful, long-lasting solution—one which provided a foundational framework that defined business processes, resources, tools and communications infrastructure.
In addition, we provided a standardized toolkit, which enabled our client to implement and embed the portfolio management solution into their business structure with ease—helping them gain visibility, demonstrate business value, gain extra funding, and increase their ROI.