In business response to COVID-19, the demand for digital services and virtual delivery has increased.
Before the pandemic, the UK’s Financial Reporting Council (FRC) had already revealed its plan to instruct four well-established accounting firms to split their audit arms before 2024. These firms include the following:
• KPMG
• PwC
• Deloitte
• EY
The firms now see a new wave of competition – the rise of smaller and specialised start-ups backed by data and artificial intelligence (AI). Soon in the future, professional field service firms will improve their operations and services to stay competitive and connected in the evolving marketplace.
Changing Consumer Demand and Relationships
Evolving demand for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) is also impacting the professional service industry. They have a limited budget, and their clients now closely look at outgoings. There’re some companies shifting from traditional services and establishing rigorous performance benchmarks on their partners.
Companies want to track their finances and return on investment (ROI). For all of this, they heavily rely on data that help them with decision making and performance monitoring. Unsurprisingly, clients now use data to benchmark the performance of their professional service operators.
The as a Service Model
Changing client demands means a significant change in performance tracking, pricing, and billing. Even during recruitment, clients demand cost transparency so that they can compare quotes for shortlisted firms. Businesses need new project-specific models and a new definition of success that’s driven by client-centric, performance-driven milestones.
The new client-centric model of Professional Services helps address challenges that hinder the growth of many firms. Two main challenges are:
• Fragmentation within a larger organisation.
• Disconnection between geographically separate business segmentation.
To do this, firms need to ensure that their internal teams are all on the same page. By breaking down internal silos, larger companies can stay competitive and adopt the same agile methodology that has made their smaller competitors successful.
To overcome these challenges, field service businesses need to keep their workforce on the same page.
Effectively recognising leads, customised marketing communications, and working proactively towards potential client needs can define the Professional Services sector’s success.
