Why project management
is so much harder
in professional services

And what high-performing teams need to do about it

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Professional
services projects
are... different.

Not just because they
move faster

Not because they
tend to be global projects

And not because they’re inherently risky

(though agencies tend to be at full sprint, all day).

(so your bad day starts in a different time zone).

(database migrations can get very crazy, very fast).

No, there’s
one key difference
between

normal projects

and
professional services projects.

Professional services projects
don’t just deliver a result for your business.

They deliver a result for
your client’s business too.

That changes
everything.

You’re not just managing your own team,

you’re managing people in other companies.

Across hundreds of projects, all year long.

That’s a lot
of risk.

Now, normal companies aren’t great at project management.

Only 40% deliver
on time.1

1 wellingtone.co.uk

Only 46% deliver
on budget.

And only 36% deliver
with their full benefits.

However, when you get a project wrong
in professional services,

it has a direct impact
on your relationship with the client.

• It makes them doubt your ability to deliver.

• It makes them doubt their decision to hire you.

• It makes them look bad to their stakeholders.

This isn’t a dull ache. It’s a sharp pain.

So why do projects go wrong
in agencies and
consultancies and firms?

Sometimes it feels like things are out of your hands.

• The scope creeps. • There aren’t enough resources. • The timeline is unrealistic.

But what about
all the things
that you do control?

And how many of those
out-of-your-control things
were really out of your control?

Here’s the thing —
when you’re managing a project
for a client everything is your fault.

The good
and the bad.

In project management,
you have to think about
the bigger picture.

It isn’t enough to
organize the tasks
and manage the timings.

You have to take responsibility for the outcomes
that matter to your business and your client’s business.

This is big picture project management.

It isn’t
a methodology
or a certification.

It’s
a mindset.

It puts your client’s
outcomes at
the center of
your projects.

Outcomes like an online
experience that improves
customer loyalty.

Or a non-disruptive CRM
implementation.

Or a financial plan that gets them excited about the future.

Big picture
project management
is the difference
between

giving your team
all of the information
they need to do great work

and
assuming they'll
"figure it out".

Between
putting a plan together

and
communicating the goals
of the plan.

It’s about
making sure your tools
aren’t getting in the way of
getting the job done.

It’s about
making sure the people
running your projects can
see the bigger picture.

And the people working on them
have the trust and transparency
they need to do great work.

Because it has a direct impact
on your client relationships.

It actually helped Strencom increase their
NPS score to over double the industry standard.2 2 www.teamwork.com

It's the thing
that keeps you focused
on what matters to clients.

The thing
that makes the people
in your team love their work.

The thing
that makes the people
in your team love their work.

And it’s precisely what you need

to go from being just another company
your client works with

to being a company they love working with.

We're Teamwork

And we make project management software
that gets out of your way — so you can own the bigger picture.

If that sounds useful, check us out.

Learn more

Teamwork

Is your project management making life harder for your clients?
When you’re in an agency, an IT consultancy or any other kind of
professional services business, projects have a direct impact on
client satisfaction. So you need to get them right.

Read our workbook for practical questionnaires and checklists
to find out if this is a problem for your business — and what to do about it.

Read the workbook

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