Finally the notion of client-adviser relationships and its importance for the professional services industry is gaining international press. For the second consecutive year, the Financial Times (“FT”) has performed a survey sampling executive-level clients and professional service providers including law, accounting, and consulting firms. Because of my hands-on organizational development experience with services firms and overall close observation of the industry, the results do not come as a surprise to me. In fact, they support my personal remarks and recommendations. Here are the four key points spelled out by FT in its 2012 report and my thoughts.
Contribution of management
FT: The impression of whether a firm is well managed is important to clients. Sharpening internal attitudes towards clients and developing C-suite level relationships through regular dialogue are key priorities for management.
Mira Ilieva Leonard (“MIL”): When your house is not in order even your friends stay away. The same applies for professional service firms and their clients. Clients recognize when firms are experiencing turbulent internal dynamics and will stay away in anticipation of the negative effects on the management of their projects. While having the shareholders involved in the firm on a daily basis provides many challenges such as reaching consensus, etc., professional service providers should learn to overcome them and manage their firms as true corporations. In addition to building their brands, firms should focus on defining their key expertise, growing client adviser relationships at executive level and developing a consistent and collaborative client-centric culture.
Knowledge and commercial awareness
FT: Advisers need to really get under the skin of their clients’ business. Clients want advisers to provide a more commercially-savvy view of future risks and external benchmarks.
MIL: Clients are no longer expecting only a technical conversation. They want to know that their advisers understand all aspects of their business and industry, and the challenges and opportunities presented. They anticipate that their advisers can share benchmarking data and industry best practices. Professional services firms should invest in expanding their client intelligence capabilities and knowledge. Firms should equip their professionals with the skills, tools and systems to build this into a continuous process.
Added-value services
FT: Account planning and client feedback are the added-value extras that clients find most beneficial. Clients actively encourage firms to invest further in these areas.
MIL: As I mentioned in my previous post, “What can Professional Services Firms learn from the on-line gaming industry when it comes to retaining and growing client relationships?”, professional services firms need to recognize and embrace the value of feedback mechanisms and insightful thought leadership materials. FT’s reaches the same conclusion supported by data from the clients themselves. Firms must work to overcome their fear of negative feedback and get in-front of clients. Developing insightful thought leadership materials takes time and the right resources, yet again this is what clients demand now.
Supporting people
FT: Although advisers are appraised on their client service and commerciality, fewer are given adequate training and support to deliver on these competencies. Further investment in project management tools and protocols is welcomed by advisers to help deliver more profitable client service.
MIL: Some progressive professional services firms are recognizing the skills gaps and are making efforts to fill them by bringing specialists either on board or as of counsel. Others are building advisory curriculums with emphasis equal to their in-house technical training programs. These are a select few. Most firms are still undervaluing the importance of such skills and tools and are taking a haphazard approach to the issue. They are the ones that are going to find themselves in trouble in the long run.
The FT report is a must read for Managing Partners of professional services firms. Please contact me if you think your firm would benefit from implementing some of these concepts into its business strategy and culture.
Download the full FT report here.
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