Managing customer projects is a core business process for most businesses. This is especially true for constancy firms, with effective client management being a key objective for Consulting Principals, Engagement Managers and Project Managers alike.
If you manage consultancy projects, making sure that all of your team members are connected and “on the same page” all of the time will be a primary objective. Providing access to the latest project documents when they are needed, having the right tools to communicate freely and being in control of the team activities are all essential components for a successful project.
But what about involving your client in the project team? Some may consider this brave or foolhardy, but others would consider it essential. The fact is, if your client is involved and can see what you are doing, how you are doing it and has the opportunity to contribute along the way, then they are more likely to be “delighted” with the result. If you are confident about your services and your team, then you have nothing to fear.
This type of collaborative approach to managing customer projects is where the leading firms are right now. The technology to enable this is readily available. The challenge for them is developing good information and knowledge sharing practices that their teams apply naturally and intuitively, out in the field, when the pressure is on and they are working on multiple projects with a variety of people.
VHQ Solutions’ experience is that collaborative environments and, in particular, bringing the customer more closely into the project can make all the difference. But how achievable is this for small firms and why does it make sense to get closer to the client and not keep them at arm’s length?
What is a collaborative working environment?
Collaboration means people getting together – physically or online – to share information and work together on solving a problem. It’s when this happens over the internet that it becomes impressive!
The great thing is that it has become pretty easy to create these working conditions. In fact, you already have some of the basic building blocks at your disposal right now. They are either on your phone, PDA, PC or just a couple of clicks away. The internet is full of useful tools for sharing calendars, contacts and files, and web conferencing tools will provide a lot more oomph to sharing.
Involving the customer can mean making project documentation and planning schedules available to them, as a minimum. Or, it could stretch to providing them with the ability to drive some of the project activity (by giving them editing rights, for instance). Better communication will always be a key to success, and a variety or flexible communication options will help enormously.
It’s good to have well defined policies and practices for using these tools too. As teams embark on more sharing and working online you need to make sure that your information is secure and confidentiality is maintained – people tend to be the main risk, as you will have seen in the press.
Grey Sky Case Study
GreySky Consulting is a specialist Enterprise Support consultancy in the North East of England, with a national client base and team of Associate Consultants. GreySky’s Consulting Director, James Saunby, uses a VHQ® WebOffice to manage tenders and project documents, synchronise team and project calendars and uses databases to manage project time and expenses.
Customers are allowed to access a secure project folder – they can check-out documents to work on, just like other team members – but they only see their project documents. The permission-based access ensures only authorised people can access the files, and the same principle apply to teams working on tenders too. As James says, “...this way my clients see their reports being developed and can appreciate the amount of thought and effort that goes into it, and they seem to value them more .”
The VHQ® WebOffice isn’t just kept for customer facing communication though. James explained ... “probably the biggest improvement came from putting time and expense recording online. This means it’s simple to record expenses as they are incurred, and properly assign them to individual projects or general business expenses. And because the recording is online, all GreySky’s associates can record their own expenses in the same way. This means it’s far easier for me to manage the accounts for the different projects, and I don’t get left with an invoice for an associate’s expenses that should have been billed to a project that is now finished, with the budget closed.”
Once you have project databases you can track and manage anything that’s important enough to you, whether that’s Client Contracts, Loan Equipment or Team Whereabouts.
What Can VHQ Offer?
The VHQ® WebOffice provides an ideal collaborative working environment that incorporates all of the advanced features that could help you to work more closely with clients. As a web-based application its calendars, task management, announcement, forum and document management features are available to your team and your clients wherever they are and whenever they want to use them.
More than that, the VHQ® WebOffice incorporates business management databases that allow you to control your projects effectively. Applications include time and expenses recording, finance, comanagement and opportunity management. Naturally web conferencing is available too.
If you would like to understand how Virtual HQ Solutions can help your business to take advantage of Virtual Office technology then contact Gareth Edwards on 024 769 8070, via email at
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About the author
 Gareth Edwards is a director of Virtual HQ Solutions Ltd which provides web based tools and support services to start-ups and growing businesses. Gareth has successfully set up several businesses himself as well as working in sales and marketing in the corporate sector. He has worked as an e-Business Consultant for The National B2B Centre at the University of Warwick providing support to West Midlands based SMEs.
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VHQ Article - Customer Projects.pdf