The Professional Services Pursuit

Welcome to part 1 of a two part episode with author, speaker, entrepreneur, and professional services strategic advisor, Shane Anastasi. Shane is currently the CEO and founder of PS Principles and joins us to discuss the biggest challenges professional services teams face and his key philosophies for being a better project leader and driving better client outcomes.Other topics also discussed in this episode include:The downfalls of traditional PMI training and the importance of defining professional services within your organizationMoving away from order taking to celebrating services and its impactHow to become more consulting oriented towards customers and improve the customers desired long-term outcomesEmbracing the idea of proactive escalations instead of reactive escalations Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our hosts come together again for the final session in our 4-part Linkedin Live series to talk with Kantata’s Chief Product Officer, Jared Haleck. In this episode they dive into the importance of employee experience, how technology plays into that, and how the creation and adoption of technology is shifting to be more vertical specific.Other Topics covered in this episode include:Why ROI is no longer the number 1 reason to buy technologyOptimizing user experience to match generational expectationsHow to make the right technology investments for your specific industryThe shift to vertical SaaSService Performance Insight ROI data regarding the value of purpose-built solutions The importance of a phased approach when implementing new technologiesApproaching Ai as a solution instead of a problem Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back for the 3rd recording from our 4-part Linkedin Live series that Kantata is hosting. In this episode, we talk with Tom Beck, the Executive Director of SoDA (Society of Digital Agencies). Tom talks about the 2023 Digital Outlook Study – an annual study by Forrester and SoDA that delves into spending plans, strategic priorities, and key industry issues from the perspective of marketing and technology leaders. Brent, Banoo and Tom dig into some of highlights from the report and provide an overview of what to expect in 2023 and beyond:Indicators of how concerned agencies and marketing firms should be about the economyHow client-side spending is impacting key agency initiativesClient-side strategic priorities around organizational growth and how that’s that impacting agenciesAccelerated investments in digital marketing and tech How talent struggles are shaping the agency space and shifting them to be more specializedTo learn more download the 2023 Digital Outlook Study on the SoDA website:https://www.sodaspeaks.com/research Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of the podcast we bring you another live session from our LinkedIn Live series that is tackling the key trends shaping 2023. From the “Great Resignation” of 2021/2022 to the current situation in 2023, companies have had to swing from increased compensation to layoffs, despite still facing skills gaps and talent shortages. Kantata’s CPO, Gina Hartigan, joins Banoo to discuss these challenges and how to develop a more agile and valued workforce. Other topics covered in this episode are:The multidimensional approach required to overcoming the hiring and skills gapThe long term effects and how businesses will need to adapt to the current labor marketThe new labor currency - flexibility and career development How to optimize your hiring process and do more with your existing workforceThe importance of streamlined processes and automation Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of the podcast Brent and Banoo are the ones in the hot seat! This live recording from our LinkedIn Live series, “Navigating the Path Forward”, tackles the key trends shaping 2023 and how people, process and technology optimization can future-proof your professional services business. Brent and Banoo are joined by Charles Gustine, Kantata’s Brand Evangelist, who digs into some of the key analyst predictions and research for 2023 and asks them questions based on those insights.Some of the topics covered include:The biggest challenges PS firms are grappling with right nowAdaptive leadershipOptimizing the experience and lifetime value of customers and employeesFind friction points, measure relentlessly, improve what you measureAligning IT spending with business prioritiesAchieving healthy transparency Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are excited to bring you another episode of Professional Services Pursuit! This time, Christine Dunham, Senior Director of People Development and Culture at Kantata, joins us to talk enthusiastically about managing company culture, what has been lost and gained in moving to remote work, how to create a collective culture and tools that company leaders can utilize to enhance employee experience.Other topics include:Christine’s background and how she ended up in people developmentSome of the most critical elements we have lost in a remote work environmentThe importance of a “north star” (shared vision and goals) and how to guide your organization in a remote environmentTools leaders can use to drive employee engagementHow to drive growth and development initiativesDeveloping a culture of feedbackFind out more information by visiting us at https://www.kantata.com/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this week's episode Brent is joined by the ‘Father of PSA’ and Managing Director at Service Performance Insight (SPI), Dave Hofferberth. They dive into some of the professional services performance trends uncovered by the SPI PS Maturity Benchmark survey and PS End User survey and how organizations can use this research to improve their business. Other topics covered include:The dimensions of SPI’s researchHow to determine where to focus to see the biggest returns Labor and revenue metricsThe impact of involuntary attrition The remote service delivery trend and how to streamline the hiring processHow technology impacts your people, process and bottom lineFor more information on the surveys visit the SPI website. The 2023 Maturity Benchmark survey will be released on February 8th. Click here to download the 2022 Professional Services End User SurveyClick here to download the 2022 Professional Services Maturity Benchmark Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Joining us on this week's podcast is Marc Lacroix from RTM Consulting. Banoo and Marc dive into some of the biggest issues holding companies back from effective forecasting, skills management and the root cause of ineffective data? Find out more on this episode of Professional Services Pursuit!The key topics covered include:The biggest factors holding companies back from doing effective forecastingHow to set PM’s up for success with improved data qualityThe importance of a skills databases that ties to your sales processMarc’s do’s and don'ts for maintaining an effective skills databaseMacro trends in resource managementMoving less from custom services to more packaged and templated servicesKey results of the 2023 RMI Forecasting surveyThe Resource Management Institute's first research survey on forecasting can be found at www.resourcemanagementinstitute.com. To access it for free, you just have to register to be part of the RMI community which provides  newsletters, research, events and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this episode of The Professional Services Pursuit, we celebrate the one year anniversary of Kantata by having our CEO, Michael Speranza, back on the show. Brent and Michael discuss his experiences over the past year, the challenges he's seen the industry face and the trends and predictions he's seeing moving into 2023.Other topics include:Insight into what clients are struggling with on a daily basisSome assumptions Michael had going into the role of CEO about the industry and market that were either confirmed or surprised him The opposing forces, challenges and trends Michael predicts for 2023The critical changes to business fundamentals that will lead to success in 2023Rebalancing and refocusing revenue vs. costMichaels top 3 tips to leading an organization during challenging times Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the professional services industry, Gainsight is one of the leaders in customer success and satisfaction. In this episode, we take a look at how they structure their team for the best results, what goals they focus on, and how they manage their processes. Join us for this discussion as Gainsight’s Senior Vice President of Professional Services and upgrades, Peter Wride, pulls the curtain back on how he finds success within his team. Other Topics covered include:How to create an excellent journey and why relying on “hero’s” is not sustainable The importance of flexibility within repeatable processes Considerations in designing processes and methodologiesThe formula for customer success and the importance of recognition within your teamHow to use NPS in effective, proactive ways Solving measurement and change management challenges in customer successCustomer success lessons to live by Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.