The scaffolding put up to support scale—more process, layers of leadership, and bifurcated responsibilities—often comes at the expense of agility and personal touch. A stark example: I was recently speaking with a top ten accounting firm leader about a new pricing tool that their firm is hoping to launch… in the next 18 months. Not exactly nimble.
For professional services firms, where the ability to move quickly, adjust to client needs, and maintain deep relationships is crucial, it’s no wonder corporate buyers have been migrating to smaller, boutique firms; what they lack in brand name recognition is made up in white glove service, bespoke solutioning, and more reasonable rates.
In this article, we’ll explore how firms who are victims of their own success can tackle these challenges head-on with actionable strategies to stay client-focused and agile despite size.
1. Moving Too Slow: Overcoming Bureaucratic Drag
As firms grow, decision making often slows down due to processes created with good intentions (quality and consistency), leading to delays that can both frustrate clients and stifle accountability. So how can large firms gain back speed and good judgment without sacrificing consistent quality?
The key is to empower leaders with better information and the authority to act, reducing the need for multiple layers of approval that can slow down decisions and overlook the nuances essential for meeting individual client needs. Here’s tips for swinging the pendulum back the other way:
- Decentralize Routine Decisions and Remove Approval Layers: Empowering teams to make routine decisions without approval from multiple levels of management speeds up operations. It also means your teams are more likely to own their work and deliver better results as they have authority to act. Importantly, this doesn’t mean abandoning oversight; set guidelines and parameters within which teams can move forward, clearly stating the types of decisions that can be made without higher-level approval and giving a framework for making those decisions, ensuring your overall strategy and risk management are still respected.
Example: An accounting firm noticed that small decisions during their engagements – e.g., approving minor scope adjustments – were causing project delays because they required multiple layers of approval. We implemented a list of actions that senior associates could make independently and within predefined limits (e.g., extensions less than ten extra business days) along with examples, leading to efficiency, better employee engagement, and client satisfaction.
- Streamline Communication Channels: In large firms, communication can often become convoluted, with information passing through multiple layers and channels before reaching the right person. This obviously leads to delays, misunderstandings, and missed opportunities, not to mention wasted time for the messengers in between. Start by assessing your current communication processes. Identify where bottlenecks occur—whether it’s in the handoff between departments, the approval process, or simply the methods used for communication (e.g., email vs. instant messaging). Once you’ve pinpointed the issues, work on simplifying these channels to create more direct lines of communication and establish protocols for how and when to use various tools to prevent communication overload and ensure that critical information isn’t lost in the shuffle.
Example: A PR agency found that the lag time between client requests and creative execution was due to communication delays between account managers and the creative team. Emails would often go unanswered for hours, and crucial information was buried in lengthy threads. We introduced client-specific chat platforms that allowed instant communication and real-time updates on limited topics, to reduce response times and create a “single source of truth” for critical deadlines, requests, and changes.
- Implement Time-Bound Decision Windows: Establish clear timeframes within which critical decisions must be made. This pushes teams to focus on the activities that the firm prioritizes and creates a sense of urgency. To be effective, you have to choose which decisions fall in time-bound windows and set windows that are realistic depending on the decision type.
Example: An advisory firm noted that the time it took to finalize client proposals was affecting their deal close ratio, and implemented a four-business-day draft window for all client proposals. Within this period, the team had to gather all necessary information, review, and finalize. This not only sped up the proposal process, but also sent a strong message to clients that the firm was responsive and to employees that this is a business development-focused firm.
2. Maintaining Innovation: Keeping Your Firm at the Cutting Edge
As professional services firms grow, the focus often shifts from innovation to maintaining existing revenue streams and cranking out consistent work product. The challenge is ensuring that innovation remains a priority, even as your firm expands. Here’s how you can foster a culture of continuous innovation:
- Create Dedicated Innovation Teams: Form small, cross-functional teams that meet quarterly to explore new ideas and solutions. These teams should have a process for surfacing new ideas for consideration and budget so the firm can move from concept to reality.
Example: A consulting firm concerned with the decrease in cross-sell activity as the firm grew formed an “Innovation Council” that included representatives from each major service line who were tasked with meeting quarterly to brainstorm and prototype new cross-departmental service enhancements, leading to the development of a successful subscription-based industry insights service.
- Incentivize Idea Generation: Encourage innovation by offering incentives for employees who contribute viable new ideas. This could include financial rewards, recognition, or opportunities for career advancement based on the impact of their contributions.
Example: A consulting firm introduced an “Innovation Challenge” where employees submitted ideas for new service offerings. The winning idea, which was implemented, led to a new revenue stream and the employee received a bonus and public recognition.
- Integrate Client Feedback into Innovation: Don’t iterate alone – actively seek and incorporate client feedback into your innovation process to be sure you’re meeting the market and making a direct impact on client satisfaction and loyalty.
Example: A PR agency regularly surveys clients about their internal and external communication challenges, using the feedback to develop new offerings that directly addressed common client concerns and adjust fee structures to better align needs with budget.
- Stage Gate Funding and Have Clear “Kill” Criteria: Encourage a “fail-fast” mentality where teams quickly test new ideas and pivot or abandon them without the fear of failure. Two ways to make sure your resources are invested in ideas that demonstrate real potential: (1) stage gate funding instead of approving entire projects, releasing additional funding in stages as milestones are met, and, (2) establish clear “kill criteria,” predefined benchmarks that indicate when an idea should be discontinued.
Example: A marketing firm adopted a fail-fast approach to campaign development, allowing them to quickly test new creative concepts in small markets before rolling out the most successful ones on a larger scale. They also implemented kill criteria, such as specific performance metrics that, if not met within a set timeframe, would trigger the end of the project.
3. Adapting to Changing Client Expectations: Staying Ahead of the Curve
Keeping pace with evolving client expectations is a challenge in firms of all sizes, but larger firms in particular struggle as the executive office holding the purse strings and with decision-making authority moves farther away from the employees actually engaged in client-facing work.
These disconnects can result in missed opportunities to evolve services, client dissatisfaction as the firm’s advice becomes stale, and ultimately, a loss of competitive edge. Soon, the firm is more known for run-of-the-mill, commoditized work subject to intense downward fee pressure. So how can your firm stay in tune with new client needs?
- Proactively Monitor Industry Trends: Staying ahead of industry trends is crucial for maintaining your firm’s competitive edge and deepening client relationships, so establish an insights program. This could include a client advisory board that discusses emerging trends, challenges, and opportunities, “royalty to royalty” conversations between C-Suite executives focused on long-term vision, or industry groups that go deeper than than the usual email list serves and engage in real discussions on headwinds and tailwinds.
Example: We helped a law firm with flat revenue establish a client advisory board including top executives from their longstanding clients, giving the clients an opportunity to discuss what they needed most out of their outside partners and a forum to discuss with peers how to tackle market shifts. The firm built a deeper relationship with each of those clients (solidifying their footing), and modified some of their practices fee structuring to better fit evolving client needs, and pivoted marketing materials to speak the same language as their buyers.
- Strategic Client Communication: “Good communication” sounds obvious, but when’s the last time you had a conversation with a client that went beyond the current engagement? Make sure you understand your key clients’ evolving needs and how you service is measuring up to expectations.
Example: An accounting firm’s advisory practice established complimentary bi-annual review meetings with their 25 largest clients to discuss overall service, their current business challenges, and how the firm could better support them, leading to an increased retention rate, more revenue per key client, and industry insights for thought leadership materials.
- Customize Service Offerings: Creating bespoke solutions on a “one-off” basis isn’t feasible (nor usually profitable), but you can better tailor your service offerings to meet your varying client segments. By providing solutions that fit particular industries or client types, you demonstrate a deep understanding of each client’s unique challenges and have more attractive services that don’t seem so “off the shelf.”
Example: A PR agency segmented its clients based on industry and customized its service packages and pricing to address the specific needs of each segment, increasing both their win rate and profitability.
- Invest in Client Education with Open Dialogue: Educate your clients about emerging trends, best practices, and potential challenges in their industry. But don’t just teach—engage in open dialogue to learn what is most important to them. This can be achieved through workshops, salon dinners built around particular industries or issues, or other interactive settings to achieve the coveted “trusted advisor” status.
Example: As part of a larger business development initiative for an advisory firm, we created a salon dinner series where the firm curated private experiences for clients from similar industries or with shared interests. These gatherings allowed the firm to provide expert insights and potential solutions while actively listening to client concerns, while offering clients introductions to their peers.
4. Losing the Personal Touch: Maintaining Client Connection at Scale
The increased structure that comes with growth doesn’t have to distance firms from their clients. By thoughtfully using the processes and infrastructure that growth provides, you can even enhance the personal touch that your clients value most. Here’s how you can achieve this balance:
- Empower Frontline Employees: Give your client-facing teams the authority to make decisions that enhance the client experience. This avoids the dreaded "we'll see" response and the weeks-long wait for a resolution, ensuring clients feel valued and heard immediately.
Example: A consulting firm could empower senior associates to authorize overtime for staff up to a certain amount without approval, or an accounting firm could allow originators to offer pre-determined and flexible payment terms when clients faced unexpected financial challenges.
- Host Personalized Client Events: Organize events that allow for deeper, more personal connections with clients. These could be exclusive dinners, roundtables, or workshops tailored to their industry or specific interests.
Example: For a law firm with a strong securities practice, we created an exclusive workshop for financial services clients where in-house counsel didn’t just learn about new developments, but also had an opportunity to role play difficult issues they commonly face in their institutions.
- Personalize the Onboarding Process: The post-sale is just as important as the sale. Create a customized onboarding process for new clients that addresses their specific needs so they feel comfortable and confident that they chose you, and so you know exactly how they want to be treated before the engagement unfolds.
Example: A law firm developed a personalized kickoff meeting protocol, covering how frequently the client wanted updates, how they wanted to be updated (e.g., email, video call, etc.), and setting expectations on budget and scope to ensure a smooth engagement.
- Create Real Expectations for Client Relationship Management: Most firms assume rain makers got the client, so they know how to treat the client and keep the client. Instead of leaving satisfaction to chance, establish clear expectations and standards for those responsible.
Example: A PR agency set specific parameters for account managers, such as regular client check-ins, personalized follow-ups after major projects, and proactive communication about industry trends. This structure ensured that every client received consistent attention and support, regardless of the account manager.
Conclusion
The reality is that growth brings complexity, but it doesn’t have to come at the expense of speed, innovation, or client relationships. With the right approach, you can navigate the challenges of scaling while maintaining the nimble, client-centric culture that drives long-term success.
At Maior, we specialize in helping firms just like yours reclaim their agility and sharpen their competitive edge. Whether it’s streamlining decision-making, fostering innovation, or deepening client relationships with unique programs, we’re here to partner with the firms ready to break the mold.
