What We'll Cover

This course provides methodologies and best practices for Professional Services (PS) organizations to achieve optimum performance and meet desired business goals. This course will focus on maximizing profitability, optimizing people resources, while achieving client satisfaction by delivering client expectations.

Course Description

Expected Duration: Approximately 2 hours

This course provides methodologies and best practices for Professional Services (PS) organizations to achieve optimum performance and meet desired business goals.  This course will focus on maximizing profitability, optimizing people resources, while achieving client satisfaction by delivering client expectations.

The primary goal of this course is to enable the student with the skills and knowledge to employ the best practices to run a successful PS organization.  This goal will be met by focusing on well-defined processes and practices that balance the following pillars:

  • The maximization of company and project margins.
  • Optimization of people resources and minimization of down-time and margin leakage.
  • Delivering to client expectations and achieving client satisfaction.


This course will focus on the following topics:

  • Overview of a well-run Professional Services Business
  • Driving value in an organization
  • Key business metrics and terminology (utilization, margin, estimate at completion).  Tradeoffs to each in making business decisions
  • Project accounting methods, practices,  and results
  • Dynamic Resource Optimization (staffing, skills, and capacity planning)


Course Objectives


After completion of this course, students will be able to:

  • Describe the lifecycle of projects from client acquisition to completion.
  • Describe the elements that contribute to a successful Professional Services business.
  • Explain the importance of defining your audience and creating Statements of Work and estimating.
  • Recognize the basics of financial management for the business.
  • Cite best practices for managing the people resources of the team.
  • Define utilization and margin expectations and goals for the business.


Who Should Take This Course  

The target audience for this program includes: Professional Services staff members -- both beginning and experienced -- who desire to expand their skills and domain expertise for managing a successful professional services organization to achieve defined results.


Student Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites to enroll or participate in this course.

Course curriculum

  • 1
    Getting Started
  • 2
    Module 1 – Introduction to this Course, Overview of a Well-run Professional Services Company, Driving Value in an Organization
  • 3
    Module 2 – Financial Performance and Project Accounting Methods
  • 4
    Module 3 - Key Business Metrics and Terminology and the Tradeoffs to Each in Business Decisions
  • 5
    Module 4 – Managing People Resources (Staffing, Skills, and Capacity Planning)
  • 6
    Module 5 – Defining and Addressing Client Needs
  • Introduction to Setting-up a Professional Services Business for Success Course Overview - Setting-up a Professional Services Business for Success -- PDF
  • Module 1 – Introduction to this Course, Overview of a Well-run Professional Services Company, Driving Value in an Organization -- PDF Module 1 – Introduction to this Course, Overview of a Well-run Professional Services Company, Driving Value in an Organization -- Video
  • Module 2 – Financial Performance and Project Accounting Methods -- Video Module 2 – Financial Performance and Project Accounting Methods -- PDF
  • Module 3 - Key Business Metrics and Terminology and the Tradeoffs to Each in Business Decisions -- PDF Module 3 -- Key Business Metrics and Terminology and the Tradeoffs to Each in Business Decisions -- Video
  • Module 4 – Managing People Resources (Staffing, Skills, and Capacity Planning) -- PDF Module 4 – Managing People Resources (Staffing, Skills, and Capacity Planning) -- Video
  • Module 5 – Defining and Addressing Client Needs -- PDF Module 5 – Defining and Addressing Client Needs -- Video

Course Pricing

Purchase this training course and start learning today! Please contact your Client Success Manager to purchase multiple passes for your organization.