Over-servicing, where agencies spend more hours on a client’s project than quoted or billed for, is one of the oldest and most challenging issues in the professional services business. It bites into profits, lowers agency margins, and is generally seen as a self-destructive business practice. But, as our recent survey of over 100 professional service agencies revealed, it is a far more complex issue than can be ascribed to only bad planning or inefficient resource utilization.

To keep our finger on the pulse of what makes the professional services industry tick, we recently interviewed over 100 agencies for our 2023 Clockwork report – The Agency Operations Survey. The survey, which was conducted in partnership with Agency Hackers, aims to collect detailed insights into the processes that drive agencies, their best practices, and how they run their operations. We asked questions on agency structure, client management, and internal processes.

Few other industries have suffered as much as the event services business over the last few years. Luckily, the green shoots that appeared in 2022 thanks to the return of in-person events look set fair for growth in 2023. But set against an uncertain economic outlook, how can a modern agency take advantage of the opportunity while balancing the risk?

Agency owners and operators spend a lot of time chasing new business in their eternal search for sustained profitability, and who can blame them? It is quite human and normal to look for solutions where it’s convenient – not where it’s expedient. But the results of our 2023 Agency Operations Survey point to another key area to focus on in the pursuit of agency excellence – process improvement.

Good planning tools help you make smart decisions and set your project up for success right from the get-go. So this month we’re all about making Scoro’s Planner even more powerful! On top of that, we’ve further improved some filtering, exporting and calendar sync options in Scoro.