What’s the deal with timesheets?
Q: Hi Salma, ready for another round?
A: I guess this is the gig now, right?
Q: So today I wanted to pick your brain a little bit about an idea that is pretty central to the nuvemXP identity: Selling Value not time. What does this mean to you?
A: I suppose as a consultant all I hear selfishly is “No more timesheets?”
Q: I think more in terms of the traditional professional services model of selling units of time in exchange for services rather than a more wholistic approach of selling the value of those same services.
A: Whoa buddy! Thems some big words!
But seriously, it is one of the things that attracted me to nuvemXP: we have the space to re-imagine the way we do things.
I suppose I get why the industry relies so heavily on timesheets to get a sense of what the capacity of their team is and to inform their bidding process. But it has always seemed so lazy to me. Sometimes because something is easy to measure we over inflate whether that metric is the best one. The reality is that depending on skills and experience, one hour of one person’s time has a wildly different value than an hour of someone else’s. We’re people, not SKUs.
Q: EXACTLY! But wouldn’t the traditionalists suggest that they manage that with having Jr vs Sr roles? Technical vs Project Management?
A: I think they THINK they’re managing it. These days anyone can call themselves anything. And what makes someone a Senior? Experience? Age (kidding!)? You’ll find wide variations across the industry, and the lack of codified tiers makes comparison impossible. And why is an hour of technical expertise worth more than an hour of Project Management? Intellectually, both are important to get something over the finish line.
Q: OK so if “someone” were creating this new value model, what would it really look like?
A: Are you trying to get me to craft your nuvemXP pricing model? Nice try! But I suppose I have some ideas:
1. Evaluate the market rate for these services
2. Identify points of friction both for the client and organization
3. Create a referral network
4. Create a culture of trust amongst your consultants
5. Be transparent and honest
6. Trust but validate (a Damon Clooney special!)
7. Be prepared to develop some new KPIs and constantly re-evaluate them.
Q: So easier said than done?
A: Nothing worth doing is ever easy. Someone really smart said that, right? Honestly, Covid taught me a lot. But one of the biggest lessons I learned was that bums in seats did not necessarily yield results. 8 hours of “work” might not produce the same results as 2 hours of work and 3 hours of ideation. I want to work with people (both staff and clients) who want to grow, question and change. They make me smarter and they provide greater value. I don’t care much about their hourly rate.
And I don’t need a timesheet to prove people are valuable; but Damon would probably say: then give me a new KPI!