Sustaining Performance in Professional Services
The performance of those in professional services is constantly measured against numerous KPIs.
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The lack of physical product means other factors, such as revenue earned and client delivery, are more visible and scrutinised.
Professional service firms depend on consistent individual performance from their teams. Unfortunately, the way that these people sustain the necessary levels of performance is often just assumed as something they can do, as opposed to something that is designed.
At Talking Talent, we help firms operate effectively within a pressurised scenario. Not by removing accountability or softening an environment but by building systems that support sustained performance.
Performance Is Measured
Daily While Pressure Builds Quietly
Stress and pressure for those working in fast-paced professional service firms is something that builds quietly in the background, but is no less dangerous.
Those who perform well against factors such as hours billed or how responsive they are to correspondence mean that more of that is put upon them. It leads to an assumption that because they’re good at a certain level, any increase in workload can be handled.
This pressure is managed by high performers privately, with many individuals wary of expressing distress for fear of being seen as not capable. For decision-makers, this calm exterior can make it harder to spot when something is off.
Fortunately, performance can be maintained, even at high levels, when there is an intentional structure put in place to help high-performers.
Progression Moves Faster Than Preparation
Careers in professional services move faster than most industries. In just a year or two, those new to the business can quickly move into leadership roles, in part due to high staff turnover and the cost of recruiting talent.
The perceived readiness of someone to move into a more senior role is often based on their delivery. However, this assumption fails to recognise the other qualities needed by someone who is truly ready to progress into a leadership role.
Once in the role, these individuals are expected to manage complexity and, in some cases, influence others in a team to carry out tasks or believe in a way of working. These expectations are rarely made explicit and aren’t often something that can be described in a job description. This leads to support only arriving after problems emerge.
High Performance Can Mask Risk
A person’s ability to consistently perform at a high level may hide the fact that they are struggling to maintain these standards every day, month, or quarter.
While decision makers may see a reliable employee who delivers on time, there may be deeper issues.
Strain doesn’t always show up as failure. Instead, it shows up in reactive decision-making, removing things from their to-do list quickly, or a lack of tolerance for complex ideas or feedback because their bandwidth is stretched too far.
By the time performance is affected, the issue that individuals are facing is already well-established. With the right training, high-performers gain the tools needed to reflect on their capacity even during peak periods.
When Work and Identity Are Closely Linked
Careers in this sector are demanding, and team members are likely to tie performance to their identity and see failure as personal, without acknowledging that there might be a structural issue as well.
Recognition from leaders for doing good work and rewards for progression reinforce that link.
But with this can come disruption. Stepping into leadership roles or more enhanced positions involves navigating sustained pressure, and when identity and performance are so closely linked, pressure is experienced more personally by those who no longer feel they’re performing at their best. Without structured training or consistent communication, using effective language, this is often not acknowledged explicitly by those suffering and those managing.
Talking Talent Helps Support People to Operate Effectively Under Pressure
Our experts at Talking Talent recognise the pressure that professional service firms are under. The work we do isn’t about removing that pressure but about helping people and systems to respond better to it so that it can be managed to maintain personal and commercial goals.
We help all parties become better by giving them the skills to recognise pressure in others and the tools to mitigate issues before they affect performance and wellbeing.
The goal is to improve day-to-day lives, which we do through an evidence-led approach that gives all parties the space in which to explore their own relationship with work to recognise limits and communicate effectively.
By working with our team, professional service firms not only improve the lives of their teams but also create an environment that supports commercial success.
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The pressure found in professional services isn’t going away, but the way people are expected to manage it can be with training grounded in the realities of your business.
If your firm needs sustained performance, it might be worth looking at how that is being supported.