Profi + Innovation Experts: This Corporate Consulting Firm Uses Profi-powered Marketplace & Community Features to Improve Team Communication & Collaboration
Formed in 2002 by founding directors Jim Dearie and Michael Kearns, UXL Ltd. (the Scottish consultancy behind Innovation Experts marketplace) advises businesses on how to implement operational models that promote innovation and growth. Consultants and coaches in the Innovation Experts community work with companies of varying sizes, leveraging their business strategy expertise to help their clients build better outcomes. Kearns and Dearie use Profi to equip their network of coach and consultant experts with strategic tools to foster a collaborative, creative environment facilitating communication, knowledge sharing and ideation to lead their clients to results.
How Profi Powers Corporate Consulting Pros:
- better manage informal teams and communities of coaches and consultants
- combine multiple tools in their tech stack into a single, integrated platform
- empower clear and efficient communication between all stakeholders
- enhance content development through centralized communication and collaboration
For more on how Profi powers Innovation Experts' consulting pros read the full customer story.
Organize and Manage More than 40 Distributed Consultants and Coaches
Corporate coaching businesses tend to face a common challenge: how to manage a relatively informal team of coaches distributed geographically, in this case throughout the U.K. Within that network, the consultancy has to build community, bid for work, respond to inquiries, and invite specific coaches to work on specific short-life projects.When UXL Ltd. implemented Profi, it was able to streamline the management of all its coaches in various locations. As Kearns puts it,
“While previous projects stalled because consultants used separate tools for their various business needs, Profi offered a one-stop-shop for communication, project management, and scheduling time on their clients' calendars. Instead of needing to custom-match teams and monitoring engagement and progress, Profi inspired a new business model to minimize bureaucracy and administrative time.”
The result: A more streamlined way to organize an otherwise informal network of assets, minimizing some of the biggest non-billable time requirements most coaches face.
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Promote Clear and Efficient Communication Between the Company and Its Coaches
Within a distributed business model as explained above, communication can be difficult. Coaches need to be on the same page, but aren’t necessarily using the same platform to report their progress or communicate with each other. It’s why communication continues to be among the biggest tech frustrations most professional service providers face.
Thanks to Profi, UXL Ltd. could optimize its external communication approach with its coaches. Kearns especially outlined its streamlined nature, connecting multiple services in one place, as a key benefit:
“Profi's systems initially seemed like a good fit for our internal communication, but we didn't realize its potential power to better connect us with our consultants. Within the platform we could foster a collaborative information-sharing ecosystem. Its ability to manage different functionalities in one place didn’t just streamline our communication processes, but completely changed our view of the world.”
Empower Content Development Through Centralized Communication and Collaboration
Coaching businesses thrive on content, from one-to-one sessions to public pieces for broader audiences. At its best, this content allows for both building credibility and providing the actionable advice that sustains the business and attracts new clients.
By working with Profi, UXL coaches saw the ability to capitalize on their content. Instead of having to scour multiple platforms and sites for their content, Profi allowed the coaches to centralize that content in one place improving the company’s engagement with coaches and consultants. As Kearns describes it,
“As a Pro, you are connected to the other bits of the platform: your calendar, your blog and your teachable content. Our coaches get excited about their ability to have their profile connected to content on our platform. They had dabbled with alternatives like Teachable or Coursera, but having all their communication and content creation tools in one place was a crucial differentiator with Profi.”
The result: More effective content development and management systems allowed UXL to more easily package and profit from their content. Happier coaches and a more efficient way to create that content have made a major difference in growing the business and client satisfaction.
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