Boost clarity: align revenue assumptions and headcount forecasts

Background

Founded in 2015 with headquarters in London, our client is a leader in international sales intelligence, setting a new standard for data quality and compliance. Trusted by over 1800 revenue teams worldwide, the client is renowned for its innovative solutions and global reach. This two-phase project was delivered by a global team. The first phase involved a revenue operations ("RevOps") implementation in EMEA, establishing a solid foundation for streamlined operations. The second phase was a 12-week core financial planning and analysis ("FP&A") implementation. This phase was a collaborative effort with team members located across three time zones in the US and Poland, ensuring comprehensive coverage and expertise.

Challenge

Disconnected Processes: RevOps and FP&A processes were disjointed, managed in clunky Excel spreadsheets that were prone to errors. Manual Effort: Labor-intensive and time-consuming manual activities exacerbated data integrity issues, making the workflow inefficient. Slow Response Time: The organization had limited ability to react promptly to changes in market conditions due to the cumbersome nature of the existing processes. Change Management: Any adjustments in the current process required significant manual modifications to Excel templates, adding to the complexity and risk of errors.

Approach

Keyrus partnered with the client to define, design, and enable a solution that promotes cross-functional business ownership. This collaboration ensured that various teams were involved and invested in the process, fostering a cohesive approach to business operations. We automated the consolidation of multiple RevOps data sources, streamlining ARR forecasting through sales funnel and capacity modeling. By integrating data from NetSuite, HiBob, and Salesforce, we facilitated cross-functional data sharing, breaking down silos and enhancing data accessibility. Collaborative dashboards were created to support OPEX and headcount planning workflows, providing clear and actionable insights. These dashboards were instrumental in the financial statement reports used for the annual budget and monthly forecast cycles, ensuring consistency and accuracy across all financial planning activities.

Key results

Benefits

Implementing a consensus planning model has significantly increased transparency between revenue assumptions and headcount forecasts. We developed use case-focused models that connected over 20 reports from three data connectors and various flat files, ensuring comprehensive data integration and accessibility. Daily automated Salesforce loads on 14 reports and 8 different scenarios have saved an hour each day, enhancing productivity and allowing the team to focus on strategic tasks. Additionally, the use of 10 different forecast methods combined with manual input overlays has helped balance efficiency and accuracy while maintaining traceability, providing a robust and flexible planning framework that adapts to the client's evolving needs.

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