CASE STUDY
A CRM for Engineering Consultants
Gamcorp Solves Employee Utilization Problem with Accelo
Background
When Martin Gamble assumed the role of CEO and Managing Director of Gamcorp, a structural engineering consultancy in Melbourne, Australia, he quickly recognized a significant issue. Despite Gamcorp’s success over four decades in two of Australia’s largest cities, the business had stopped growing.
For two years, Gamble made changes to his team, clients, and processes in an attempt to spark growth, only to realize the core issue was an imbalance in employee utilization. Although staff members were logging substantial hours, only 35% of them were billable.
Gamble suspected that streamlining operations would free Gamcorp’s consultants to focus on clients, while management could dedicate its time to fostering growth.
Challenges
The key question was: Where was all the employees’ time going?
A significant portion of time was spent managing disconnected systems. Employees were using one tool to log time and manage tasks, another to house client data, and yet another for accounting and invoicing. On top of this, they juggled multiple spreadsheets and reports, creating a chaotic workflow.
This disorganization left Gamble and his executives unable to answer crucial questions regarding whether Gamcorp was operating on time, within budget, or profitably.
“We reached a plateau. It became difficult to keep up with the work,” Gamble explained. “I knew we had enough people, but we weren’t achieving the efficiency we needed.”
Solution
In 2013, Gamble began searching for a platform designed specifically for professional services firms. After consulting with other business owners, he discovered Accelo, recognized its potential, and decided to implement it.
With Accelo, Gamcorp finally had a smart, structured system in place, ensuring that all critical touchpoints were addressed at the right time during each client relationship stage.
However, the transition wasn’t without its challenges. The team had to break old habits, such as relying on emails for information that was already available within Accelo.
“Everything flows automatically,” Gamble noted. “It’s the next step up in terms of efficiency.”
Results
A few months after implementing Accelo, the results surpassed expectations. Gamcorp’s utilization rate surged from 35% to 85%.
More importantly, the increased profitability wasn’t a temporary boost. Nine years later, Gamcorp consistently maintains a utilization rate of 85-90%.
Several time-saving features in Accelo contributed to this success. Gamble highlighted billing as one area where the team saw significant efficiency gains. With the ability to create and send invoices in bulk, what used to take an entire day now takes just five to ten minutes.
Setting up triggers also reduced errors and cut down on instances where clients questioned or returned invoices. “We don’t miss things now,” Gamble said. “We no longer face issues where jobs are created and invoices sent out, only to have the client ask, ‘Where’s the P.O. number?’”
Despite challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the Great Resignation, Gamcorp’s bottom line remained largely unaffected. The company now completes 120 to 150 projects per month, even after losing a few employees. They’ve also expanded their services to include renewable energy solutions like solar power.
Accelo’s adaptive scheduling and clear team availability forecasting played a critical role in these successes. Gamcorp can now provide customers with accurate timelines for resolving requests, significantly improving client relations.
Ultimately, these day-to-day improvements led to the most profound impact: Gamble no longer feels out of control over the future of the business.