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In this case study:
Client: Professional Services Organization
Industry: Professional Services
Products and Services: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Azure OpenAI, Azure App Services, Semantic Kernel, Azure SQL, Azure Front Door, Azure API Management, Microsoft Teams
Country: US, Canada & India
Overview
In today's fast-paced professional services industry, accurate and timely submission of timecards is crucial for effective project management and internal financial operations.
Like many businesses in this space, this organization faced widespread challenges with employees struggling to submit timecards on time, leading to delays in closing monthly financial statements and diverting operational teams from more strategic tasks.
See how this organization’s use of generative AI in professional services has transformed its timecard management process, increasing efficiency for consultants, managers, and operational team members.
The Challenge
Employees at the organization were experiencing difficulties submitting timecards promptly, which is essential for the accurate and timely closing of monthly financial statements. This situation was amplified anytime an employee had a question about timecard policy adherence, which required them to seek guidance in an additional system outside the time reporting tool. Managers and operational teams were also pulled away from strategic work to respond to timecard questions and chase timecards not submitted on time.
The cumulative inaccurate time tracking had bottom line impact for the organization by hampering effective project management and internal financial operations. Monthly financial closes were often impacted resulting in unnecessary delays and costs for the organization.
The Solution
Quisitive implemented a custom Microsoft Teams AI-enabled assistant that leverages generative AI and emerging AI agents that talk with the timecard system. Employees engage with an AI assistant within Microsoft Teams to receive daily reminders about timecard submission, get answers to time reporting questions, and submit time updates with notes directly to the time reporting system.
The solution leverages Azure OpenAI, Azure App Services, Azure Front Door, Azure API Management, Semantic Kernel, Azure SQL, and Microsoft Teams to streamline the timecard submission process. The solution was surfaced in Microsoft Teams to create a familiar, seamless, and efficient timecard submission process, while integrating generative AI with Azure OpenAI and Semantic Kernel provided advanced capabilities for user interaction and the subsequent capturing of those employee interactions for analysis to drive future enhancements the overall functionality of the application.
The Results
The organization’s use of generative AI and Microsoft technologies has transformed their timecard management process, increasing efficiency for consultants, managers and operational team members. Timecard submission accuracy and timeliness increased, as well as employee satisfaction. These benefits resulted in bottom line impact to the organization through the timely closing of monthly financials.
The Impact
- Improved accuracy and timeliness of timecard submissions
- Increased employee satisfaction
- Enhanced resource allocation and project management
- Reduced operational burden on teams
- Timely closing of monthly financial statements
