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DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON?
INTRODUCTION
People don’t always come out and say what they really mean.
Often, managers have to decipher how a department is performing by studying the numbers,
observing behavior, and paying close attention to the words their employees use. Because at the
end of the day, it is ultimately your responsibility to make sure the agency is meeting its business
goals, retaining clients, and meeting deadlines.
If you miss a problem with efficiency, collaboration, or employee happiness, things inside your
firm could start to spiral. It’s better to watch for the tell-tale signs of an issue and prevent future
problems than to try to crawl your way back to productivity and profitability.
To understand what’s really going on in your creative department, listen for these specific
phrases.

3
People send and receive an average of 121 business emails per day, according to The Radicati
Group. Our email inbox dictates our tasks for the day. We react to the “ding” of incoming email
instead of planning our tasks and managing our time proactively.
This means that important client and internal requests are often competing for attention and in
a flood of email newsletters and automated messages.
If your team is missing key communication and ignoring feedback, it’s likely putting your client
relationships at risk. It could result in the team pushing timelines and defaulting on client
expectations.
Use a project management tool to store feedback, timelines, files, and the project specs in one
place. It will help your team focus on what really matters: producing great work on time and
under budget.
I DON’T REMEMBER SEEING THAT EMAIL.“

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People are more productive and creative when they take breaks throughout the day.
Sitting in front of computer monitor for five hours does no one any good, especially your
clients. You should encourage your employees to take breaks if they are having difficulty
writing copy, designing an ad, or coming up with a launch plan.
Ask them to follow what scientists call our ultradian rhythm: 90-minute periods of work
followed by rest periods. This cycle follows what happens to us when we sleep. We cycle
through sleep stages in 90-minute increments.
After 90 minutes of high-energy work, our bodies begin to produce stress hormones, which
gives us a boost of adrenaline but ultimately decreases our ability to think clearly. One
study by the Federal Aviation Administration found that this approach to work increased
awareness and focus by 16%.
Increase the focus of your team by requiring periodic breaks throughout the day.
I DON’T NEED A BREAK.“

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You don’t want to work with a creative director who always defaults to, “no.” But the opposite of
this can be just as detrimental to your agency.
If someone always “yes” even though they don’t have the capacity, you can’t realistically set
timelines for clients. Even worse, you won’t know how overworked a department is if the person
setting priorities and managing deadlines is too eager to please.
Consider this: A survey conducted by Workfront found that three in five people say they are
completely overwhelmed and barely meeting deadlines. And half of the survey respondents feel
they are working after business hours because the company is understaffed.
The creative director should have a firm grasp on the workload of her department and what
current commitments can be push for another opportunity, and she should have resources
she can call on during times when overcommitment is unavoidable. You need leadership, and
sometimes, that requires a person to draw lines and set limits.
YES, WE CAN DO THAT. AND WE CAN DO THAT. AND
MEET THAT DEADLINE.
“

6
The client review process is challenging to manage -- but it must be managed if you want your
agency to be profitable. By round 16, those slim margins on the project have disappeared.
If a large percentage of the agency’s clients are asking for changes above the normal number of
rounds of review, you should investigate. Are additional rounds of review required because the
point person on the client side is asking for changes prior to showing the creative to the decision-
maker? Has the agency made errors because the team didn’t proof the work internally? Is the
client unhappy with the overall idea? Has out of scope work been added to the project? Was the
project not properly scoped in the first place?
Consider how you set client expectations for the review and approval process, and then refine
how account and project managers and the creative team can work together to cut down the
number of rounds of feedback.
IT’S THE ONE LABELED V16.“

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If you hear this phrase, you should check on what actually needs to happen to complete the project.
Almost is not specific enough, and it may mean that the director of your creative department is
overwhelmed herself. She may not really know what the status of a project is.
If projects are consistently “almost there,” you may need to implement a report system so teams are
trained to update their managers on a project’s status, forecast its completion date, and detail any
potential roadblocks that could hold up the work.
Consider holding daily stand-up meetings that are no longer than 15 minutes long, or have employees
fill out a 15Five report each week. Communication is key in understanding how well the team is
performing.
IT’S ALMOST DONE.“

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It is difficult to keep your head high when you put your work out there for the world to critique.
And sometimes, client feedback can be like a dagger to a creative’s soul.
But that shouldn’t be enough to stop someone. While frustrating, constructive feedback is also an
opportunity for growth -- something people who love their industry should welcome. And if the
feedback is more hurtful than helpful, it should be seen as a challenge.
Discuss with your team what they need to move forward, and provide perspective on the client’s
feedback. It may be a valid learning experience for a younger designer. Also, help them to
understand that client approval isn’t the only measure worth considering.
Then, tell them to get back to it.
THE CLIENT HATED MY WORK. YOU SHOULD PUT
SOMEONE ELSE ON THE ACCOUNT.
“

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Brainstorming has gotten a bit of a bad reputation in the past few years. That’s because
people leading these sessions don’t understand how to create an environment that actually
fosters creativity.
You need some rules, but this list should not include an expected end result. When you
ask for just one really good idea, you are putting pressure on the participants. The point
of brainstorming sessions should be to come up with as many ideas as possible and to do
so in a way where people can build off of other people’s ideas freely. This time is not about
making decisions; it’s about fostering open communication so ideas can flow freely. You
can edit out, refine, and adjust concepts later.
LET’S BRAINSTORM. WE JUST NEED ONE GREAT
IDEA.
“

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If the agency implements proper project scoping, sticks to agreed-upon timelines, and
has the internal capacity to complete the work, you shouldn’t see staffers spending every
weekend in the office. It means that either something with the project went wrong or the
person or team is struggling with personal productivity and time management.
Focus might be the key to solving this problem. Encourage employees to reduce the
number of times they check their email. Try time-tracking software, and question if that
meeting is really necessary. Prioritize projects, and remove obstacles that make getting
into a “flow” more difficult.
In the end, there are some days and weeks where working longer hours and later nights is
necessary. Plan an event for your team to look forward to and remind them that the end is
in sight. You’re all in this together.
WE’RE GOING TO FINISH THAT PROJECT OVER
THE WEEKEND.
“

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JAMI OETTING
As a content strategist at HubSpot, Jami
creates content and resources to help agency
partners grow their businesses.
She is the editor of Agency Post, HubSpot’s
blog for the agency professional.
INTERACT WITH ME ON TWITTER
@JAMIOETTING
CREATED BY
CREDITS

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