{"id":2843,"date":"2022-12-09T12:29:25","date_gmt":"2022-12-09T12:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/project.co\/?p=2843"},"modified":"2024-06-18T14:00:31","modified_gmt":"2024-06-18T14:00:31","slug":"project-management-for-agencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/project.co\/project-management-for-agencies\/","title":{"rendered":"Ultimate Guide to Project Management for Agencies"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Last updated on 18th June 2024<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At Project.co, we know a thing or two about agencies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, Project.co was built to help us run our video agency<\/a>, Wyzowl. Wyzowl<\/a> is one of the world\u2019s leading creators of animated explainer videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As with many creative projects, creating an explainer video is a big task – with lots of people involved on both sides. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We needed a reliable project management tool that would allow us to keep all messages, tasks, files, and payments in one easily accessible place – but we couldn\u2019t find one that worked for us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So we decided to create our own. And Project.co was born! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every minute your team spends on monotonous admin tasks could be spent on project work, helping to improve your agency\u2019s overall productivity and profitability. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this guide, we\u2019re going to break down everything agencies need to know about project management, and give you some top tips on how to manage your projects better, with Project.co. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Put a process in place<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In order for every project to be a perfect <\/em><\/strong>project (or as close as you can possibly hope for!<\/em>), you need to put a process in place that is scalable and repeatable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A clear step-by-step process for each project to progress along, almost like a production line line, will help your team to become more familiar with what\u2019s expected of them every time – and hone their project management skills! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Wyzowl, we\u2019ve split the explainer video process into four stages:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

\n – Kick-off meeting
– Copy
– Design
– Animation\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Each team member knows exactly what is expected at each stage and how long everything should take (on average<\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also have a handover process when a project moves onto the next department. For this, we use the notes section in Project.co. As you can see here, the script has been signed off and the project is moving forward to the design stage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The scriptwriter has included all of the information required for the designer to get started, and has also put a task on for the design team: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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If your projects run on for several weeks or longer, and involve multiple departments, clients can often get nervous with where things are up to. Having a clear and solid process like this will help to reassure your clients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can tell them exactly what\u2019s happening at each stage, how long you expect that to take based on previous projects, and also what they can expect next. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Implement communication guidelines<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Happy clients = successful projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to ensure that all of your clients are happy, you need to focus on more than just a high standard of work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Effective communication is important for building a rapport with your clients and can be the difference between them having an \u2018okay<\/em>\u2019 experience with your agency and an excellent one.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

\n <\/i>Statistic\n<\/div>\n
\n Surprisingly, while 98% of people agree that effective communication is extremely important<\/strong>, a combined 16% also rate their own business\u2019 communication as either below average or poor.\u00a0\n
\n Source: <\/strong>Project.co Communication Statistics <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

This can be rectified with a clear set of communication guidelines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communication guidelines will help your staff understand how to best communicate with clients, and deliver a consistent and exceptional customer experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have a document that we give to all of our team members when they start working for Wyzowl. Here\u2019s a snippet:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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On this page, we tell people how to find projects that are awaiting a response within Project.co and when to reply to clients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve set a standard that all of our messages must be responded to within 2 hours – this ensures that our clients are never waiting too long for answers to their questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve also written script templates for certain scenarios that come up repeatedly. For example, sending the first draft of a video. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We find that this ensures our clients always get the same awesome experience no matter who they talk to on our team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it\u2019s important to note that these guidelines are exactly that – guidelines<\/em>. If your team sticks to the guidelines too firmly then messages from your team could sound stale and robotic.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n <\/i>Our Insight\n<\/div>\n
\n It\u2019s good to let your team know that they are free to add layers of personalisation to their client messages so that they still provide a level of service that is friendly and genuine.\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

3. Set communication channels<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In addition to having a strong set of communication guidelines for your team to refer to, it\u2019s also important to be clear on what communication channels you use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back when email was the only option, it made sense for people to communicate this way. But now we have chat apps, project management tools, video conferencing, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If everyone uses a different tool then it\u2019s highly likely that messages will become confused, miscommunicated, or lost – and this is catastrophic<\/em> for customer service.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

\n <\/i>Statistic\n<\/div>\n
\n 66% of people<\/strong>\u00a0say they\u2019ve stopped dealing with a company and moved to a competitor due to poor business communication skills.\n
\n Source: <\/strong>Project.co Communication Statistics 2024<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

It\u2019s a good idea to set a standard of communication channels across your business:<\/p>\n\n\n

\n – One tool for internal communication
– One for project-specific communication
– One tool for video calls\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

Here are some tools that we find useful…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Slack (for internal communication)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Slack<\/a> is like email, only better. It allows you to chat with anyone in your agency, instantly. You can even see when they are typing a response: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can also create channels, to keep conversations about certain topics in a specific place. For example, we have an inspiration channel that we use to share interesting content we find: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can also link it to your Google calendar to be notified of any upcoming meetings for the day: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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2. Project.co (for project communication)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unsurprisingly, we think everyone should be using Project.co<\/a> for project communication. It\u2019s simple to add members from your own team and your clients to the platform. You just head to the people tool on the project and click Add People<\/strong>:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The discussions tool keeps all communication in one, date-ordered view. So it\u2019s easy to see where projects are up to. This is great for when team members are unexpectedly out-of-the-office, as it eliminates the need to go trudging through their emails to find information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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According to our Communication Statistics<\/a>, 55% of people<\/strong>\u00a0have missed messages as a result of communication issues in their business<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Google Meet (for video calls)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Google Meet<\/a>\u00a0is a video conferencing tool that\u2019s great for organising meetings with multiple team members, and also with clients.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s really easy to host a meeting. All you need to do is click New Meeting, select whether you want the meeting to start now or later and you\u2019ll be given a unique link, dial in code, and PIN to share will all participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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All participants have to do is click on the link and start chatting! You can even share your screen and record calls via Google Meet. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Keep everything in one place<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As an agency, you probably have a lot of plates to spin. You\u2019ve not only got to manage projects, but team members, clients, payments, sales, internal marketing projects…the list goes on! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you have a lot of different things to manage, one simple solution that can help is keeping everything in one place.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

\n <\/i>Statistic\n<\/div>\n
\n While 64% of people say they have a good understanding of where their projects are up to \u2013 this rises to 83% when they primarily use a project management tool to communicate with both their co-workers and clients.\n
\n Source: <\/strong>Project.co Communication Statistics 2024<\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

By using a project management tool, like Project.co<\/a>, you can be confident that everything is exactly where you need it to be – and you can get up-to-date on your projects at a glance! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The projects tab shows you all of your current projects. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can also simply search projects by name, for even more convenience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, the tasks tool shows you what tasks you need to deliver, and when.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You can also filter tasks by team member, or click on the scheduler view to see what other members of your team are working on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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5. Ensure roles are clearly defined<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To ensure every single project runs smoothly, the project scope – including everyone\u2019s roles – must be decided on before you start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will help you to understand who is accountable for what, when the deliverables are due, and where the important information will be kept. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The kanban view<\/a> on Project.co is a great place for visualising your project from start to finish:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tasks can be dragged to different stages in the process so that everyone can see where the project is up to, including what needs to be completed next. <\/p>\n\n\n

\n <\/i>Expert Tip\n<\/div>\n
\n To ensure your projects run smoothly from one team to the next, implement handover meetings between departments.\u00a0\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

As mentioned above, we use the notes section of Project.co to include any important details for the next member of the team: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As part of our handover process for our explainer videos, we also put a task on for the next person in the chain so that they can review the project before they start work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. Encourage collaboration<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Team collaboration can be a great way to elevate the quality and efficiency of your projects. By encouraging your team to share constructive criticism you can ensure that every piece of work you present to clients is the best it can be.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

\n <\/i>Recommended Article\n<\/div>\n
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\"\"<\/a><\/div>\n <\/div>\n
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7 Strategies For Successful Team Collaboration<\/a><\/div>\n
Find out exactly what team collaboration means, why it’s important to have a collaborative team, and explore 7 strategies for successful team collaboration.<\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

However, when you\u2019re reviewing and redrafting work you can end up with many different versions. This can get confusing if someone accidentally gives feedback on version 4, when the latest version is actually v10! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some tools you can use to combat this. We like Google Drive<\/a> because it allows members of the team to edit and comment on files in real-time: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This real-time collaboration prevents the need for several versions, which could make your projects messy, confused, and even delayed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Project.co embeds tool, you can collaborate on your documents without <\/em>ever leaving the platform. This further ensures that you have a clean working environment with no confusion over which document is the \u2018live\u2019 one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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