Consulting services are complex operations that require efficient management to ensure success. Project management in consulting services involves planning, organizing, and coordinating resources to achieve specific objectives. 

In this blog, we will explore the benefits of PSA software for consultancies and look at two case studies demonstrating how Scoro has helped consulting firms streamline their project management processes.

Benefits Of Integrated Project Management Software For Consultancies

Consulting firms often have multiple projects running simultaneously with various clients, making managing resources, tracking time, planning, and collaborating challenging. 

PSA software like Scoro can help overcome these challenges by providing a centralized platform for managing projects and resources.

Resource management

With PSA software, consultants can allocate resources effectively and avoid overloading team members. PSA software also provides visibility into resource availability and utilization, making planning and prioritizing tasks easier.

Track time

Time tracking is another essential feature of PSA software for consultancies. Consultants can easily track the time spent on different projects, which helps project managers analyze project profitability and make informed decisions. 

With PSA software, consultants can log their time spent on different tasks and activities, making it easier to invoice clients accurately and provide transparent reporting.

Planning and scheduling

Project planning and scheduling are critical aspects of consulting services project management. PSA software provides project planning and scheduling tools, including task assignment, deadlines, and dependencies.

With PSA software, project managers can create project timelines, set milestones, and assign tasks to team members, making it easier to manage project progress.

Collaboration

Collaboration is vital to successful consulting services project management, and PSA software enables this by providing a central platform for communication and file sharing. 

With PSA software, team members can collaborate effectively, share information, and stay up-to-date on project progress.

Invoicing and payments

Finally, PSA software allows consultants to generate invoices and track payments efficiently. With PSA software, consultants can streamline invoicing and billing processes, ensuring timely and accurate payments. PSA software also provides real-time visibility into invoicing and billing data, making tracking project profitability and cash flow more manageable.

PSA software provides a comprehensive suite of tools for consulting firms, making it easier to manage project resources, track time, plan and schedule projects, collaborate effectively, and manage invoicing and billing processes. 

If you’re a consulting firm looking to streamline your project management processes, consider implementing PSA software like Scoro.

Read more: 14 Best Professional Services Automation Software

Scoro In Action: Stratford Group

Let’s explore how Scoro’s professional services automation (PSA) software helped Stratford Group, a management consulting firm, to improve its project management processes.

Colleen Kelley, the President of Stratford Group, explains that the company had a range of manual systems, including Excel spreadsheets, project management tools, a CRM deployment, and an accounting system that needed to be connected. 

Stratford Group defined three requirements to overcome this problem: an end-to-end work management solution, a project management solution, and an invoicing solution. After thoroughly searching the work and project management market, Stratford Group selected Scoro.

Scoro’s PSA software helped the company improve resource management, time tracking, project planning, scheduling, invoicing, and billing. Scoro’s software was implemented in phases, and cultural change was critical to the process. Despite initial resistance from some team members, they bought into it once they understood the system’s value. 

Scoro’s software helped Stratford Group to achieve significant business benefits, including effective collaboration, real-time visibility of project utilization and profitability, and client billings. 

Additionally, Scoro’s PSA software proved to be highly effective in supporting the unique requirements of a management consulting firm, as it was user-friendly and customizable.

Finally, Scoro’s support and responsiveness were essential to the success of the implementation process with Colleen ending the interview stating:

“Even during the pandemic we were able to grow. If we didn’t have the Scoro system in place, I don’t think we could have done it … We’ve also been so happy with the support. The people have been so helpful and responsive. Culturally I really like how Scoro treats its clients.”

Scoro In Action: Trust Impact

Let’s explore how Scoro assisted a UK-based consultancy named Trust Impact in finding a central source of truth for their project management processes. 

With rapid growth, the company faced challenges in centrally managing all the data, which they previously did through spreadsheets and Quickbooks. 

Matt Stevenson Dodd, Managing Director states: 

“Trust Impact is a very lean organization. We don’t have offices, we’re all online in different parts of the world. Essentially, it relies on something central to coordinate everything – a central point of truth. That’s what we were looking for.” 

Scoro’s PSA software helped overcome the challenges they were facing, providing them with a centralized data management system, improved collaboration and communication, accurate project tracking and reporting, and streamlined invoicing and billing.

Trust Impact was looking for project management software to help them manage processes from start to finish, including tracking project costs and budgets. After evaluating multiple solutions, they found that Scoro’s end-to-end capabilities, including interlinked CRM and sales, advanced project management and tracking, time and resource management, budgeting and cost management, and billing and process automation, appealed to them.

The company’s switch to Scoro helped them in several ways. Scoro’s real-time overview and transparency gave them a complete business overview while taking advantage of essential details. 

Scoro’s project budget management feature helped Trust Impact gain a detailed understanding of their project progress and performance in real-time. 

Scoro’s workflow automation also helped them automate processes and streamline their invoicing and billing.

Overall, Scoro provided Trust Impact with a digital workspace where all essential data about projects and tasks was always available, no matter where people worked. Scoro’s dashboard, cost, revenue, average time to convert, conversion rates, and other features helped Trust Impact better understand its business and project progress.

Read more: 2023 Guide to Implementing PSA Software

Streamline Your Project Management Process 

By providing integrated tools, PSA software can help consulting firms streamline their project management processes. Scoro is a PSA software that offers a comprehensive suite of tools for consulting firms. 

The case studies discussed in this blog demonstrate how Scoro has helped consulting firms improve resource management, time tracking, project planning, scheduling, collaboration, and invoicing and billing. 

If you are a consulting firm looking to streamline your project management processes, consider implementing PSA software like Scoro.

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This is where Professional Services Automation (PSA) software comes into play. PSA software can streamline IT project management by automating repetitive tasks, providing real-time data, and improving team collaboration. 

This blog post will explore how PSA software can streamline IT project management and discuss Scoro’s PSA software specifically designed for IT companies. We’ll also look at a case study from Scoro’s website, where a web design company implemented Scoro’s PSA software to streamline project management processes and improve profitability.

What Is PSA Software?

PSA software, or Professional Services Automation software, is an all-in-one solution that helps businesses manage their projects, resources, and finances. It is designed to streamline project management processes, increase productivity, and improve team collaboration. 

PSA software combines project management, time tracking, invoicing, and accounting into one platform, providing businesses with real-time data and analytics to make informed decisions. For IT companies, PSA software can be a game-changer as it provides a centralized platform for managing all aspects of IT project management. 

With PSA software, IT companies can manage their projects, assign resources, track time, and create invoices from one platform, eliminating the need for multiple tools and manual processes.

Some of the features of PSA software that can benefit IT companies include:

Project planning and management

PSA software can help IT companies plan, manage, and track their projects from start to finish. It allows teams to set project timelines, assign tasks, and monitor progress, ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget.

Resource management

PSA software enables IT companies to allocate resources efficiently and effectively, ensuring that the right resources are assigned to the right projects. It helps IT companies avoid resource conflicts and optimize resource utilization, increasing productivity and profitability.

Time tracking

PSA software makes it easy for IT companies to accurately track time spent on projects. This is essential for billing clients accurately and ensuring that projects are profitable.

Invoicing and accounting

PSA software streamlines the invoicing and accounting process, reducing the time and effort required to create invoices and manage finances. It also helps IT companies monitor their financial performance, track expenses, and generate financial reports.

PSA software provides IT companies with a centralized platform to manage their projects, resources, and finances, making it an essential tool for streamlining IT project management. In the next section, we’ll explore how PSA software streamlines IT project management and discuss the benefits of using PSA software for IT companies.

Read on: 14 Best Professional Services Automation Software

Scoro’s PSA Software For IT Companies

Scoro is a business management software that provides a comprehensive solution for IT companies. Scoro software is specifically designed to streamline IT project management by providing a centralized platform for managing projects, resources, and finances. Scoro’s PSA software offers a range of features that can benefit IT companies, including:

Project management

Scoro provides IT companies with a clear overview of their projects, allowing them to plan, manage, and track them from start to finish. It enables teams to collaborate on project planning, assign tasks, and monitor progress, ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget.

Resource management

Scoro’s PSA software helps IT companies optimize resource utilization by providing a clear overview of resource availability and conflicts. It enables teams to allocate resources efficiently, ensuring they are assigned to the right projects. This leads to increased productivity and profitability.

Time tracking

Scoro makes it easy for IT companies to accurately track time spent on projects. It provides a centralized platform for teams to log their hours, eliminating the need for manual timesheets. This ensures that time is billed accurately, leading to increased profitability.

Invoicing and accounting

Scoro automates the invoicing and accounting process, reducing the time and effort required to create invoices and manage finances. It gives IT companies a clear overview of their financial performance, allowing them to monitor their expenses, generate financial reports, and make informed decisions.

Scoro’s PSA software also offers integrations with popular tools enabling teams to work seamlessly across different platforms.

One of the key benefits of Scoro  is its ability to provide real-time data and analytics, enabling IT companies to make informed decisions. With Scoro’s PSA software, IT companies can access real-time data on project timelines, resource utilization, and financial performance, allowing them to make informed decisions on project planning, resource allocation, and financial management.

To demonstrate the benefits of Scoro’s PSA software, let’s take a closer look at a web design company that implemented Scoro to streamline their project management processes and improve their profitability.

Case Study: WorldLight Media

WorldLight Media is a web design and strategic branding company founded by Nathan and Jenni Solla in a small town near Seattle, WA. They have been helping businesses, non-profits, and government organizations succeed through internet marketing since 2005. 

With a team consisting of graphic and web designers, content writers, and project managers, they offer a full range of strategic branding and marketing solutions. WorldLight Media has been using Scoro since 2017, and they’ve seen a significant improvement in their team and communication efficiency. 

Scoro’s customizable dashboard allows them to manage their tasks and log time spent on projects easily. The Task Bundles and Work Reports features to help them streamline their work processes and get an instant overview of valuable data. Moreover, they value the ability to track project costs in real-time, which gives them a chance to see right away when they are over budget.

According to Jenni Solla, the founder, and COO of WorldLight Media, “We are learning to build more efficient systems and processes with Scoro. Fewer mistakes are being made, and fewer things are falling through the cracks.” 

WorldLight Media chose Scoro as their business management software because of its customizable fields and accessible time-tracking features. They wanted a solution that would help them improve team efficiency, eliminate things falling through the cracks, and spend less time tracking billable hours and calculation costs.

Since implementing Scoro, WorldLight Media has seen significant improvements in their time-saving and efficiency, communication, and team efficiency. They have a real-time overview of their projects, allowing them to see when they are over budget. As Jenni Solla says, “We have a much better understanding of what our pricing needs to be now. We rarely lose money on projects anymore.”

Streamline Your Operations With Scoro

PSA software like Scoro can provide significant benefits for IT project management, such as streamlined communication, improved efficiency, and better cost tracking.

As seen in the case study of WorldLight Media, Scoro has helped them save time, improve team communication, and gain a real-time overview of their projects’ financials, leading to revenue growth and better business insights.

If you want to improve your IT project management processes, try Scoro’s business management software for free to see how it fits your company’s needs. Scoro can help you manage your projects more efficiently and effectively with customizable dashboards, easy time tracking, and task bundles. 

Good PSA software is specifically designed to meet the unique needs of service-based businesses, including creative agencies, by providing a comprehensive solution for managing projects from start to finish.

PSA software can help creative agencies with:

• project planning
• resource allocation
• time tracking
• invoicing
• reporting tasks 

By centralizing project management tasks in one platform, PSA software can provide a more efficient and accurate way to manage projects and a complete overview of the agency’s operations.

Scoro offers a comprehensive PSA (Professional Services Automation) software solution designed to meet the unique needs of creative agencies. With Scoro, creative agencies can efficiently manage their projects from start to finish with features such as project planning, resource allocation, time tracking, invoicing, and reporting, all in one centralized platform.

In this article, we will explore the challenges of project management for creative agencies and how Scoro’s PSA software can help overcome them. We will also examine a case study of a creative agency that successfully implemented Scoro to improve profitability and decision-making.

Challenges of Project Management for Creative Agencies

Creative agencies face unique challenges when it comes to project management. Unlike other businesses, creative agencies require flexible workflows that can accommodate last-minute changes or client requests.

Accurate time tracking is also essential for creative agencies, as billable hours are critical to their revenue streams. Collaboration with external stakeholders, such as clients and vendors, is another significant challenge for creative agencies, as miscommunication or delays can impact project timelines and profitability.

If these challenges are not addressed effectively, they can lead to project delays, cost overruns, and other issues impacting agency profitability. For example, a lack of accurate time tracking can result in underbilling, leading to missed revenue opportunities and decreased profitability. Miscommunication with external stakeholders can result in delays or errors that can cause project delays or cancellations, leading to reputational damage and lost revenue.

Scoro is an excellent solution for addressing these challenges. Scoro offers flexible workflows that accommodate last-minute changes and accurate time-tracking features that allow creative agencies to bill for every minute of work. Scoro also provides a centralized platform for collaboration with external stakeholders, ensuring that all team members are on the same page and that projects are completed on time and within budget.

Case Study: How SAENTYS Started Using Scoro to Make Profitable Decisions

In a case study video featured on our website, we saw how SAENTYS, a 60-person marketing agency with three European offices, achieved significant project management and profitability improvements using Scoro’s PSA software. 

The agency faced challenges such as inaccurate time tracking, difficulty managing multiple projects simultaneously, and a lack of real-time visibility into project status.

The software provided them with a centralized platform for quoting, project management, time tracking, financial analysis, and data insights, resulting in increased consistency and efficiency in their operations.

After implementing Scoro’s PSA software, the agency overcame the challenges it faced and achieved significant improvements in project management and profitability. SAENTYS found Scoro’s project dashboards particularly valuable, providing a centralized platform for tracking project progress, budgets, and timelines. The dashboards also enabled the agency to visualize real-time data analytics, which helped them make data-driven decisions to improve project efficiency and profitability.

Regarding running projects, Scoro software has allowed SAENTYS granular visibility over project budgets. Real-time data is vital to running any business, and the Scoro dashboard transformed how management meetings are led – with a real focus on the Scoro dashboard allowing the management team to look at a job’s complete life cycle, giving the teams real-time financial analysis. 

Operations Director Harv Nagra states,

“In terms of usability, Scoro is miles ahead of any other agency work management platform out there… there is simply no other platform that is as thoughtfully and logically designed as Scoro.” 

Nagra also notes that SAENTYS was able to move forward as a business and become a true leader in terms of its operational efficiency and client work, thanks to the implementation of Scoro’s PSA software.

Scoro’s PSA Software For Creative Agencies

PSA software offers a range of benefits to creative agencies, as demonstrated by the case study of SAENTYS. Scoro’s PSA software can help creative agencies streamline project management, increase collaboration and communication, and make data-driven decisions that improve profitability.

One of the primary benefits of Scoro’s PSA software is its ability to centralize project management processes. This allows agencies to manage multiple projects simultaneously, track progress, and visualize real-time data analytics. Scoro’s project dashboards, time-tracking features, and financial analysis tools all provide a comprehensive view of project status, budgets, and timelines. This centralized platform helps agencies stay organized and on top of project management, leading to increased efficiency and profitability.

Another benefit of Scoro’s PSA software is increased collaboration and communication. The software allows seamless communication and collaboration between team members, clients, and external stakeholders. This can help reduce miscommunications and delays and ensure everyone is on the same page regarding project goals and timelines.

Finally, Scoro’s PSA software enables creative agencies to make data-driven decisions that improve profitability. Agencies can increase revenue and profitability by tracking billable hours and accurately invoicing clients. Real-time data analytics can also help agencies identify areas to improve efficiency and reduce costs, ultimately leading to increased profitability.

Overall, Scoro’s PSA software offers a range of benefits for creative agencies, from improved project management to increased collaboration and profitability. By centralizing project management processes, increasing communication and collaboration, and providing real-time data analytics, Scoro’s PSA software can help creative agencies achieve their goals and stay ahead of the competition.

PSA software is essential for creative agencies to streamline project management, increase collaboration, and make data-driven decisions that improve profitability. Through the case study of SAENTYS, we have seen how Scoro’s PSA software can help agencies achieve their goals and succeed in a competitive industry.

By centralizing project management processes, increasing communication and collaboration, and providing real-time data analytics, Scoro’s PSA software helps agencies stay organized, on top of project management, and make profitable decisions. With the ability to track billable hours, accurately invoice clients, and identify areas for improved efficiency, creative agencies can increase their revenue and profitability.

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This article will explore the key changes consulting firms must make in 2023 to succeed.

Recruitment Challenge

One of the biggest challenges facing consulting firms in 2023 is recruitment. According to the Consultancy Growth Network’s Consultancy Benchpress Survey, 2022, almost 2 in 3 consulting firms face a staff shortage, and around 20% are declining work due to a lack of resources. 

Surprisingly, the survey also discovered that fewer than 33% of consultancies effectively utilize the necessary knowledge to attract and retain talent.

To tackle this challenge, consulting firms must do more in 2023. This may involve offering more competitive salaries and benefits packages, providing better training and development opportunities, and fostering a positive and inclusive work culture. Additionally, firms should look beyond traditional talent pools and consider non-traditional sources of talent, such as freelancers and gig workers.

Embrace Digital Marketing

It’s becoming increasingly clear that consultancies must embrace digital marketing to stay ahead of the competition. This means developing a robust digital footprint that showcases their expertise, builds credibility, and attracts ideal clients.

Consultancies that embrace digital new client generation are expected to grow faster than those that neglect it because most service buyers will actively research a consultancy and its consultants before deciding. 

And with a large percentage of firms automatically getting rejected because their digital footprint does not point to a desired level of expertise, consultancies that fail to produce relevant, authoritative, and narrowly-focused content regularly will go unnoticed by Google’s algorithm.

Keyword research and search engine optimization (SEO) have become essential tactics high-growth consultancies utilize. By creating and publishing content that targets the right keywords and addresses their ideal clients’ pain points and challenges, consultancies can increase their visibility in search results, build trust and authority with their audience, and ultimately generate more leads and conversions.

But it’s not just about creating content. Consultancies must also have a well-designed website, a solid social media presence, and a consistent brand voice across all channels. They need to be acutely aware of what their digital presence – or lack thereof – tells their target audience: does it help prospects understand the depth and relevance of the firm’s expertise and encourage them to continue reading/listening/watching, or does it turn them off and make them close the tab?

Automation

Another critical change consulting firms need to make in 2023 is ramping up automation. As we noted in a blog last year, consultancies already invest in automation to streamline processes, reduce costs, and increase efficiency. This trend is set to continue in 2023, with more and more firms adopting automation technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, and robotic process automation.

By automating routine tasks, consulting firms can free up their staff to focus on higher-value work, such as providing strategic advice and building client relationships. Automation can also improve accuracy and reduce the risk of errors, particularly important in areas like financial reporting and compliance.

Streamlining Processes

In addition to automation, consulting firms must focus on streamlining their processes in 2023. 

Streamlining includes identifying areas where time and resources are wasted and implementing solutions to address these issues. For example, consulting firms can use project management software like Scoro to track time, manage tasks, and collaborate more effectively with team members.

By streamlining processes, consulting firms can save time and increase productivity, ultimately improving the bottom line. It can also improve the client experience, as consultants can deliver projects more efficiently and effectively.

Software for Consultancies

To support these changes, consulting firms need the right software tools. Scoro offers a range of software solutions specifically designed for consulting firms, including project management, CRM, and financial management tools. 

With Scoro, consulting firms can manage all aspects of their business in one place, from tracking time and managing tasks to invoicing clients and tracking financial performance.

Using Scoro can help consulting firms save time, improve productivity, and ultimately grow their business. By streamlining processes and automating routine tasks, consultants can focus on providing high-quality advice and building lasting relationships with clients.

Help Your Consulting Firm Succeed in 2023

Consulting firms face various obstacles to their success in 2023, from the recruitment challenge to the need for automation and process streamlining. By embracing these changes and investing in the right tools and technologies, consulting firms can survive and thrive in the years ahead.

If you’re looking for software solutions to support your consulting firm’s growth, check out Scoro’s software for consultancies. With our all-in-one solution, you can manage all aspects of your business in one place and focus on what matters – providing high-quality advice and building lasting relationships with clients.

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In this blog, we will explore the key consultancy trends shaping the industry in 2023 and how Scoro can help consulting firms stay ahead of the game.

Increased Demand for Digital Transformation Consulting

As companies continue to embrace digital transformation, there will be an increased demand for consulting firms specializing in this area. According to a report by the Management Consultancies Association, digital transformation consulting helped to account for market growth of 25% across the sector in 2022. 

Digital transformation consulting is a consulting service that helps organizations embrace digital technologies and transform their business models, processes, and operations. The goal of digital transformation consulting is to help companies leverage the latest digital technologies to improve their efficiency, agility, and competitiveness. 

This type of consulting involves a deep understanding of the latest digital trends and technologies and how they can be applied to various industries and business functions. Digital transformation consultants typically work with organizations to identify their digital transformation goals and develop a roadmap for achieving them, including implementing new technologies, processes, and organizational structures.

Scoro’s software for consultancies offers a comprehensive solution for managing digital transformation projects. The software allows consultants to collaborate with clients, manage project timelines, and track project progress in real-time.

Emphasis on Data Analytics and AI

Data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to play a significant role in the consultancy industry in 2023. Consulting firms that can leverage data analytics and AI to provide insights and recommendations to their clients will be in high demand.

Data analytics and AI can help consulting firms to provide data-driven insights and recommendations to their clients. This is becoming increasingly important as companies seek to make data-driven decisions.

Scoro’s software for consultancies includes advanced data analytics and AI capabilities, allowing consultants to provide their clients with insights and recommendations based on real-time data.

Increased Focus on Client Collaboration

The consulting industry has recently shifted towards increased collaboration between consultancies and their clients. This trend has been driven by a growing recognition that close collaboration can lead to better outcomes and greater project success. As such, many consulting firms have been exploring ways to improve collaboration and communication with their clients.

One such firm is Modern, a UK-based marketing consultancy that recently implemented Scoro as its work management solution. According to Nicola Ray, Founder, and CEO of Modern, customer relationships are critical to the firm’s success. The consultancy often helps clients with complex projects that require long-term commitments. As a result, effective customer relationship management is essential.

Scoro has helped Modern to foster better collaboration and communication with its clients. Nicola states that Scoro software creates a “single source of truth” during active project management phases, allowing consultancy staff, contractors, and clients to stay connected in real time and avoid misunderstandings, delays, and errors.

Scoro’s flexibility and customization options have also simplified marketing project management for Modern. The software integrates easily with Modern’s specialist tools and systems and enables bespoke dashboards and other visualizations with just a few clicks.

Growing Need for Project Management Solutions

As the consulting industry continues to evolve, effective project management solutions are becoming increasingly essential for the success of consulting projects.

In today’s business landscape, projects are becoming more complex, and project teams are often spread across different locations and time zones. This can make it challenging to manage resources effectively, keep projects on track, and ensure that they are completed within budget.

Consulting firms that can provide comprehensive project management solutions will be in high demand in 2023. These solutions must handle the unique challenges of consulting projects, including managing multiple clients, team members, and deadlines. As such, consulting firms must have a project management tool that is powerful, flexible, and customizable.

Scoro is an all-in-one project management solution designed to meet consulting firms’ needs. The software includes project management tools allowing consultants to manage projects from start to finish, including project timelines, resources, and budgets. Scoro’s project management features enable real-time collaboration and communication so that team members can work together effectively, even in different locations.

Additionally, Scoro’s project management tools allow consultants to monitor project progress and performance, providing insights into project health, resource utilization, and budget management. This information can be used to make informed decisions and take corrective actions to keep projects on track.

Stay Ahead of the Game

In conclusion, the consultancy industry is evolving rapidly, and consulting firms that can adapt to these changes will be the most successful in 2023. 

Scoro’s software for consultancies offers a comprehensive solution for managing digital transformation projects, leveraging data analytics and AI to provide data-driven insights and recommendations, fostering better collaboration and communication with clients, and providing practical project management tools to handle complex consulting projects. 

As we look towards the future, it’s clear that consulting firms that embrace digital transformation and prioritize client collaboration and effective project management will be the ones that thrive. 

So, if you want to stay ahead of the game, sign up for Scoro’s software for consultancies today and transform how you manage your consulting projects.

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Do you find yourself overwhelmed with managing your business or agency, trying to balance your essential work with the operational and financial aspects of running an organisation? You’re not alone. Many solopreneurs who started as talented freelancers find themselves in this same position. 

The problem is that, while you may be a master of your craft, running a successful agency or business requires a different set of skills.

To thrive, you need to track essential metrics that will guide you to make informed decisions and focus on the right areas to drive profitability. 

So if you find yourself struggling to get to everything, find you have more work than ever but are still not seeing any profits or reward for your blood, sweat and tears, these metrics will help you stay on track and turn your agency into a thriving business.

Note: We use the words agency, company, and business somewhat interchangeably throughout this article. Not every business or company is an agency of course, but these metrics can be applied to both agency and non-agency business types.

Why Should You Track Any Metrics at All?

As an Accidental CEO, tracking metrics is essential for the growth of your new business or agency. 

Think of metrics as your trusty sidekick – they provide invaluable insights into your agency’s financial health, reveal optimization opportunities, and highlight areas for improvement. Plus, they provide a roadmap for your new agency learning curve, helping you take steps to scale and manage your increased workload.

Of course, not every first-time agency owner is a metrics mastermind. Many may be scratching their heads, wondering where to even begin. Selecting the right metrics to track can be daunting, and interpreting the data can feel like decoding a foreign language.

Despite these challenges, tracking metrics is crucial to a new business’ growth.

Tracking essential metrics will empower you to make data-driven decisions that could skyrocket your agency’s profitability and success.

So, are you ready to take your metrics game to the next level? This guide is your action plan for mastering the essential metrics that every Accidental CEO must track, plus the tools you’ll need to track them effectively.

Identifying The Essential Metrics To Track

The first step is identifying the key metrics most relevant to your agency’s success. These could include:

1. Time usage
2. Client and Project Profitability
3. Billable Utilization
4. Billable vs. Non-Billable Hours
5. Accounts Receivable Aging

Taking Your Metrics to the Next Level: How to Collect and Analyze Your Data

Now that you’ve locked in your essential metrics, it’s time to talk about the real nitty-gritty – collecting and analyzing the data.

Setting up a reliable system to gather and analyze your data is crucial for your agency’s success. This system could be as simple as a spreadsheet or as complex as specialized software. 

Enter Scoro – the ultimate solution for tracking essential metrics and streamlining your workflow. 

Scoro goes above and beyond by allowing you to manage projects, track billable and non-billable hours, forecast new business, view margins, and even manage suppliers. Scoro helps you manage all aspects of your new agency and helps you stay on top of actions that keep an organization running smoothly.

From data collection to analysis, Scoro allows you to capture and harness data, giving you visibility into every aspect of your business, all within one beautiful dashboard. It’s the comprehensive solution your agency needs to take control and achieve unprecedented success.

Essential Metrics To Track

We’ve gathered these into order of significance. In essence, starting by tracking and logging time creates a cascading effect where the other metrics listed become possible to track and optimize.

Time usage

It all starts with the most basic but vital measurement – time and how you use it. Without tracking how time is spent, where it is wasted, where it can be optimized, and how much it costs you, everything else is nebulous guesswork at best. Having complete visibility into every aspect of time at your agency gives you the power to manage resources and workloads effectively.

Many agencies, especially small and new ones, are terrified of time tracking, as they have the idea that it will create an oppressive work environment where creativity is stifled and employees spend more time logging their activities than actually working on things that bring value. In fact, the exact opposite is true.

When you understand how much time a project takes, how much time you have available, and where you can improve your utilization, you can ensure that your employees have a balanced, manageable and steady workload. Being stressed and overworked, with unrealistic deadlines and unfair workloads for some employees while others are idle is far worse for morale than using a time-tracking tool. 

Scoro lets you track time on a task and project level, as well as access detailed reports on how time is spent overall. Start by tracking and logging time, and the rest should follow naturally.

See how Scoro helps you log and track time.

Client and Project Profitability

Many Accidental CEOs are super-focused on the profit and loss statement at the end of the month, and this is quite understandable, after all, you’re in business to make a profit. But unless you develop a granular level understanding of what is driving these numbers, you’re like someone trying to figure out the plot of a novel by only looking at the cover. Sure, you can make a fairly educated guess, but that won’t help you move the needle.

Tracking client profitability is essential for a new agency to understand both which clients generate the most revenue and which of your projects are actually driving profit. The two are not always the same.

Complex, lengthy projects may be high revenue generators, but often carry high labor and pass-through costs (paying freelancers, suppliers, marketing, travel etc.). Tracking client revenue versus profit allows you to make data-driven decisions about where to focus your resources. 

By logging time against the projects and services, it’s possible to understand which clients or services bring in the highest and lowest margins and make adjustments accordingly. If you find that you are constantly underestimating the time needed on a project and overservicing clients as a result, this data will allow you to improve scoping for the next time, meaning you can ask for more money from the customer during the quoting phase or cut the scope so you could deliver within the estimated hours.

If there are specific customers or services that “steal” your margin, you can decide to stop serving those clients or offering those services. 

You will also get a clear view on which employees take longer to complete their assignments, which means you can actively work on their skills to improve their productivity.

Scoro’s project portfolio view shows you which projects and clients bring the highest profit and which are actually eating into your margins. Read the full article on how to use this view here.

Billable utilization rate

Billable utilization rate is the amount of time one employee spends working on client-facing tasks vs. the total amount of time that an employee is available to work. A very low utilization rate means that you’re most likely burning money on salaries, have a low workload with too few projects, and are not managing your business effectively. 

But beware. Aiming for a 100% utilization rate may seem the logical course of action, but may end up leaving no time for employee development, team-building or admin tasks. While a utilization rate of between 85% and 90% is seen as a healthy industry benchmark, not all businesses are the same. Track yours, then decide where the sweet spot for your business and employee needs lies.

The Scoro utilization report will give you full insight into how much of your team’s time is scheduled, available, and used efficiently. And it’s also your crystal ball to look into the future. Expanding the usage report to encompass upcoming periods will give you insight into your business’s projected performance for the next few months. A low utilization rate could indicate the need to accelerate sales efforts in order to obtain new projects and maintain your team’s workload. Check out the full article on how this works here.

Billable vs. Non-Billable Hours, Per Employee, Per Team

Billable hours are hours completing work that can be charged to your client. Non-billable hours are those spent on non-revenue generating tasks, such as admin, internal projects, and internal meetings. Of course, to maximize revenue, you’ll need to maximize the billable hours your team spends on projects. It is also important to understand that, even if you practice value pricing i.e. you bill a client for the entire project rather than charge per hour rates for resources, the distinction between billable and non-billable hours remains in place.

Understanding the amount of time your agency spends on the tasks that directly generate income will allow you to identify inefficiencies and optimize resources.

For example, if you run an advertising agency and your lead designer is spending 30% of their time in team-building activities and 10% training new hires, you may need to take another look at how your workflows and priorities are structured.

In Scoro, this is easy to see. You can drill down into individual utilization, seeing how much time remains for each team member and what they are spending their time on. Finally, you can use all this information to forecast sales and track your agency’s goals. Check out the full scope of what you can do here.

Accounts Receivable Aging

When you boil it down to its bare essence, you’re in business to make money, and that means you need to get paid. Accounts Receivable Aging tracks the amount of money owed to your agency by clients and how long it has been outstanding. By tracking this metric, you can ensure you are getting paid on time and address any payment issues before they become problematic. 

Healthy cash flow is absolutely vital to the success of fledgling agencies, unless you have some serious cash reserves to cover all your costs while you wait to get paid. Chasing invoices, forgetting to submit them on time to slot them into clients’ payment cycles, or getting them wrong entirely are time sucks of note. By automating your invoicing you give yourself the ultimate gift – time.

Even small agencies often have many clients and work on multiple projects. If profit margins are tight, something as simple as forgetting to invoice on time or not noticing that a client has not paid before the end of the month can be disastrous. 

Monitoring and using the data can help you pinpoint problematic clients and bring a level of predictability to your finances. It’s better to spot issues while they can still be rectified than after the fact.

Scoro’s invoicing system allows you to automate your billing processes, send invoices on time, and track payment status in real time. With overdue reminder prompts, it’s easy to stay on top of invoicing, helping your clients pay on time and ensuring your cash flow remains steady. Find out more about invoicing here.

Transforming Your Metrics Into Action: How to Use Data for Growth and Success

Congratulations, you’ve collected and analyzed your essential metrics! Now, it’s time to turn that data into actionable steps to drive your agency’s growth and success.

Here are some tips on how to take action with your newfound data:

Identify areas for improvement:

The data doesn’t lie. By pinpointing underperforming areas of your agency, you can develop effective strategies to turn things around.

For example, if specific clients generate less revenue than others, you can develop targeted plans to increase sales and drive revenue growth.

Optimize your resources:

Tracking how your time is spent can reveal opportunities to optimize your team’s efforts and resources.

You can assign team members to more revenue-generating tasks or consider hiring additional staff to handle non-revenue-generating tasks. You can identify lost time, and drill down per employee, to ensure that every team member has enough on their plate.

Make informed decisions:

Using data to inform your decisions will empower you to steer your agency in the right direction.

For instance, if you observe that a particular service isn’t generating sufficient revenue, you can consider pivoting your business model to focus on more profitable services.

Set achievable goals:

Using data to set realistic goals for your agency’s growth and success is a game-changer.

For example, if your profitability levels aren’t where they need to be, and you have a clear indication of how revenue and profitability in your agency relate to each other, you can set a goal based on that margin to increase revenue by a certain percentage over the next quarter, fueling your agency’s growth and propelling it toward success.

Remember, metrics are your agency’s best friend, and by taking action based on your data, you’ll set your agency apart and experience unprecedented growth and success.

Tracking Metrics For Success

Tracking essential metrics is the cornerstone of any successful new agency.

By honing in on and tracking the right metrics, you’ll gain valuable insights into your agency’s financial health, streamline your operations, and uncover opportunities for improvement.

For new agencies like yours, Scoro is a game-changing tool that can help new agencies navigate the complex world of metrics tracking to achieve their goals. With Scoro, you’ll have everything you need to monitor your financial health, optimize your operations, and identify areas for improvement, and all in real time, so you know where your business is heading. It’s better to head off issues before the fact, rather than look back in regret at the end of the month or quarter.

From project management to time tracking, invoicing, and financial reporting, Scoro’s comprehensive solution has it all – and by leveraging Scoro to track and analyze your agency’s metrics, you can make informed decisions to drive profitability and success.

Start tracking your essential metrics today, and let Scoro take your agency or business to new heights.

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It bites into profits, lowers agency margins, and is generally seen as a self-destructive business practice. But, as our recent survey of over 100 professional service agencies revealed, it is a far more complex issue than can be ascribed to only bad planning or inefficient resource utilization.

Over-servicing has some apparent risks: you are slashing your profit margins by giving away too much for free or little cost.

However, as findings in our recent survey show, many agencies say that they consciously commit to what is known as strategic over-servicing. The idea is that going the extra mile can build strong relationships with clients, establish the opportunity to gain credibility, and provide justification for bumping up retainer spend.

All quotes below are taken directly from our 2023 Agency Operations Survey, produced in cooperation with Agency Hackers. We highly recommend downloading the complete survey, as its pages contain many more fascinating insights.

Strategic Overservicing: Are There Any Benefits?

It’s the age-old dance for agencies and their clients – as an agency, you want to control hours spent, resources allocated, and bill for the amount of work delivered, while the client wants to get as much from you for as little as possible.

So how can an agency turn what has become an almost accepted losing practice into a benefit? As one agency owner said in the survey, the key is transparency when you do over-service: “We are happy to over-service by up to 15% when needed. We’ve found, at times, some clients demand far more, and we decided a while back to use timesheets to show the resource requirements on their account to justify increased retainer spend. More than a third of our client base ended up increasing their spend with us as they wanted to maintain the level of service.”

As another respondent states: “We tend to over-service for a couple of reasons 1) deliberately choosing to go above and beyond, 2) because we have free time in the schedule (though we are picky where we use this time), 3) because particularly for web, we have hit a bit of a price ceiling – which value prop and our sales plans should start to help us fix!”

The key to managing and controlling your levels of overservicing is, like many other aspects of running an agency, having clear visibility of the levels of overservicing and exactly where they are occurring: “The work we have done on margin management exposes over-servicing. But it positively changes that conversation into a dialogue on client investment. So we’re having conversations at an org level about where and when to invest strategically.”

The Reasons Agencies Over-Service

A common theme throughout the survey responses regarding overservicing is that a lack of tools or insight needed to manage resources is the root of this problem.

“Because people are remote, it’s so hard to know how long stuff takes people, which makes it impossible to track or call out over-servicing.”

Overselling and overpromising also rear their ugly heads frequently: “We have had a tendency to over-sell to sometimes try to force our invoicing targets even with our capacity being too high. This is driven by our CEO (who is great apart from this aspect!), and then this can lead to us missing deadlines or not delivering everything. This in turn, leads to the CEO promising a free world to clients. We always feel ‘awkward’ to have the conversation with the client if it ‘over runs’ on time and budget.”

At Scoro, we have been shouting about the benefits of time-management and accurate resource tracking since day one. Some respondents make it clear that they are very aware of the problems raised by not fixing these issues: “Staff doesn’t understand that when they work on ad-hoc tasks for a client, they are still using billable time. So they tend to do additional ad hoc work and then their scheduled work on top. Our account managers feel that discussing money somehow sullies their relationship and are reluctant to ask a client to pay for additional work. The service consultants then feel the work needs doing and do it anyway then complain they don’t have enough time.”

And let’s not discard the emotional element here: “Sometimes the team feels full regardless of the workload, and also they naturally tend to over-service the clients they like the most rather than the ones who have the most hours available.”

The Pitfalls and Frustrations of Over-Servicing

Many respondents made it clear that over-servicing is a significant issue for their agency: 

• “We plan jobs out and price above this, but everyone is always very busy and over-utilized. Clients are very happy, but we still don’t make big margins on work”.
• “We have only just begun to get a handle on this – the time we’re losing to over-servicing is noticeable.”
• “We price on value and outcomes. Sometimes our outcomes are too loose/vague, and clients ask for more than we intended to give. To keep them happy, we sometimes over-service rather than set clear boundaries at the scoping phase.”
• “There is often much more time spent on jobs than quoted for – either we are over-servicing, or the quoting process is too inaccurate. We also need to reduce unbillable time where possible.”
• “We charge for the hours we do, but our prices are probably still a bit lower than they should be. And we’d like to charge for studio management finance/invoices to cover those aspects of the business. We’re planning to build this in from now on.”   

How Do You Prevent Over-Servicing?

Unless you’ve taken the decision to strategically over-service, it’s clear that leaking money and resource hours is not a sustainable practice. So what is an agency owner or stakeholder to do?

A theme that runs throughout the survey responses is how a lack of insight, visibility, accurate tracking of resource allocation, and the true time spent on projects drives the tendency to over-service.

Switching from manual processes and creating a central business ‘truth’ through the implementation of Professional Service Automation software can shield agencies from over-servicing.

Accurate, detailed reports will give a crystal clear view of where the leakage is happening and allow agencies to improve their resource allocation, as well as understand where they are spending their time.

Using a unified system to manage and track every step of the project process, from pitch to quote to delivery and invoicing, is the only reliable way to not only catch where you are over-servicing but to implement plans to eliminate the practice entirely. 

The survey, which was conducted in partnership with Agency Hackers, aims to collect detailed insights into the processes that drive agencies, their best practices, and how they run their operations. We asked questions on agency structure, client management, and internal processes. We then analyzed the responses to gain valuable insights into how agencies are improving the service they provide to their clients through evolving operational efficiencies. 

You can access the full survey results here to get the unabridged picture of the state of the industry. As a teaser, we’ve compiled the shortened results of one of the most interesting sections below, focussing on the four main areas agencies are eager to improve during the rest of 2023.

1. People, Culture and Collaboration

People and culture remain the cornerstone of a successful agency, and it is hardly surprising that many respondents identified this as their key aspirational focus for the year. Successful collaboration built on a strong cultural foundation does not always come easy, and we’re glad that we got a peek into the challenges as well as the rewards.

Here’s what some of the respondents had to say:

• “If I could wave a magic wand, I’d like for everyone in the business to have true commercial awareness and to think like they were the owner.”
• “Garbage in – garbage out. I’d love to get the team to have enough skin in the game to understand that coding expenses, adding POs and all that “admin crap” is fundamental! Everyone understands it’s needed but when busy it’s the one thing that doesn’t get done. Unfortunately, this just adds workload elsewhere.”
• “Better internal processes to manage workflow and delivery to scope – especially when interacting between specialist divisions. For example, PR teams outsourcing work to content team and managing this without going outside of scope.”
• “I actually think we’ve reached a point where we have two separate cultures internally, and it’s a struggle to get them both aligned. Our delivery teams are keen to stick to processes and more to the letter of what’s in our SOWs. Our CS teams prioritize making the client happy and view the other teams as being difficult when they push back. As you can imagine this can create some unhelpful friction! It’s one of those things that’s very simple on paper but in reality we have to shift some mindsets and I don’t think that it’s an easy thing to achieve overnight.”

2. Dashboards and Management Information

Many people said they were keen to improve their management information, which is one of the key pain points we hear from almost every person who comes to Scoro looking for solutions.

Having access to management information is essential for agency owners in order to make informed decisions about their business. With access to the right data, an agency owner can better allocate resources and make strategic plans that will maximize growth.

Furthermore, access to management information allows the owner to track progress and monitor performance over time.

Here are some verbatim responses:

• “We are in a good place with our systems, data reporting and automations – these are stimulating behavior changes and making people more accountable but that takes time and mentoring. It would be great for that to be a quicker journey so you see the positive impacts more quickly.”
• “I would like to get a better overview of the projects and their profitability.”
• “Invest in more rigorous process management – both people and systems to focus inputs and outputs. Inputs as client and agency briefs and outputs as strategy, content and ideas at different stages.”
• “It would be that everybody was on the same page and communications were magically aligned. Everybody knew what everybody else knew!”
• “Improve the visibility on workload across client teams and pods. Calculate more easily and accurately our margins.

3. Process, Process and More Process

Many responses simply spoke of the basic desire to improve processes! Process is incredibly important for growing agencies – it allows you to structure your workflow and make sure that tasks are completed efficiently and effectively. By having a standardized process, teams can understand which tasks are priorities and how they should be completed.

• “I would love to improve our processes so that there is less momentum lost when a project gets delayed. Our clients require a lot of flexibility so projects often start and stop. This causes inefficiencies from a team perspective because they lose momentum and velocity to complete projects.”
• “If I had a magic wand, I’d improve SOPs on client retention, planning and client experience. We’re still growing as a company so I’d like that to happen without having to go through the necessary growing pains!”
• “I’d love to have our processes be smooth sailing from here on out. Having all the right workflows and processes in place that are battle tested and efficient.”
• “I’d love an end-to-end overview of a project for all the team so they all have real time data of how a project is performing. More automation in our project delivery process.
• “I would automate a lot more so that all the processes were linked and informed each other, leaving no room for human error or endless meetings.”        

4. Knowledge Management

Knowledge management can improve agency performance. By capturing, storing, and sharing knowledge throughout the agency, teams can work better by themselves without having to check in with the “process person”. Robust knowledge management can also lead to increased productivity, improved customer service, and better decision-making capabilities. Having one central source of truth is vitally important.

• “We are at the start of reviewing all the historic processes that were written years ago and have not been looked at for a couple of years. We’re trying to write them down and simplify them so that there is consistency across the business. One of the biggest challenges at the moment is finding time in busy schedules to get this to be a top priority!”
• “We adore the process side of our agency. Could talk about it forever. Could tinker with it for longer! We have structured (yet flexible-ish) processes for a wide variety of disciplines. Sure they could be tighter, but it feels as though we have solved 80% of the challenge and have something that fits our brand, our approach and our target market well.”
• We are at a point where we could probably benefit from automating more systems. What we do is quite process driven so there is a lot of opportunity to rinse and repeat.”

Have these responses managed to pique your curiosity? Download the full survey to peruse at your leisure. We believe it serves as a benchmark for those starting their own agency or clients seeking to understand the inner workings of an agency. Most importantly, this report is an invaluable resource to stay informed and competitive in the ever-evolving agency landscape.

But set against an uncertain economic outlook, how can a modern agency take advantage of the opportunity while balancing the risk?  

1. Focus intensely on Quoted vs. Actual Time 

The modern event services agency relies on a complex web of suppliers and partners. At Scoro, where many of our customers are event agencies, one of the most frequent headaches we are asked to help solve is that they have little real-time insight into spending, costs, and control of budgets. Sending purchase orders (POs) from a spreadsheet or accounting tool and manually consolidating and tracking this information is a time-suck of notable proportions. 

Having no clear insight into how your project is progressing against how it was planned means your service delivery could end up being more Fyre Festival than fire.

How to make the change: By ensuring that your business runs from one integrated platform like Scoro, you can gain the necessary insights that will help you nurture and maintain relationships with clients, partners, and service providers. You’ll catch potential cost overruns and late deliveries or payments on the fly before they become a disaster. For example, Scoro’s Quoted vs. Actual Dashboard lets you easily track supplier bills versus original quotes to catch discrepancies as they arise.

“We are now able to track real-time budget costs vs actual costs, including full labor breakdowns.” Kirsty Todd, Consolidated

2. Understand Project-Level Profitability   

Due to rising inflation, high demand, and increased event costs, organizations will have to allocate more budget towards their events, or they will drive agencies to deliver more for less. A study by CWT found that the cost per attendee in 2022 was 25% higher than pre-pandemic, and they predict an additional 7% increase in 2023.

The danger for event service agencies is that these higher costs eat into their profit margins. In addition, the possibility of an even more severe economic downturn on the horizon means that event organizers will be under more pressure to show the return on investment for events and prove their value.

The key here is to maximize efficiency, and the old way of working from spreadsheets and hoping for the best is simply not going to cut it. A significant hurdle event service agencies face in their attempt to scale is a reliance on outdated manual processes that take time and human resources to maintain.

How to make the change: Keep track of every step of your organizational process in one place to find areas for improvement and cost reduction. To do this, you need to implement standardized processes and use technology to streamline manual tasks and lower event costs. There is nothing more crushingly disappointing than reflecting on an event after the fact, only to find that you have let costs run away from you and stand to make far less of a profit than expected. Luckily you can control budgets in real-time and ensure that costs don’t exceed profits with Scoro’s Work-In-Progress Report.  

“Scoro has given us real-time financial analysis and allowed us to get rid of the dreaded excel spreadsheet.” Adrian Strittmatter, CEO, SAENTYS 

3. Manage Agency Growth with Better Technology  

One of the most frequent issues events agencies run into as they scale is that of legacy tools and their limitations. Using siloed sales, accounting, quoting, and work management tools as a small organization, while certainly not ideal, is just about manageable. But to take advantage of the industry boom and grow successfully, something more is needed. To achieve greater efficiencies, reduce costs and increase visibility, companies need to switch to one integrated software, as this allows you to house your event data in a single source of truth. It also facilitates the flow of data between internal systems, such as Marketing/CRM, HR, finance systems, and more. 

Not only does this provide a holistic view of your entire meetings and events program, but it also allows you to standardize and enforce global policies across your organization and improves reporting. Of course, this can be challenging, as some departments in your business can be very attached to existing systems.

How to make the change: Ensure that your event data isn’t siloed from other internal systems. Use a robust software platform that can integrate with (or replace) your core systems to create a single source of truth and improve measurement. Scoro offers a complete, end-to-end solution that will easily meet the needs of any event services company. But we also live in the real world, so if there’s a tool you already use for a part of your process that you simply can’t live without, it’s highly likely that we have an integration that means you can still slot this into the bigger picture.

“Scoro is highly powerful and has a lot of functions without being overly complex to use. The platform is simple to use and regularly adds new capabilities; it works with software that you know works and is always being improved.” Mindy Brenneman, SLCC

Conclusion:

With Scoro’s integrated platform, event services businesses can manage their sales, projects, purchase orders, and financials from the same place. Scoro’s analytics, dashboard, and reporting functionality equips event services leaders with the tools and data they need to understand:

1. Quoted vs Actual to easily track supplier bills vs. original quotes to catch discrepancies and manage budgets efficiently.
2. Project-level profitability to avoid runaway projects that end up costing their business more than they bring in.
3. Work-In-Progress to gain insight into the entire financial health of all their projects so they know exactly what needs to be improved and how. 

We’ve helped more than 20,000 users in over 60 countries around the world scale their workflows and boost profitability with one easy-to-use platform. Register for a free trial today and see how we can help you.

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It is quite human and normal to look for solutions where it’s convenient – not where it’s expedient. But the results of our 2023 Agency Operations Survey point to another key area to focus on in the pursuit of agency excellence – process improvement.

In collaboration with Agency Hackers, we spoke to over 100 agencies to produce this in-depth and insightful survey, asking questions about agency structure, client management, and internal processes. We then analyzed the responses to gain valuable insights on how agencies are trying to work better for their clients and how they operate. 

Of course, to get the full benefit of the results, we advise you to download the whole report and really get to grips with the agency landscape. That way, you’ll get the quotes from the agencies themselves as well as the data and responses that inform the list below.

But if you’re in a hurry, here’s the TL;DR version of our seven key findings. These are the areas agencies highlighted as offering the biggest wins when driving efficiency and profitability.

1. Focus on culture

To improve your agency’s productivity, focus on changing its culture as much as implementing new technology. Don’t just enforce new processes without communicating the reason behind them and getting your team on board. You need their buy-in for any cultural shift to be permanent. If you’re thinking about changing the process, communicate the “why” and the “what”.

2. Stop starting from scratch

How often are you reinventing the wheel?

Stop wasting time and money by constantly starting projects from scratch. Encourage a culture of knowledge management and reusing previous work rather than redoing what’s already been done. As a leader, you have the opportunity to set a “build once, use many times” example.

3. Get people to speak to each other

It’s surprising how many problems in an agency come down to poor internal communication. People in the survey shared how transformational “unblurring the lines” was to their agency. 

Ensure that roles and responsibilities are clearly communicated, and that regular updates are shared among the team.

4. Make operations everybody’s responsibility

Don’t rely on one person to manage all processes in your agency. Spread out responsibility for process management throughout the team to create a more cohesive culture. It’s a good reminder that the process doesn’t just need one person who is the “keeper of the secret flame”; – it’s a whole-team responsibility.

5. Focus on profitability

Don’t take your eye off the profitability ball! Always prioritize profitability, even focusing on acquiring new customers and increasing revenue. Use workflow management software to track time and manage project margins to avoid overspending.

6. Stop over-servicing

We found clear frustration amongst agencies when it comes to over-servicing. The first step to solving a problem is admitting that it’s happening, and this is where getting good, accurate data comes in. Combat this issue by implementing clear processes and communication channels to ensure that client needs are met efficiently.

7. Get serious about knowledge management

Astonishingly, we found that nearly 20% of agencies don’t document their processes! Documenting processes through knowledge management can lead to increased productivity, better customer service, and improved decision-making. Encourage a culture of documentation and standardization throughout your agency.

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We believe this survey will serve as a benchmark for those starting their own agency or clients seeking to understand the inner workings of an agency. Most importantly, this report is an invaluable resource to stay informed and competitive in the ever-evolving agency landscape.

Download your copy