To get your creative agency fitter and healthier means that you recognise that there is always room for improvement. Think of your creative agency as a gym where you regularly include new exercise equipment, tools and routines to keep gym users motivated. For a creative agency, finding the right type of productivity tool will be a definite boost to improve your agency’s performance.

Analyze your needs

Just like how you first need to know your body’s condition and needs before an exercise program is given to you, you have to know your creative agency’s needs before you can effect a change. Perform an analysis of your needs so you can find the right project management software for you. You have to consider the types of projects you do, the types of clients you have and attract and the direction you want your agency to take. The project management software should conform – whether you want team members to collaborate or you want to assign deliverables and tasks to members of the team. Do you want your projects to include automatic invoicing? Provide answers to all your questions so you can make the right decision when purchasing the PM software.

Trim extra ”fats”

You go to the gym to have a sculpted body. Your agency can also benefit from trimming some extra fats, making it more agile and leaner. You might have gotten used to pulling out several reports just to get comparative data. You might still be typing proposals manually and customizing them individually. You might still be using Excel sheets. With a robust PM software, you can do these things using just one tool, saving your valuable time – time that you can spend on more creative output.

Simplify administrative duties

You can get your creative agency fitter by changing some habits. Devote less time to administrative duties by simplifying them. With a PM software, you’ll be able to see all the information you require in one place. You can generate reports and other office tasks easily. It allows you to have more time to see new clients, work on your projects and think of new ways to improve your services.

Adequately train users

Getting fitter and healthier does not happen overnight. You have to spend time for training. Allow your creative agency to get fitter and ready to take on new challenges by providing your team with adequate training. For the team to be adept at using a PM software, they should be properly trained, with some kind of test given after each training session to ensure that the training is effective. They should be given the chance to set up a project immediately so they will have the time to practice using the tool. Follow-up training and refresher courses will motivate them to use the tool more.

Specify goals early

Before you embark on a fitness program, you have an idea of what your goals are, and these could be a combination of short- and long-term goals. In the same manner, when you implement the use of a PM software, you have to specify the business goals you want to achieve at the onset. You have to be very clear on what you want the PM software to do and contribute to your workflow process. Do you want it as your main collaborative tool? Do you want it to create sales and business forecasts, or simply produce status reports? If you have established your goals, you can find the right tool and set it up properly. It will also give you the direction on how your team will use the software and what kind of training they need. You have to realise that a robust PM tool can track progress of all on-going projects in real time so do not limit your goals on what you want the software to accomplish. Instead look at all its features and where they could fit in your day to day activities.

Mix it with core apps

In fitness training, there are various exercises to strengthen your core. In a creative agency, you can integrate a PM software with your other business processes. There are products that work seamlessly with other third party applications like email. Moreover, you can find a project management software that integrates all of your business processes, providing you with a one-stop-shop, which simplify creative agency management even further.

It is prudent if you take the time to understand all the benefits that an agency project management software can do to make our company healthier and fitter. Do comparison shopping to find the best PM software tailored to your agency’s needs.