Three Things to Consider When Leveling Up Your Agency Management System

Ready to LevelUp, but not sure how? Rare Creative Group knows exactly how you feel.

Rare Creative is no novice to the benefits of using an integrated agency management system to manage projects, people and delivery - they have been using Deltek’s TrafficLIVE solution, and previous to that, Traffic Server, for more than a decade. But as the agency has grown, so have their needs, and it was important that their agency management processes be scalable to help them optimize agency KPIs, while setting the stage for future maturity. When they began evaluating Deltek WorkBook as the vehicle that would take them to the next level, they zoned in on three critical factors they needed to consider if they were going to reach their goals.

Ease of Implementation & Support

Simply finding the right tool wasn’t going to cut it for Rare Creative. Finding a trustworthy partner that could get their agency up and running quickly and affordably was a primary concern.

Deltek was already the front-runner in that regard, having supported them through the transition from Traffic Server to TrafficLIVE years earlier. And with the opportunity to take advantage of Deltek’s Power Launch implementation, which is specifically built to accelerate the process, they were confident that they could migrate to Deltek WorkBook without derailing their ability deliver creative work efficiently.

“The migration was fantastic. Migrating data via the template provided was easy and straightforward so everything worked as we expected it to. And it was very easy to get specific answers, support and training for the entire team.”

Chris Bellingham, Managing Director, Rare Creative

With the focused support of their WorkBook Consultants and a close relationship with their Customer Success Manager, Rare Creative was able to easily migrate their data, attend regular reviews, and receive training, all of which allowed them to complete their implementation with time to spare.

Greater Visibility into Agency KPIs

The next factor to consider was how the solution helped them optimize agency KPIs. Although they were already using TrafficLIVE to streamline job management, they were missing valuable insight into how projects were progressing in real-time, which made it difficult to identify and prevent over-servicing and scope creep. To make matters worse, they were spending way too much time building schedules from scratch and time sheets were either late or inaccurate. 

WorkBook’s intuitive features made it easier for Rare Creative staffers to accomplish their daily tasks and enter time. And because WorkBook is a fully integrated solution, this information is shared throughout the system to provide the real-time insight that helps them get ahead of costly issues.

Now they can quickly and easily turn an estimate into a matching schedule, or vice versa, which saves them valuable time. And with automated Inbox notifications and the ability to restrict user activity until time sheets have been submitted, they have been able to boost time sheet compliance, which gives them more accurate visibility into project progress at any time. Now that they have greater visibility into resources, they have a more accurate forecast of capacity that helps them make better staffing decisions and avoid unnecessary freelance costs.

In addition, WorkBook’s CRM module goes beyond simple contact and activity tracking, to provide visibility into incoming work and expected revenue. “[With the pipeline forecast] you can really see where the holes are,” according to Managing Director, Chris Bellingham. “It helps you see when you need to boost [New Business] up a bit or when you've got enough in the pipeline that you can pull back a little bit.” By tracking current work and expected opportunities together, Rare Creative can now visualize their pipeline up to twelve months in advance, which allows them to focus their New Business efforts when and where they are needed.

Scales as You Grow

Finally, Rare Creative had to consider how a new solution would set the stage for them to grow and achieve the goals they set for the future. Having already been through this situation when leveling up from manual spreadsheets to Traffic Server and then to TrafficLIVE, they knew they needed a solution that would scale with them as they matured over time.

WorkBook’s modular packaging allowed Rare Creative to replace TrafficLIVE feature for feature, while adding functionality that helped them reach the next level of agency management. By leveraging their strong relationship with Deltek, they plan to implement additional functionality to further streamline operations at their own pace.

In the meantime, it’s role-based configuration has helped them strengthen the processes they already had in place, while making it easier for them to adopt and establish industry best practice processes as they continue to grow.

And as they learned when they had to transition to a fully remote workforce, the cloud-based platform and the ability to use across mobile devices has made it possible for them to keep running their agency effectively, no matter where people are working.

About Rare Creative Group:

Rare Creative Group is an award-winning, integrated Marketing Agency located in Sheffield, England, with experience in B2B, B2C and non-profit markets in a variety of industries. They specialize in creating results-driven campaigns for local and global clients such as RightPay, Xtralite and Move More.