Total agency management: How TMW UNLIMITED streamlined its project process

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Discover how creative agency TMW UNLIMITED cut down project complexity and streamlined its processes from pricing to delivery with Deltek WorkBook.

UNLIMITED is a global network comprising of four divisions: marketing, communications, insight and analytics, and digital. TMW UNLIMITED, represents its marketing division.

With more than 600 people working on creative projects for big-name global clients, TMW UNLIMITED found itself with a complex setup of disconnected project management tools. This put the agency at risk of reduced efficiency, unnecessary complexity and human error that might have led to less-than-perfect project management and delivery.

By switching to a single, consolidated platform, TMW UNLIMITED streamlined its projects and made a real impact on its bottom line. We sat down with TMW UNLIMITED’s Head of Delivery Management, Shakeela Looker, to talk about the agency’s new approach to managing projects, and the advice she offers others.

Disparate tools create disconnected project teams

In many organisations, teams can get used to working with their own set of preferred tools and methods. It can make collaboration difficult, especially when projects go through many stages, from briefing to delivery.

“Of course, sometimes things got missed or weren’t updated digitally,” says Shakeela. “Little things like updating a timeline would mean that you also had to update the traffic team, so they could manually move resource bookings. If you forgot to update one person, it could run the risk of slowing the whole project down.”

TMW UNLIMITED used a single tool that could handle everything, from creating price quotes and raising invoices to building timelines and managing resources.

One tool for end-to-end visibility and control

That single tool was Deltek WorkBook, a system designed specifically for total agency management. “The biggest pull was that it was able to connect everything together in a single location and bring consistency” explains Shakeela.

Deltek WorkBook, gave TMW UNLIMITED end-to-end visibility and control of its projects, with all pricing information, schedules, and resource requirements stored in one place. Instead of different teams each working with their own setup, every agency now uses the same platform, which creates a seamless experience for both employees and customers when they collaborate on projects.

“Due to WorkBook, we all have access to one another’s resources and we can share the skillsets among us, meaning we can better service our clients” says Shakeela.

That ability to share resource is helping TMW UNLIMITED remain agile: “By knowing when one of our other offices has extra capacity, we can utilise this resource to add value to our clients business”

After the first six months, Shakeela sent a questionnaire to her teams, asking for feedback. The response was hugely positive, with 100 percent of users saying they would recommend Deltek WorkBook to a colleague.

“WorkBook played a massive part in streamlining the way we work,” says Shakeela. “It brings everything together, allowing us to be more efficient and really focus on the core of our roles.”

Three tips from TMW UNLIMITED for getting the most out of Deltek WorkBook

We asked Shakeela to share some lessons from her experience to help other agencies get the most value from the solution. Here are her top three tips:

1. Get a demo in the diary.

“People are always resistant to change – it’s in our nature. So, ask Deltek to do a live demo for you, so you can see how WorkBook could be used with your real-life projects. That way, your people can see how well the system joins up, and how different tools could impact their projects. A couple of hours in a demo could save thousands of hours in the future.”

2. Take the time to craft a detailed quote.

“Spending the time to craft a detailed Price Quote in WorkBook just streamlines everything. It pushes data to help create a schedule and timeline, assign the right people with the right skills, and create matching invoices. And you can go back over time and see how it was broken down and why it was put together in the way it was, which will inform you on your next quote.”

3. Utilize Conversations.

“We didn’t use the built-in chat function to begin with but, as we became more confident, we started using it frequently, instead of email. That means all the correspondence is right there with the project, so the whole team has visibility of a job from start to finish. If anyone goes off sick or on holiday, or another team member is picking up extra work, they can easily see the history of the job.”

Total management for agencies and in-house teams

We designed Deltek WorkBook to offer a complete, end-to-end solution that gives you visibility, collaboration, and control throughout your projects.

It includes modules for CRM and pipeline management, finance and accounting, and project management, resourcing and collaboration – everything an agency or in-house team needs to streamline their projects. And with an open API, it can integrate neatly with your organisation’s other business-critical tools too.