Have you seen our e-book called "Your Workflow Process Sucks"?
It is our gift to you. A blueprint to help you implement the right process for your agency.
You can download the free e-book attached to this page.
We recommend you read it carefully and then implement the steps in this tutorial afterward. It will make more sense that way.
Where to start after you've read the e-book? Follow the steps below:
1. Work out what key studio positions staff fit into.
See page 20 of the e-book for this information.
Set your staff up in those positions in Magnetic in the Invite & Manage Users section.
2. Map out how your current business process work in relation to the Magnetic Workflow Process.
Load the Magnetic Workflow Template Job onto your Magnetic account. You can find the import file attached at the bottom of this tutorial along wit the e-book.
Customise the tasks to make it suitable for your business and industry:
Define the tasks really well.
Edit tasks names.
Edit task descriptions.
Delete unnecessary steps.
Add time estimates.
Attach relevant documents if necessary.
Customise the default status lanes for jobs on Magnetic to make it suitable for your business and industry. The default status lanes are explained below:
- Setup (in e-book)
- Preparation work needs to be performed before the job can go into studio.
To be actioned (TBA)
This is an in-between lane to be used when Traffic / Client Services is building the job or making changes to the job.
Briefs/amendments and tasking are to be conducted in this phase. Once these are completed, the job will move to In Production.
In Production (in e-book)
Creative work is completed with iterations and signed off by client.
The job will either move to CTR or back to TBA.
Client to revert (CTR)
This is an in-between lane to be used when artwork or information has been sent to the client for feedback.
The job will either move down the lanes to Go-Live, or an amendment will be made and the job will be moved back to TBA for Traffic or Customer Services to assign the task to someone.
Go live (in e-book)
Development work is completed with iterations and signed off by client with go live.
The job will either move to CTR or back to TBA.
- Completed/Recon (in e-book)
- The job is now completed.
Closed
Once the jobs have been paid for they move into this lane where they are archived.
Canceled
If a job gets canceled they are moved into this phase and archived.
- Setup (in e-book)
See the tutorial on how to customise your status lanes.
3. Do a trial run of the project with your template.
- Make sure you make a copy of the original job template and do not edit the original job.
Assign the tasks to owners that are normally responsible for those tasks.
Tick off tasks as you complete them.
Change the status of the job when suitable to do so.
Some important factors to consider when analysing your business processes
Efficiency in managing your data:
Use automation where possible.
Automated, monthly back-ups will prevent future data loss.
Use Magnetic dashboards and reports to do regular accuracy and function spot checks for your data. Data is only useful if it is accurate.
Use checklists and process templates for repeated projects and tasks to save time and streamline your processes. Magnetic has a workflow template to help you get started.
Integrate with business software programs for increased efficiency. E.g. Magnetic integrates with various apps such as Xero and Pastel Accounting systems.
Efficiency in communication:
Create auto-responders for common messages e.g. confirmation of receipt.
Use special email addresses for each department, each with their own auto-responders to make sure the email is appropriate.
Use email templates for emails that need to be sent regularly to save time.
Use Canned responses.
Automate customer service responses by using:
Blog articles.
Templates.
FAQ.
Knowledge Base.
Client Portals.
Potentially you may need to make use of:
Outsourcing external support staff.
Support Tracking Software.
Online Service Chat.
Magnetic is the ideal tool for simplifying event and project communication because of its ideal features:
Privacy.
File Sharing.
Delegation/ Task management.
Discussions.
Notifications.
Scheduling.
Updates and comments linked to tasks.
Due dates.
Multiple platforms e.g. mobile app.
Automate your social media and email marketing for the following benefits:
Bulk email marketing e.g. Magnetic integrates with Campaign Monitor for this purpose.
Automation: send scheduled messages automatically.
Segmenting for specific target groups is possible.
Access to analytics E.g. Reports about emails.
Ease of use.
Low cost.
Ideas for delegating and outsourcing tasks to increase productivity:
Automate employee management tasks. If you find yourself making the same set of decisions regularly or doing the same tasks on a regular basis, more often than not, creating recurring tasks on Magnetic can free you from having to make them again.
Create dedicated email addresses with automated email responders and templates.
Use appointment booking apps.
Find an employee management app.
New employee setup processes must be in place to onboard new employees faster.
Get a virtual assistant for simple tasks if you are overworked:
E.g. Updating and sending out employee manuals.
E.g. Gathering employee paperwork.
Online Training Manuals.
Shared file storage that can be updated as a team e.g. FAQ’s, Operations, Manuals.
Ideal tasks for delegation:
Repetitive.
Consistent.
Teachable.
Accessible.
Note: Using SMART Goals to clarify tasks clearly will make it easier to delegate tasks.
Tasks not ideal for delegation:
Too advanced or complex.
Task varies from day to day.
Private.
Once-off tasks.
Options for delegating:
Staff with adequate skills and capacity.
Virtual Assistants.
Interns.
Splitting responsibilities with similar companies (Synergistic).
Delegate to people with more skills than you. E.g. Outsource to an external HR company if you do not have an internal HR Manager.
Decrease the number of steps with BPR (Business Process Reengineering).
Draw flow diagrams of steps.
Can any of the steps be deleted? E.g .forms filled in.
Can any steps be automated by computer? E.g. Pivot tables.
Can any steps be combined into one?
Can any steps be done by one person instead of two?
Can any steps be done in parallel instead of one after the other? E.g. Production cells.
Understanding Flow
What is your bottleneck in your business?
How can you reorganise the process to improve the bottleneck?
You can work out how much a system can deliver by looking at the bottleneck.
The bottleneck limits the throughput. So you either plan everything to go at the speed of the bottleneck, or you speed up the bottleneck.
Time spent in the system is just as important as the quantity coming through.
Improving time in bottlenecks:
You cannot make more than the bottleneck can handle. Therefore, spending money on removing the bottleneck improves the whole system.
There is no point in pushing in more than the bottleneck can handle as work will just pile up.
Time lost at non-bottlenecks isn’t really lost. The task is just delayed at a particular point in the workflow process, and can catch up somewhere else in the workflow process where it moves faster.
Make sure the bottlenecks never:
Break down.
Run out of supplies.
Is supplied with defective materials or parts.
Have a low amount of resources and the other operations are resourced significantly higher than the bottleneck.