How creative operations leaders can create a culture that drives team success

Building a team that’s excited about a project’s potential is key to fostering a thriving creative culture. When all members share a vision, inspiration is flowing and the team has the skills to make magic happen, success seems inevitable.

But creative operations leaders often face a challenge when trying to harness all that creative energy: Not having a consistent, reliable workflow throughout an organization means ideas or deliverables can slip through the cracks.  In fact, according to research conducted by Smartsheet, 38% of marketing and creative teams face disjointed workflows between teams. For example, various teams could be going through the same processes but using different tools. Some might keep things organized in Excel while others use Post-Its, Slack conversations, and email lists. And if certain creative teams are resistant to changing their process or tools, there is a constant need to find ways to blend their processes when collaborating with other company teams.

Added to this, managers may not always be aware of what motivates individual team members, which can lead to assigning tasks that don’t align with their strengths or passions, resulting in less effective outcomes. Additionally, without clear visibility into each person’s workload, project managers might inadvertently assign tasks to someone who’s already stretched thin, causing inefficiency and burnout.

Even the best operations leaders need workflow tools to help their teams, and getting the right one in place could mean the difference between stilted or successful launches.

Key considerations for implementing workflow tools

Selecting the ideal workflow management system

Team leaders can solve for this by considering the different ways people work and uniting the tools and processes. Easing teams into new work tools and methods in a reassuring way can help them transition smoothly to a more efficient workflow. A resource management system that allows individual tagging enables managers to assign tasks that align with each person’s passions and skill set. Plus, the managers gain visibility into everyone’s workload, ensuring tasks are distributed fairly and preventing anyone from becoming overwhelmed.  

A new system shouldn’t have to be perfect upfront, and it’s normal to tweak it as teams give feedback. Asking where people are still struggling and what the sticky points are in the workflow allows teams to collectively discuss how to smooth over those speed bumps. Project managers can then improve their management system based on that feedback and anticipate where future roadblocks may occur. This collaborative and iterative process also increases user adoption. 

Embracing change: Adapting to new creative workflows

There’s always pushback to change. New workflow systems can initially seem like a barrier to creativity, especially when creatives are juggling so much already. But with the right tools and the right managerial support, teams not only adapt quickly, they recognize the benefits. Once they see that the new system helps them complete tasks faster and more efficiently, they find that their productivity and overall output improve significantly by freeing up time and resources for experimentation and innovation.

The right workflow process also gives leadership ready-access to relevant information, like status updates or budget allocations. This frees the creative operations leads from constantly switching between their creative and their analytical brains to answer questions or figure out where things stand on a given project.

When the leading global education company McGraw Hill sought to unite its teams both cross-functionally and across many vendors with a single workflow process, it seemed like a big ask. Not every team worked in the same way, and not all projects followed similar structures or timelines. But Smartsheet was able to adapt and capture data and metrics based on work in progress, so the company didn’t have to stop and calculate projections and budget. By streamlining the entire media asset lifecycle and creating a centralized hub for approved media assets and permission, the company saw its efficiency ultimately triple by simplifying its creative process.

And leave it to a racing organization to appreciate the value of efficiency. McLaren Racing  wanted to provide a richer racing experience to its fans and partners while also improving and speeding up workflow. By streamlining processes and implementing a shared central repository, the company produced seven-times faster race day footage and assets while offering proper tags for searchability.

Creating sustainable workflows for lasting impact

Tech tools can be beneficial, but they can also seem overwhelming. Streamlining the user experience with the tools is essential—people need to be able to receive notifications, find assets, respond to queries, and proceed with their projects all in one space. Any team member should be able to say, “Here’s my flagged task, here’s my past due tasks, here’s my tasks that are due in the next five days,” and know exactly what they need to work on and when it’s due.

Another common company problem is locating assets quickly. Smartsheet has an integration with Brandfolder which enables a streamlined process for capturing metadata as assets are being created. This makes the assets easily searchable, without creatives spending hours adding keywords and metadata. A workflow management system featuring automation like this gives creatives more time to create. 

Building a high-performing creative team

Providing the right tools for teams helps creative operations leaders streamline processes so creatives don’t have to spend time doing rote tasks. When team members can focus on doing what they do best, that’s the key to success for both your team and your company.