Account Service: Your Impact on Workflow

Regardless of which web-based workflow management system your agency is currently using — I’d be remiss if I didn’t include a shameless plug for CurrentTrack® here — there are a few processes that can be applied to the role of Account Service.

As an Account Executive or Account Coordinator, you’re in a unique position. The information you share from a project’s outset, and actions you take as it moves along its Critical Path, can have a huge impact on the finished product.

Here are a few ways you can help improve workflow within your agency.

  1. Enter as many details as possible in your job request form; not just, “Please open a job.” Share due dates (even if approximate), outline what the job will include, note any budget constraints, and so forth. The more information your Traffic Manager has to work with, the more accurately s(he) can manage the job.
  2. Avoid e-mail communication strings whenever possible. Most likely, your workflow system has a chat or comment function. If job information is floating around outside the system, and not everyone is included in the conversation, miscommunication is more likely to occur. Job details should be easy for everyone involved to locate.
  3. Enter notes as soon as possible after the conclusion of a meeting. Don’t wait longer than 24 hours to get notes in the system. The longer you wait, the more likely you are to forget important details (and, hold up the workflow).
  4. Request materials for client meetings as far in advance as possible. If you wait until an hour before leaving the office, and an artist has to drop what he’s doing to comp up creative for you, it interrupts his train of thought and causes a ripple in the workflow.
  5. Proofread, proofread, proofread! Don’t assume the creative director, production artist or copywriter is sharing work that’s mistake-free. As the AE or AC, you’re the last one to touch the project before it’s presented to the client and, ultimately, you’re responsible for its accuracy.

Whether you implement one or all of the recommendations above, a web-based workflow management system, like CurrentTrack®, should be a central part of your daily routine.