Traffic managers serve a critical role in creative service firms. Companies would otherwise drown in a sea of deadlines, personality conflicts and general disorder if it weren’t for the diligence of a traffic or project manager who carefully shepherds the project from inception through completion. Creating successful, well-executed and profitable campaigns requires collaboration from all corners of the agency — each project must go through many hands on it’s way out the door, to the printer or to the web. The Traffic Manager is the shepherd or the watchful eye, carefully monitoring the job’s progress on it’s way to completion.
An effective manager makes sure the work gets done in part by knowing the personalities s(he) is working with and figuring out the best way to approach them with a revision or new task. This human approach is sound management in all businesses, but it’s especially important at ad agencies where there’s typically a diverse mix of personality types working together.
Projects shouldn’t automatically advance through an agency along it’s critical path without passing through the the Traffic Manager who knows the details, potential challenges and the right people to work on the job. Our system, CurrentTrack, is a tool to help Traffic Managers keep tabs on their projects, but will never advance jobs automatically based on contingencies. We’re of the belief that the most well-designed project management system in the world cannot automate the essential tasks of the Traffic Manager. We empower our Traffic Managers with the tools they need to manage their teams and projects without minimizing the critical role they play in helping agencies deliver a great product they can profit from by employing a personal touch.