By Rachel Gregory, Editorial Production Manager
When you think about great content, you probably envisage experienced writers, expert editors, and marketers who can get you seen. But who’s busying away in the background, making sure everything’s ready for that key date on social media, or that Sales has everything needed ahead of an event?
That’s where project coordination comes in. Project managers are the conductors of any type of project. They make sure project plans are achievable and milestones are hit. With the help of project management tools, they’ll guide you through the project lifecycle seamlessly. Don’t overlook their role in the content creation process.
They’ll help you nail down your aims.
It’s their job to take your brief and create what’s known as a scope statement, or statement of work. This ensures the agency has understood stakeholders’ aims. It means you’ll get the project deliverables and outcomes you want, in line with your business goals. By interrogating the brief in this way and outlining the project objectives, there’s no reason for the project team to fall short.
The project manager will also help you avoid scope creep, which is when the project goals and aims change. This can cause confusion and the risk of missed deadlines. By reminding you of the project scope, they can streamline and keep it all on track. This has real value, saving you time and funds.
They give creatives space to create.
Plotting out workflows, critical paths and project timelines ensures the project team has room to be creative. Plus, it takes the administrative headache away from the ‘doers’, by minimising distractions and reducing their workload.
Having someone whose job it is to handle hiccups, makes for a better experience for everyone. And it means that team members who need to come up with creative concepts within a limited timeframe can focus on doing just that.
The buck stops with them.
Project managers own the project management process. When things go wrong, it’s their job to sort it out – because if it all falls apart, it’s their fault. That tends to mean that people in project management roles are on the ball. They’re good at responding to requests, dealing with resource management, and sticking to the project scope. It’s down to them to deliver.
Someone keeping an eye on the various moving parts and the budget means things are delivered to a high standard, by the due date. It also means that relevant people are consulted when they should be, and that someone with an overview of the project roadmap can identify gaps. They may suggest more research is required, for example, or that the agency could do with an extra steer.
They’ll integrate their team with yours.
Because the responsibility of a project’s success sits with them, project managers react quickly to problems. Not only will they respond promptly when something goes wrong, but they understand the importance of good ongoing communication. So, they won’t shy away from nudging either team when something needs to be done. Their overview of the project is going to make your life easier. And if you’re lucky, you’ll find them coordinating your team too!
Oh, and they’re great for morale. They embrace their unofficial role as motivator and therapist, encouraging team members to look at a project with renewed enthusiasm. After all, motivated colleagues are productive ones.
Quality control is their speciality.
All project managers factor in time for quality assurance throughout the process. That’s something you might not get without one. But in the creative industries particularly, project managers wear many hats. They won’t necessarily be designers, copywriters and editors, but they could be. They might well have experience in relevant fields. That means they may be qualified to carry out extra quality checks before deliverables are sent to the client.
For more information about how working with a creative agency can make your life easier, read Rachel’s article on working well with agencies.
Rachel is Editorial Production Manager at Thrive. She is responsible for coordinating projects as well as editing and delivering engaging health content.
Here at Thrive, we recently steered a client through the accreditation process. That got us thinking about effective ways to streamline all the preparation required before applying.
Now we’re out the other side, we’ve created ‘How to use the accreditation process to improve your health content’ – the guide we wished we’d had six months ago.
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