Searching for a creative workflow solution that is right-sized for your creative team can leave you feeling like Goldilocks pilfering through the bears’ home. Use these three steps to find the creative workflow solution that is just right for you.
For creative teams overwhelmed by the ever-increasing demand they face from their stakeholders, a creative workflow or project management solution is the answer. However, finding a workflow management platform that fits your team can be a real challenge, with so many workflow and project management platforms available to choose from. Many creative teams find themselves in a bit of a “Goldilocks” situation, winding up with either a solution that is too small or too big. Read on to learn how to identify wrong-sized tools and the 3 steps you can take to find a creative workflow solution that is right-sized for your team.
Too Small
Much like Goldilocks trying out the bears’ beds, many creative and marketing teams start with a smaller project management solution only to realize one day that it no longer fits. For these teams “small” doesn’t mean they chose a platform with few features. “Small” in this context usually means they chose a solution that was low-cost and offered general project management functionality. There are some very popular generic project management solutions out there that work great for small teams or teams that are just stepping a toe into the waters of workflow management. However, what creative and marketing teams will soon discover about these solutions is that they are missing the specialized features they need to really see increased efficiencies. The realization that your solution is too small manifests in 3 ways:
- Missing features
- Lack of feature depth
- Platform-wide gaps in collaboration
Too Big
On the other end of the spectrum, some marketing and creative teams find themselves with a project management software that is too big for their needs. Often creative teams in this situation are required by their IT team to use the same system as the entire organization. These “big” solutions are primarily characterized by their complexity. They tend to be feature-rich, which can seem like a good idea, until it comes time to start using all those features. These large, heavy platforms can be very difficult and labor-intensive to get set up. In fact, many of them require a dedicated admin to keep everything up and running.
And even after you’ve put in all that time and figured out how to set everything up, you may find there are still points of friction that make the system difficult to use for your team or your stakeholders. Just like with a PM tool that is too small, a PM too that is too large doesn’t help your team optimize your workflow.
What your creative team needs is a creative workflow management solution that is just the right size.
A Perfect Fit
Like Goldilocks, creative teams need a creative workflow management solution that is right sized for their specific needs. The perfect-fit solution will be one that has all the features the team needs without the bloat of unnecessary or distracting features. Additionally, those features, and the system as a whole, should be easy enough to use that a dedicated FTE is not needed to administer the system. The platform should be intuitive and easy to use so that all your team members and stakeholders quickly and seamlessly adopt the platform. Here are 3 ways to ensure that your team is choosing the best creative workflow platform for your needs:
1. Dump the feature lists. Many people approach buying software with a long list of the features they think they need. All this will accomplish is getting you the system that has the most features, regardless of whether you actually need them. Instead of working off a feature list, define the challenge(s) you are trying to solve with this new platform, and focus your search on the softwares that solve that problem in the best way.
2. Think about the future. While you certainly can’t anticipate every need your team will have over the next few years, you can avoid buying a too-small solution by thinking a little past what your team’s immediate needs. Do you expect the team to grow? What about volume of work? Would you like to eventually do time tracking, or more advanced reporting on key metrics? Choosing a solution that has more advanced versions of key features can give you more runway and space to grow without having to switch to a more robust solution down the road.
3. Specialization is key. The single biggest cause of creative teams feeling like their creative project management solution doesn’t fit right is using one that isn’t purpose-built for creative teams. There are so many project management solutions out there it can be easy to get caught up in trying to figure out the pros and cons of each one and forget to check if the solution can actually solve the unique problems your creative team deals with.
When considering whether a platform is purpose-built for a creative teams ask questions like “how do you handle request intake?” and dig deep on review and approval – is it a robust platform with routing and collaboration, or is it just simple file sharing dressed up as a proofing solution? Also check out the company’s thought leadership – do they have a blog, a social media presence, or speak at creative industry events? Do they seem to be a trusted thought leader in the creative and marketing space? Or is their content more about PM features and best practices in general? Choosing a vendor that has not only built a platform that is specific to creative needs but is also a thought leader in the space will ensure that you are getting not just a software provider but a true partner to help you build the best creative workflow process for your unique team.
Searching for a creative workflow solution that is right-sized for your creative team can leave you feeling like Goldilocks pilfering through the bears’ home. Use these three steps to find the creative workflow solution that is just right for you.
See if inMotion ignite is the right-sized solution your team is looking for.
Elise Hauser is a product and content marketer with a passion for telling brand stories. She has produced inMotionNow’s annual In-House Creative Management Report for 3 years, webinars, content sessions for major industry events reaching audiences of 1,000+, and of course, countless blog posts. When Elise isn’t writing about the marketing and creative industry at inMotionNow she is teaching economics and hanging out with her cat, Tucker, at her home in Raleigh, NC.