How do you choose the right project management tool for your agency?
In the private as well as in the professional sphere, new technologies are now omnipresent and the number of applications and software to simplify your work life is constantly increasing every day.
In an environment where competition is tough, a creative agency must be able to stand out in order to attract more and more customers. Competent employees, brilliant ideas, impeccable service and efficient tools are all assets that will allow your agency to differentiate itself from its competitors and to prosper.
Essential to your success, project management software allows you to increase your productivity, effectively manage your daily tasks, meet deadlines, sharing documents, to communicate easily with your collaborators and to easily monitor the progress of your projects.
how choose a management solution adapted to your creative agency ? First, take into account various criteria such as the size of your agency, your needs, your work processes or the type of projects you manage. Second, the software must offer essential features that facilitate your work and promote collaboration.
Here are some tips for choosing the right one.
1. Rely on the sovereignty of your data
Since the adoption of General Data Protection Regulation (RGPD) in May 2018, data security and confidentiality are at the heart of all concerns.
To secure the data of your projects and therefore of your customers, opt for software with high standards in this field, such as our project management platform Wimi. Data sovereignty (i.e. their hosting on French territory), private cloud or On-premise hosting, secure authentication or data encryption are all aspects that you must take into consideration in order to make your choice.
Your customers will be reassured to see that you are giving a great importance to security and privacy of their data.
2. Invite your external collaborators for free
The advantage of a software of Project management is to promote communication and collaboration between all the people involved in the project, whether they are your employees or external contributors.
Indeed, your creative agency collaborates with many people in addition to your customers, such as your suppliers, your service providers, your partners or even journalists. Hence the need for choose a solution which allows all stakeholders to be invited free of charge and to allow them to benefit from the same functionalities as users.
Of course, you can directly manage each person's access rights and define which workspaces they can access.
3. Opt for an all-in-one solution
Today, there is a wide variety of applications and software to make your work easier. But juggling different tools can be a real waste of time. You need to get to know each application, train yourself and your employees and customers to use them, know which one to use for which task... In short, it can quickly become painful and time-consuming.
Project management software You avoid this type of situation by combining all the functionalities you need in a single tool:
- an agenda,
- one task manager,
- instant messaging, video calls and screen sharing
- a reporting tool, etc.
By adopting a project management solution, you are simplifying your life while improving your productivity!
4. Choose a simple and intuitive software
Acquiring a tool to manage your projects may not please your employees. Fear of change can be a real barrier. To avoid this type of unpleasant and counterproductive situation, opt for software that is intuitive, simple and accessible to everyone. Your employees will be reassured and will appreciate working with a tool whose handling does not make them waste time on carrying out their tasks.
5. Integrate your favorite work tools
Most project management software offers the possibility of integrating the tools you use on a daily basis in your agency.
Do you work with Microsoft, Dropbox or Google Drive? No problem, your favorite applications can be integrated directly into the project management software that you choose. Thus, you can instantly find your files and you are immediately operational.
6. Facilitate image processing
The visual aspect is very important for creative agencies that work with images on a daily basis: creating illustrations, graphic elements and various visuals, importing and retouching images and photographs, etc. It is therefore essential to acquire project management software that facilitates the management, processing and sorting of this type of files.
For example, some software allows you to sort your images by IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) attributes or to preview an image on a task. Are some photos too heavy to be sent by email? Simply send a download link to the recipient directly through your project management software.
Conclusion
Do you want to lead your creative agency to success? It is time to acquire project management software to be more productive, better manage your projects and automate certain tasks (such as reporting) to better focus on the needs of your customers and on the creative aspect of your projects.
Find it ideal project management software taking into account various criteria such as the needs of your creative agency, the personality of your employees as well as your various processes.
Finally, note that it is possible to try most management solutions for free to make sure that they meet your needs.
