Running a digital agency can be a daunting task. Especially when it comes to managing your employees. With the rise of remote work and freelancing, managing digital agency employees has become more challenging than ever. However, with the right strategies, you can effectively manage your team, foster collaboration, and improve productivity. This guide will provide you with actionable tips for effectively managing your digital agency employees.
Section 1: Hire the Right People
The first step to effectively managing your digital agency employees is to hire the right people. Look for candidates who are not only skilled in their respective fields but also have the right attitude and are a good fit for your company culture.
Here are a few hiring tips every digital marketing agency can benefit from:
- Conduct thorough interviews, check references, and assess their portfolio – This is recruitment 101. The more thoroughly your screen and assess potential new hires, the more informed and accurate a decision you can make.
- Look for range and practical experience – While credentials are always going to be important, when it comes to an industry as dynamic as marketing, you’ll want to look for candidates who have first-hand experience in the available role.
- Discuss and identify what you are looking for beforehand – Before you even begin advertising for new hires, take time with your staff and managers to really hone in on the kind of help and perspective you need on the team.
- Prepare for Gen Z – Gen Z is expected to comprise 27% of the global workforce by 2025. Best you know what to expect and how to accommodate for their work styles.
Great employee management starts with hiring the right people, especially when it comes to creative team-based agencies like marketing agencies, which tend to revolve around collaboration. The right people can make or break your agency, so choose them wisely.
Section 2: Set Clear Goals and Expectations
Setting clear goals and expectations is crucial to the success of any team. Make sure your employees understand their roles and responsibilities, as well as the company’s vision and objectives.
Set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for each employee, and regularly check in with them to ensure they’re on track.
The clearer you are with employees about what is expected and required of them, the easier it is for them to fulfil their roles.
Section 3: Foster a Collaborative Culture
Collaboration is key to the success of any team, and fostering a collaborative culture is essential for managing your digital agency employees. You can promote a collaborative culture in your digital agency through the following tips:
- Share the agency mission and purpose – A shared mission can be unifying for your agency team. By establishing a clear brand identity and regularly sharing its purpose on the market, you can give employees something consistent to work towards as a team.
- Engage in fun creative group exercises – Things like constructive group games, shared mealtimes, brainstorming, and fun problem-solving tasks can encourage your staff members to establish deeper relationships and reinforce collaborative culture.
- Get out of the office, together – Going outside is great for mental and physical health, but it can also bring collaborative and group-strengthening benefits. Use them!
- Foster a positive workplace culture – Don’t underestimate the power of positive company culture. Implement empathic leadership, communicate well, and listen to your employee’s concerns, queries, and suggestions with open-mindedness.
Encourage your employees to work together, share ideas, and support each other. You can also use collaboration tools like Slack, Trello, or Asana to streamline communication and collaboration, and generally make working together an easier experience.
Section 4: Provide Regular Feedback
Regular feedback is essential for improving employee performance and job satisfaction. But it can also promote a healthier, more collaborative environment for employees to enjoy.
For instance, this study found that companies that provided their employees with regular feedback saw higher performance and productivity levels, decreased conflict at work, and generally improved the quality of life for employees.
All of these benefits contribute to a more integrative, collaborative workplace dynamic, and better overall connections between different staff members – no matter which level they’re on.
Schedule regular performance reviews and provide feedback on both strengths and weaknesses. Use positive reinforcement and constructive criticism to help your employees grow and develop. Help your employees motivate themselves and those around them to evolve.
Section 5: Invest in Professional Development
Investing in your employees’ professional development not only benefits them but also benefits your company. Fortunately, there are lots of ways to invest in the professional development of your employees while simultaneously improving workplace collaboration, such as:
- Offer training programs – Online and in-person training programs are a great way to streamline the professional development of your employees. Offer training in skills that are most in demand in your industry, such as data analysis or content creation.
- Implement a mentorship program – This one is great for both professional development and general collaborative support.
By teaming up newer or younger hires with older, more experienced ones, you can promote stronger workplace relationships while simultaneously supporting each employee’s career development. It’s a win-win situation. - Provide career coaching and development support – If you can’t invest in a full-on training or mentorship program, simply providing the option for guidance can be just as effective – and often more accessible for smaller agencies with limited funding.
Give people resources for learning more about where they want from their career trajectories and what steps they can take towards getting there.
These tips are all aimed at helping your employees acquire new skills and stay up to date with the latest industry trends.
They also all contribute towards establishing stronger, more dynamic relationships with the people in your agency and helping people work together to achieve their goals.
Be The Best Manager You Can Be
Managing your digital agency employees is not an easy task. But with the right strategies, it can be a rewarding experience.
By hiring the right people, setting clear goals and expectations, fostering a collaborative culture, providing regular feedback, and investing in professional development, you can effectively manage your team and improve productivity.