829 Studios
Team Management, Process Management
Overview
Identity
829 Studios is an integrated marketing agency that delivers measurable results through thoughtful strategy, design, and development. The agency is comprised of two major branches—marketing and web & branding—whose combined efforts craft some of the best experiences in the web for users in a variety of industries and business verticals.
Core Activities
Team Management, Process Management, Project Management.
The Ask
At the start (and then height) of the pandemic 829 pivoted to diversifying its portfolio to service multiple business models—a far jump from its camp and travel industry focus pre-pandemic.
Areas to solve for:
➤ Outdated processes and project management tools
➤ Sales tools and approach were becoming rapidly less relevant
➤ Lack of structure worsened “growing pains”
Solution
Improving processes and workflows focused on longevity.
The boom in business meant that we needed to adapt, fast. The focus of the work was in consolidating a lot of the then-loose systems we had to create a hub of information. Furthermore, as we grew, we scaled to create more guardrails and accurate budget tracking for work.
From Wrike to ClickUp
Spearheading this transition was not easy. Wrike, though robust, lacked many of the capabilities we needed. Most of the team did not know how to interact with the system since they weren’t project managers themselves. The team needed something more user-friendly and visually stimulating to understand the process behind the timelines they had and how it affected the project as a whole, not only what they were responsible for. Some of the native capabilities we acquired through ClickUp went beyond standard PM system solutions—for example, the ability to consolidate documentation here via the Docs function (which now the entire team uses).
Crafting more comprehensive scopes of work
Much the onus fell on me to craft not only a great process that our team could follow but also guardrails that would protect them from the inevitability of scope changes.
Team Management
I’ve managed up to 15 direct reports. The Account and Project Management teams and the Production team. I mentored, led, and nurtured each individual and adapted my management style depending on the person.
Process Management
Being a jack-of-all-trades really worked here. Some processes were web team-wide and others were specific to each department. Knowing how each department worked and what made them do their best work was essential to keep the company moving forward.
Project Management
My experience helped me troubleshoot any project, big or small, and I would be the person the team counted on to keep the story straight across all projects and platforms.
Let’s Connect
Schedule me for an interview and we can chat more about my experience!