Make a smooth transition to a new agency project management software

Change can cause uncertainty and anxiety in a team, especially when the change affects the way you work.

When the principal at a creative agency decides to deploy a workflow, time tracking and project management software, team members can feel like something is changing and be resistant. However, adopting a project management software can help your agency be more productive and profitable.

Here are seven points that you should keep in mind to ensure that the transition to the new agency software is smooth:

1. Prepare your organization – Clear communication is crucial to promote a positive attitude from your staff. Make it clear as to why you are adopting a new software and how it will help the team.
2. Emphasize the importance of adopting the software and why the team should care. Some of the advantages of adopting a project management software are:
   • To give you a better idea about your agency’s profitability and the relationships between what was estimated, what was really produced and how much your agency is charging for a project.
   • It will give you more precise information to take next steps such as hiring staff or changing your pricing model.
   • All resources will be in one place: Your daily process will be completed quickly, which means you are going to spend more time actually producing and less time with bureaucratic tasks.
3. Make sure that you select a functional and intuitive productivity software with a user friendly interface.
4. Assure that the software company offers you enough training, support and consultation, otherwise your experience won’t bring you the benefits expected. Service is essential.
5. Choose a flexible system that has options to be adapted and configured according to your needs. A very simple example that can really make difference is terminology. If the management system can be customized to have the names of phases, processes and jobs that your agency is used to, people will be more confortable. This is also a way to maintain and enhance your organization’s culture.
6. “Keep it simple and smart” – Function Point Software, for instance, can do a lot of things but first of all you have to build a very good foundation for the new users. Users need to be confident in playing around and using the basic tools before starting to use more sophisticated workflows.
7. Top down implementation – decision makers should be the main advocates of the new software, and be the first ones to understand the entire process before rolling it out to the rest of the organization.

Finally it is important to emphasize that adopting a software will improve the way you work, but not reinvent it. Contracting a reliable software company to support your team’s development while always keeping open dialogue will guarantee that your goals will be meet.