Tight Deadlines? Increasing Stress? Start working more efficiently and creatively with these 5 strategies.

1. 5 Strategies for Improving Creative
Workflow

2. AGENDA
2
Why is collaboration such a pain?
Centralize requests
Plan effectively
Limit administrative tasks
Just right communication
Iterate and improve

3. Why is collaboration such a
pain?

4. 4
Email overload
Poor planning
Unclear goals
Constantly changing requests
Increased stress
Lower quality work
Unmotivated team
Miscommunication and lost time
These problems These results
lead to

5. For creatives, it can be even harder…
5
Multiple iterations
Highly variable timelines
Need uninterrupted time to concentrate
Highly collaborative

6. It can get out of hand quickly...
6

7. Reviewing your current workflow
7
Can we automate any step in this process?
How can we enable creativity?
How can we create more transparency?
How can we communicate more clearly?

8. Solution #1
Centralize Requests

9. 9
Requests coming from
Disorganization and
unclear priorities
Chat message
Request form
Email
In person request

10. 10
Workflow after centralized requests
Request Prioritize Assign Execute Review Finalize
Tips for success
Use customizable request forms ( e.g. Typeform, Hive, Jotform, Google Forms)
Designate one person to manage requests
Develop detailed creative brief for larger more conceptual projects

11. 11
Creative briefs
What are the key elements of a good creative brief?
Clearly captures the client’s vision
Defines who, what, when, where and why of the project
Sets expectations on deadlines and communication
Removes ambiguity

12. 12
Example: Email Design Request
Open-ended questions lead to vague answers

13. 13
Example: Email Design Request
Why is this better?
Requires client to provide more specific
answers
Captures client feedback on every
element of the email
Prompts them to define their vision and
inspiration

14. Solution #2
Plan ahead

15. 15
“Failing to plan is planning to fail”

16. 16
What makes a good project plan?
Lays out all major deadlines and deliverables
Includes clear assumptions that you can refer to if things change (e.g. there
will be one iteration, any additional will set back the deadline)
Clear defines responsibilities and dependencies
Has buy-in from all major parties (clients and your team)
Is easy to set up and update

17. 17
Example: Email Design Request

18. 18
Prioritize your work
With so many requests, define a strategy to identify the most important
Strategy Advantages Disadvantages
Assign points to cards based
on relevant factors → most
points = highest priority
More likely to be accurate Hard to implement
Designate some as “the
prioritizer” who looks at tasks
and assignees priority
Easier to implement, and
ensures someone on team
understands big picture
Subjective and prone to error
Define certain types of projects
or clients as high priority
Easy to implement Not as nuanced and could
result in many tasks being
labeled urgent

19. Solution #3
Limit Administrative Tasks

20. No one likes getting bogged down by admin...
20

21. 21
1. Use templates to decrease set up time
2. Automate repeatable processes
3. Simplify administrative tasks
4. All communication through the project manager
Here’s how to limit blocks to the work that matters

22. 22
Save time with templates
How to set up
Review workflow to identify common
processes or projects
List out all the steps in a template
Save and use when you start a new
project

23. Automate, Automate, Automate
23
1. Review workflow and projects
2. Identify steps in the process that could be automate
3. Find the best method to automate (e.g. Zapier connection, integration, etc.)
4. Implement your solution

24. 24
Learn how automated their request process

25. Solution #4
Just Right Communication

26. We have too many messages and emails
26
A typical office worker gets on
11 minutes between each
interruption.
It takes 25 minutes to return to
the original task after an
interruption
Source: NYTimes

27. Collaboration is a
critical part of
creative process
27
How can we make collaboration more
effective and less distracting?
Creatives need
uninterrupted time to
concentrate
On one hand But also

28. 28
Tips for efficient communication
Encourage team to block off time for creative work
Keep conversations in context
Limit notifications as much as possible
Reserve highly urgent requests to phone or in person

29. Solution #4
Iterate and Improve

30. Reflect on the past, improve the future
30
Improve
Review Execute
Plan

31. 31
What to consider
Does this directly link to team performance?
Is this easy to track and measure?
Does this show the value of our services to key stakeholders?

32. 32
Example KPIs
Lead time per project
Number of feedback rounds per project
Estimated time vs. tracked time
Estimate budget vs. actual budget

33. Next steps

34. 34
Apply this on your team
Identify a common request and build a form
Build your a project plan
Set up a project template
Apply one communication tip on your team
Set up a monthly meeting to analyze team productivity

35. 35
www.hive.com
Try managing your
creative projects in
Hive with a free 14
day trial!