On a beautiful weekday morning, the sun is shining through the office window and I am preparing my list of priorities for the day, coffee in hand. I am coming back from a CrossFit workout, endorphins in the mat and I am smiling at life. I do not expect a terrible event to come and disrupt the course of my day. Suddenly, the phone rings. A client needs information related to his project. I know that I have this information in my emails. So I note his need and tell him that I will get back to him with the answer quickly. What follows is a moment of research… which turns out to be far too long ! I realize that the information is well hidden through email exchanges, with no indication of its existence. In short, I have lost 45 minutes of my day, when this search could have been summed up in 5 minutes. I am less in a good mood, but at least I managed to find the information!
Not to brag, but in an agency,
The project manager is often the cornerstone of a mandate (developers may have a different opinion, but this is my blog post, let me have my moment of glory). He answers lithuania telephone number data questions from clients and the team about current projects, acts as the organization’s memory regarding previous mandates and is the contact person for any questions relating to the infinite and wonderful world of the web. You must therefore be efficient and react quickly. Good organization of work is essential and the client has the power to contribute to its smooth progress. After all, it is a collaboration!
via GIPHY
What if we gave ourselves a few simple rules to the customer is not king optimize the client/agency relationship in terms of communication related to a project? There is a good chance that you use a management tool dedicated to this task, but email is a must: it is the most used tool and the one I will focus on. We will see how to facilitate the search for emails, improve overall communication and maybe even build a more lasting relationship (it sounds like I am talking about a couple relationship! I also proposed a new column in the style of Courrier du coeur , but the editor of this blog refused it, I don’t know why…). Some elements may seem trivial or wacky to you, but I can confirm that they still happen (too) often. I know, no one is perfect and above all, it is difficult to change our old habits, but I hope that we can do it!
1. You wouldn’t dare start from an old email to make a request.
Unless you want to provide feedback on something that is in development or has already been discussed, please do not draw on an old exchange to make a new request. The title of your email will have no connection to your subject, which will always lead to confusion. You will have a flood of completely useless emails attached to your request and if you have to track down information, it will be a jumble.
2. You will know how to use the title field correctly
The subject of the email is what we see first. It is therefore important that it is meaningful and clear. It is not intended to place an order: it is a limited space and therefore you should not write a novel. If it must be long, take advantage of the text field provided for this purpose. The title will be clear, the content of the email will be well presented and my eyes will be charmed.
3. You will use the word urgent wisely
Aaah, there is no feeling comparable to when we are in contact with the word “URGENT”. I think it is the worst word to use in the subject of the email! As my friend Gabriel would say, if there is no one in danger of death, it is not urgent. We are not saving lives! First, any good project manager checks his emails several times a day and manages his priorities accordingly. Even if the famous word is written 5 times in the subject, it does not mean that the request will be processed more quickly. The manager is not always in front of his screen. He is sometimes in a meeting, busy with another task or simply absent.
Besides, if your website encounters a major (or even minor) problem, the team will have been notified before your email even arrives. We monitor everything and are automatically informed of problems. Finally, the word urgent only makes communication more aggressive.
4. You will appoint a contact person
Are several people in your company involved in the file? It is important to determine which person will handle the exchanges with the agency. Obviously, we can add other stakeholders concerned in copy of the email, but we must avoid at all costs exchanges between different people to minimize the risks of loss of information or worse, creating confusion.
5. You will use the management tool offered by the agency
I know, I know, yet another thing to master. In our case, at Spektrum, we recommend Pivotal for tracking tasks and user stories for projects. It’s super simple and effective. Many will use Basecamp, which is also very good. I don’t want to list all the possible tools, but simply specify that if it is implemented and offered by the agency, it is preferable to use it. Here again, the goal is to centralize information and avoid losing track of it .
The final word
Basically, sometimes you just have to change a few habits to make communications more fluid. We all have a share of responsibility in the development of a project. Optimal communication will only improve the process and optimize our productivity. A project delivered BEFORE the deadline always makes people happy.