Agencies, like Genuine – are commonly asked by their clients about how best to use and enhance their internal creative and UX teams. This conversation usually happens when it’s the client’s turn to take over the work. Last year, I helped a large financial services client transition their print production team into a full services creative team with digital understanding at its core. This particular team planning process was different from when I’ve previously built teams within external agencies. Based on client experience and feedback, I’ve identified 7 key points you should understand to achieve success when creating an internal agency of your own.
1: Have a good answer for the “Why” question.
When executives start thinking about “bringing it in” the first question they should ask themselves is “Why do I want to expand or create an internal agency team?” The desire to “bring it in” might come from the need to save costs, have more internal visibility, or include more subject matter expertise. Consider that these reasons may or may not be resolved by your organization doing the work themselves. These reasons can usually be solved by having open and transparent conversations with existing partners around the issues you’re experiencing with the relationship. If you still move forward with your decision, answering the “Why” question will guide the direction of your team. If the transition starts getting bumpy, you can guarantee it’s the first question people will ask you.
2: Identify what your future team will, and won’t do.
Internal agency services can span video, print, user experience, visual design, conception, production, direction, etc. Take an inventory of the type of services you currently provide and identify the type of work you want to deliver in the future. You can start by logging the type and size of the projects your team is currently executing and have walked away from in the past. Logging will help identify the gap your team has in service capability, and where you need to restructure to better meet your future needs.
3: Once you’ve decided on your team’s services – make sure you do them well.
You’ve already figured out what services your creative team should provide. Say, for example, that your team currently handles all the copy writing and editing. And though you want to expand into video production and print design, you can’t quite execute at the level of a specialty agency right away. This is primarily because, you might not have the on-staff skills and experience. You should be aware that your internal agency’s clients will be comparing your team against external agencies. So, to prove your team’s value, you’ll need to deliver at their level and ideally better. You’ll not only need to provide tools and equipment, but, you’ll also need to assess every teammate on their level of expertise in these new service areas. You’ll also want to know where the team needs training and if a new hire might be the best solution.
4: Understand that people are at the heart of successful organizational change.
Once there’s an organizational change discussion, people get concerned about their future. In your company, you’ll need to:
- Build trust in your team’s new capabilities.
- Have open conversation about what the transition means for your current teammates.
- Use this input to map teammates to the new team structure.
- Have individual conversations about potential transitions, their level of interest, and concerns.
- Highlight opportunities for training and professional development.
- Connect team member roles with the future vision of the services organization.
- Evangelize value and services the team will bring to the company
5: Understand that without the right culture you won’t have the right people.
External agencies have cultures that foster capability best practices, creative thinking, and exploration. Culture is essential to gaining credibility within the organization, recruiting new members, and retaining teammates. Creative culture doesn’t just happen because you’ve hired some creatives. You need to build it. Culture building can take the shape of connecting your team with external organizations like ixda.org or Aiga.org. You can also help grow culture through events like lunch and learns, reviews of aspiration work, and supporting team social activities that build internal comradery.
6: Measure performance and get feedback.
As someone invested in your team’s success, you should know how it’s solving the “Why” question. You, and the new agency team, will need feedback you can use to improve. You’ll also want to report back to the larger organization. This is especially true when it come to the success your team has had with the company’s investment of time and resources. Just remember that there are many ways to measure success. For example, create a post-project survey for internal agencies’ clients, which could ask them to provide a mix of quantitative and qualitative feedback. Topics should include the team’s ability to deliver on client’s goals, level of guidance, and the quality of work. Another way to measure success is to look at the metrics associated with your decision to bring work internal. If the reason was driven by cost, you can compare similar external and internal project costs as indicators, but not the sole ones, of the value your team is providing.
7: You still probably won’t be able to do it all yourself.
The Creative Services Industry Report highlights that 75% of internal agencies teams still partner with external agencies. Sometimes you need to acknowledge when your team isn’t the right team to do the work. Simple reasons can drive your team to work with partners. A reason can be the need to deliver faster or scale you your team in multiple locations at once. You’ll need external agencies to pick up the work that your team won’t be able to, or shouldn’t touch. When your team is still growing, you will continue to have gaps in skill and experience until you’re fully staffed. You’ll want to look for partners that can help support your team’s limitations.
Even though you might want to take everything internal, you may still need partner support. Successful internal agencies come together as a result of defining clear goals and careful planning. Teams usually fall apart by thinking all you need to hire is talented creatives. Hopefully, by following my suggestions, you’ll be able to bring together an internally loved and externally recognized team of your own.