2. Utilize prioritization techniques

MoSCoW

MoSCoW is a prioritization technique created by Dai Clegg, a software development expert. It involves sorting tasks into the following categories:

• Must Have: Non-negotiable project tasks. These need to be completed to finalize the project.
  

• Should Have: Important tasks that, while not vital, add significant value to the project.
  

• Could Have: Nice-to-have initiatives that won't have a big impact if they're left out.
  

• Won't Have: Tasks that aren't a priority for completing the project. Including tasks in this section is crucial for preventing scope creep.

Using MoSCoW is a great way to ensure your team focuses on the most vital tasks at any given time.

Eisenhower Matrix

The Eisenhower Matrix was named after Dwight D. Eisenhower. According to the Eisenhower Matrix, you should categorize tasks into four categories:

• Urgent and important: These are tasks that are crucial for completing a project. You need to tend to these as soon as possible.
  
  

• Not urgent, but important: Tasks in this category don't require your immediate attention. However, they're still important for moving a project forward. You need to schedule time to complete these tasks.
  
  

• Urgent, but not important: This category encompasses tasks that require prompt attention. However, they're not very important for the project itself. You can safely outsource these tasks if you don't have the capacity to handle them in-house.

• Neither urgent nor important: Is there a task on your to-do list that's neither urgent nor important? You should remove it from your team's to-do list altogether.

Note that tasks can move from one category to another depending on circumstances. That's why it's essential to revisit the matrix periodically and ensure it remains up to date. 

Explore these additional tips for managing multiple projects, along with productivity techniques to enhance your work efficiency.

3. Manage projects with a powerful project management tool

Project management software can solve many of the big challenges agencies deal with, including:

• Prioritizing work: Ensure employees are assigned to and working on the right tasks.
  
  

• Meeting deadlines: You can assign due dates for both projects and tasks to let team members know when their work is due. Some tools offer a project timeline feature, which enables you to view the project status quickly.
  
  

• Encourage team members to submit updates through daily stand-up meetings or recaps to automate status reports completely.

Making accurate project estimates: A good project management software also allows you to integrate with time tracking, so you can view the hours spent on a project and assign a budget accordingly. This can help you make accurate project estimates.

2. Only 47% of agencies consider their team productive

Only 47% of agency leaders consider their team productive on a consistent basis. While time tracking and project management tools have become standard, productivity stalls when teams lack a consistent cadence.

High-performing agencies scale with:

• Setting weekly billable hour targets

• Automating daily time submissions

• Using utilization reports to flag team overload before it leads to burnout

Pro Tip: Capture every billable hour with automation and clear SOPs. Agencies lose up to $51-$64,000 per employee annually due to untracked time.

When it comes to agencies with siloed global teams, it can be hard to understand what team members are doing throughout the day. This leaves managers in an awkward position, as they try to determine whether work is being done remotely.

Despite an increase in tools and automation, productivity remains uneven across agencies. 

According to survey responses in Hubstaff's AI Productivity Shift, agency leaders break down team productivity into these three categories:

• 45% of agency leaders say their teams are highly productive

• 39% report their teams are only somewhat productive

• 15% admit their teams are not productive at all

These numbers reflect a broader truth: tools alone don’t guarantee productivity. Without clear priorities, focus time, and an operational cadence, even the best-equipped teams fall short.

How to address this?

It's not the end of the world. There are some small adjustments you can make to your agency workflow and set your teams up for success.

1. Create clear process documentation

One of the best ways to boost productivity is to ensure that employees understand their priorities and the expectations for completing work. You can achieve this by creating step-by-step processes that incorporate input from your team.

Apart from saving time, this will also help to reduce the number of errors team members make.

Here's how to create clear process documentation:

• Define process scope. The first step is to write a concise description of the process scope. This can include items like purpose, start and end points, and key in and out-of-scope items.
  
  

• Explain boundaries. Every process in your agency needs to have a clear start and end point. Explain where your process starts and where it ends, and what might bring you into scope creep territory.
  
  

• Identify inputs and outputs. What resources are needed to complete the process? What's the end result or deliverable? Make sure to include this information in your process documentation.
  
  

• Outline all the steps. This is the most important part of any process document. Describe all the steps needed to complete the process.
  
  

• Name stakeholders and assign teams. Finally, name all the people involved in completing the process. Ensure that every step in the process is assigned to a specific person.

2. Help employees get better at managing their time

Another approach is to be more proactive and help employees better manage their time. You can share the following tips with them and start a discussion about how people prefer to work. Everyone in your agency may have their own productivity hacks to share.

• Use a time management system. Using a time management system can help your employees improve their time management skills almost instantly. Some systems you can recommend include Getting Things Done (GTD), the Pomodoro technique, task batching, and time blocking.
  
  

• Take regular breaks. Taking breaks is essential for maintaining concentration and preventing burnout. Encourage employees to take regular breaks throughout the day to reset and approach tasks with fresh eyes.
  
  

• Reduce distractions. Remote employees often face numerous distractions when working from home. Recommend that team members find a room or corner in their home that they can dedicate as a "workspace." Consider purchasing noise-canceling headphones for the entire team to help them stay focused while working from home.
  
  

• Making accurate project estimates. A good project management software also allows you to integrate with time tracking, so you can view the hours spent on a project and assign a budget accordingly. This, in turn, can help you make accurate project estimates.

All of my teams are productive because we function based on goals, rather than time spent at work. Meet your weekly goals and you’re good to go for the week, even if you’re done two days early.

Dmytro Okunyev, Founder at Chanty

3. Use proof of work software

Tools that provide productivity benchmarks can help you monitor your team's productivity and celebrate wins or improvements. Productivity software can help:

• Set a baseline so you can check-in when rates dip.

• Find out when team members are struggling with their workload.

• Discover bottlenecks in your team's workflow.

• Send virtual high fives for accomplishing a task that's due or improving productivity.

Every team member likely requires different feedback and motivation, so make sure to adjust your methods accordingly.

72% of agencies trust their outsourced staff

Here’s what one agency pro had to say about trust.

As I’m part of an agency specialized in IT outsourcing, I am all too familiar with having nothing but trust in our outsourced staff to deliver for our clients. I believe that agencies like ours can achieve this confidence in their staff by devoting time and resources to continue developing their skills and knowledge, as well as their collaborative processes. When you have a blend of timely, responsive, and easy to work with industry experts, you have a strong foundation to deliver the best results for your clients.

Shaun Kennedy, Copywriter & Social Media Strategist at Rootstrap

How agencies manage outsourced staff

Creating the ideal collaborative relationship takes a fair bit of planning. We wanted to identify the processes and tools that agencies use when working with outsourced staff. For many, project management and time tracking were at the top of the list.

51% of all respondents use project management software to manage outsourced staff. 45% use time tracking solutions.

However, not everyone defaults to software.

Over 14% of agencies said they don’t track projects or hours. Even more surprisingly, nearly 13% still use paper timesheets.

Generally, most agencies utilize project or time management tools to help meet deadlines and remain profitable. Those who don't track hours at all might include:

• Smaller agencies that are dedicated to one or a few clients, as it’s easier to keep track of work with fewer staff members.

• Agencies with retainers in place that are related to work output instead of hours

• A subset of agencies that have used timesheets in the past and found them challenging

• Agencies that operate with a different billing structure (i.e., monthly flat fees).

5. Agencies are spending up to 20 hours per month on payroll and invoicing

You may already be aware that payroll and invoicing are among the most time-consuming administrative tasks. A minor mistake can lead to a major loss. In fact, 49% of the payroll disputes stem from incorrect invoice information.

While 76% of agencies spend less than 7 hours per month on these tasks, some spend up to 20 hours. A small group of 2.2% spends over 20 hours per month.

That means that 37% of agencies spend nearly one day each month on payroll and invoicing.

That's a lot of time, especially when you could be spending those hours getting new clients and completing projects.

How can you save hours on payroll and invoicing?

It might come down to the process you have in place. For the 9% who manually calculate payroll and invoices from spreadsheets or templates, the answer might be billing or accounting software.

One positive trend to see is that:

• 32% of agencies use payroll or invoicing software

• That's a good way to minimize the hours spent on administrative work.

Look for more automation

67% of agencies agree that AI helps their teams move faster. To further expedite the process, consider automating the billing process with an integrated timesheet and payment system.

Alternatively, ensure that the tool you're using integrates with your project management software, time tracking tool, CRM platform, and other relevant systems. There are plenty of automation options to explore that can save you time and money in the long run.

This includes setting a separate bill and pay rate for each person, so when it's time to invoice, you have the amounts calculated. The same goes for sending payments. The amounts are ready to be calculated based on the hours worked and each person's hourly rate.