How To Create Bulletproof Agency Workflows
Why do we even create these?
If you ask me the one thing that will make or break an agency when it’s scaling, it’d definitely be workflows.
Without workflows for every critical phase of your operations, you cannot measure or sustain quality as you scale.
Therefore, you’ll be in firefighting mode 24/7, rather than being proactive about systematic growth and operations.
1. Define & Prioritize Core Processes/Deliverables First
Identify your recurring services and key agency operations (e.g., client onboarding, project delivery, campaign management).
Prioritize the processes that are critical to client success and agency profitability.
I’m going to be using the “Blog Post” deliverable for the example.
P.S: Here’s another newsletter edition that I wrote talking about prioritization in detail.
2. Map Out the High-Level Stages For Each Deliverable
Break down each deliverable/process into clear phases/stages (e.g., Discovery → Strategy → Execution → Reporting).
This should provide you a starting point for documenting your workflows moving forward.
3. Break Each Deliverable Into Step-By-Step Tasks
After you have a rough idea of the phases/stages for each deliverable, now it’s time to break them down into actionable steps.
Make a copy from this template: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NWEBPw3Hu1E389xCthjEWauv_3DoSfzI6e6COiyW-eo/edit?usp=sharing
Then, using the template, break your deliverables down into actionable steps (tasks).
These are going to be every step to complete that deliverable successfully.
The following rules should be followed for every task:
The task must only have one assignee (if still multiple people, break it down)
The task must have a “role” rather than a specific person (people come and go into the agency, but roles stay forever)
The task must be completable under 4 hours (if more, break the task down)
If you have revisions that you conduct while completing these deliverables, you should implement those into your workflows as well. (see the image below for example.)
An example blog post deliverable in action
4. Fill Out The Time Estimates & Roles For Your Tasks
Fill out the estimated time required to complete each task.
Remember to not go over 4h for the task.
It’s better to break tasks down into 15m-30m activities that people can do in one sitting.
Then fill out the roles for each task. (e.g., Copywriter, Strategist, Designer, Proofer etc.)
5. Fill Out The Rest Of The Workflow Details
Task Objective: Briefly explain the purpose or goal of the task so the assignee understands the "why."
Definition of Done: Describe what "finished" looks like for this task—what must be completed for it to be marked done.
Who is Notified After Completion: List the role(s) or person(s) who need to be informed once this task is completed.
Potential Bottlenecks: Identify risks or blockers that could delay or complicate the task.
Instructions: Provide clear how-to steps or additional context to help complete the task efficiently.
6. Link Any SOPs, Trainings or Additional Notes
To finalize your workflow, link out appropriate documentation/SOP and training resources to help with this workflow when it’s in action.
These can be G Docs, Notion Pages, Loom videos, or courses.
Congratulations.
By this point, if you’ve implemented our org chart strategy and mapped out all of your important workflows properly, you have surpassed 95% of the agencies operationally, and you’re ready to scale to the moon.
Keep on implementing.
How Can I Help
If you’d like to hear about how I could help you and your agency scale efficiently without additional headcount by implementing our Agency Operations System™, you can book a call with me here.
Let me know what you think!👋
I’m a real person & read every response. Is there anything you’ve wanted me to talk about that I haven’t covered already? Assuming it’s a valuable idea, I’ll make it a post, and record a YouTube video around it (and even tag you!)
No pressure ofc. Just like listening to my audience, and try to make these newsletters as useful as possible
Okay: thanks for reading, and I’ll talk to you soon.
-Egemen