Case Study - team performance

Challenge

One of the largest accounts in the office was a global client. A flagship client for the company, the relationship at a local level was troubled. There had been complaints about quality and staffing, the client was challenging, the work was tactical, the account was over-serviced and the team was demotivated. I was tasked with turning the account around.


Response

As a globally mandated relationship, local client contacts felt they had no choice but to work with the agency. Step one was to interview them all to identify the issues and a corrective action plan was agreed. The account was then restructured into smaller teams with individual ownership of PR plans. Respected account managers were given a platform to build direct relationships with the client. A regular discussion of service levels was instigated with the client bringing more performance issues to the fore. Training on tactical issues was set up – notably writing skills and campaign planning. As the over-service levels were addressed so the teams were set targets to drive additional project revenue.


Result

The client had originally expressed significant reservations about the team’s performance. At the first corrective action plan review meeting they agreed they had changed their view. Over-service levels went from 300% at the beginning of the three month project to between 10-20%.