Increasing client expectations, burnout, and profitability are the biggest pressure points
NEW YORK, Sept 18, 2023 – Teamwork.com, the all-in-one operations and project management platform for client work, has surveyed 512 agency leaders globally to uncover how they are adapting to the biggest operational challenges facing the industry.
The results, which have been published in the Teamwork.com State of Agency Operations Report, reveal a host of external and internal pressures impacting agency growth, ranging from spiralling client demands, to burnout, problems with time and resource management, and technology woes.
The leaders surveyed come from agencies of all types and sizes, ranging from those with fewer than 10 to over 3,000 employees, and from creative to social media and web development agencies.
Challenges and client expectations are at an all-time high
Teamwork.com found that over half (56%) of agencies strongly agree that they wish it was easier to reduce the stresses facing agencies today, with clients’ ever-increasing expectations currently the highest pressure point (44%). More than a quarter (27%) of leaders feel the challenges that their agency faces are out of their control.
Burnout proved to be one of the main impacts of these external pressures, demonstrated by the fact one-quarter (26%) of agencies lost more than 10% of their staff in the first half of 2023.
Over half (57%) believe their agency could do a better job of assessing employee bandwidth, and an additional 28% agreed strongly that they feel burnt out, suggesting that further support could be beneficial in supporting their team’s well-being.
Not enough hours in the day
Time and resource management has long been an issue for agencies, with the trend continuing in 2023. One-third of agencies admitted to struggling to keep client projects on time and budget during the usual nine to five. Only 18% are currently hitting their targets for billable vs. billable time.
This is mirrored in agency leaders’ views on profitability, with 38% confessing to over-servicing clients and close to half (42%) confessing they aren’t confident they will increase profitability in the next 12 months.
“With this annual report, we aim to arm agency owners with a crucial resource to inform and help them identify what’s working, and what’s not, and make the changes needed to keep their business profitable, teams efficient and clients happy and coming back for more year after year!” says Peter Coppinger, Co-Founder and CEO, Teamwork.com.
Agencies need a tech stack built specifically for them
Teamwork.com’s survey also investigates tech stacks that agencies are using and whether they contributed to a smooth and successful operation. The results reveal that over a third (37%) want to reduce the number of tools they use. Worryingly, only 40% of agency leaders believe their vendor truly understood the needs of their agency, and as few as a quarter (27%) would recommend their current software.
With Artificial Intelligence on the rise, 50% of agencies believe that it is the future and are always looking at ways to implement the technology in their workflows.
“Running an agency has never been easy and this year hasn’t been any easier, from a potential recession, ongoing inflation, and increased competition from clients and talent. Our research shows that agencies from all over and of various sizes have work to do operationally, and a lot of it comes down to being overwhelmed and stuck with technology that isn’t helping them succeed – and it should be,” continues Peter.’
Visit Teamwork.com’s Resource Center to download the full report for free.
About Teamwork.com
Teamwork.com is the only platform with best-in-class client operations combined with easy-to-use project management that teams love. Deliver work on time and on budget, eliminate client chaos, and understand profitability, all in one platform.
Headquartered in Cork, Ireland with additional hubs in Belfast, Toronto, New York, Amsterdam, and Barcelona, Teamwork.com has a global workforce of over 350 employees and services over 20,000 customers.
