By Louise Romeo, Chief Operating Officer at Starcom Australia
In today’s fast-moving and unpredictable landscape, media agencies are faced with a crucial question: Are we cultivating an agile workforce that can thrive amidst constant change?
Overly rigid organisation design and structures now risk becoming relics of a bygone era. It’s time we reassess our approach to agility, not as just a buzzword, but as a transformative force integral to every aspect of our operations.
In an age where speed is the ultimate determinant of success, sticking to legacy structures and inflexible frameworks can stifle our ability to respond to shifts in the market. We must ask ourselves: How do we embed agility into the fabric of our agency’s everyday culture and operations to ensure we remain focused on outcome-based deliverables?
Louise Romeo
The Need for Continuous Innovation
At the heart of this challenge is the need for consistent innovation. Agencies are rich with established norms and principles built into our operating rhythm – such as strict service level agreements with lengthy timelines. But as customers, categories, and our client’s businesses evolve, these very methodologies can become cumbersome barriers to an effective partnership.
Establishing a culture where high performance, autonomous decision-making, and swift delivery are expected standards is key. More and more we must focus on transcending the limitations of traditional service level agreements, instead building an environment where our teams are motivated by agile principles which emphasise a rapid and iterative progress.
Being an agile organisation is about the ability to adapt to new market requirements quickly, underlined by one key factor – being customer-centric at the heart.
Perspective to Drive Greater Impact
True impact comes not from executing perfect internal processes, but from consistently making a positive difference for our clients by striving for excellence. It is about being an adaptive, flexible and a cohesive team.
Agencies can be fixated on these internal processes, becoming distracted from their ability to drive transformation. However, the essence of an agile culture is to keep the focus on the client’s evolving needs and adapt internal practices to meet those needs effectively.
Having talent with diverse skillsets collaborating on projects enhances problem-solving and fits in with clients’ way of working. This flexibility to quickly adjust to changing task requirements and market conditions, such as omnichannel and the growth of retail media, through modifying our approach increases productivity.
Overhauling Technology for Everyday Progress
Technology drives progression. Revisiting an agency’s operating model requires a reassessment of our technological infrastructure to evaluate its ability to enhance speed, accuracy, and flexibility in delivering solutions. Agile workplaces excel in utilising next generation technologies to tailor products and services to client needs, while anticipating the future demands that will shape the industry.
Such workplaces go beyond extensive automation, prioritising real-time insights and minimising reliance on long-standing workflows. This includes leveraging the latest developments in AI to always be ahead of the curve, starting small in its integration and then letting the adoption and expansion spread.
While the pressures of daily operations are real, they should not blind us to future opportunities. Building a culture of strategic foresight involves appointing leaders who foster continuous learning and innovation by creating transformational roadmaps that guide us towards new avenues for growth.
Embracing agility may be challenging, but it is essential for long-term success. By integrating agility into our core practices, we set ourselves on a path toward sustainable growth and resilience in an ever-evolving industry.