There are so many moving parts when it comes to PR. Especially in agencies where you’re juggling multiple clients, several departments are needed to keep everything afloat, and everyone plays a role in delivering great results. A vital department at Next PR is our operations team. Many functions of operations are behind the scenes, but the sum of everyone’s efforts means greater results for clients. Here are a few reasons why having an operations team is so important to PR agency life.
Manages All Agency Processes
From creating CoverageBooks to overseeing vendor management, the operations team organizes all internal systems. The team manages the agency tools used by PR pros to prove ROI to clients, including data measurement and media placement tracking. Think of an operations team as the grease on the wheels that keeps the train moving smoothly.
An operations team is also a great resource to consult to explore where improvements can be made as agency needs change and evolve. For example, we updated our legacy system for tracking client media placements because we needed a quick and simple way to see which pieces of coverage were secured by specific members of the team. The operations team was pivotal in researching a new tool that delivered better reporting for the agency.
Provides Checks and Balances
Another great function of an operations team is the level of accountability and cohesiveness it provides. At Next PR, it’s practice that all client proposals and end-of-quarter recaps and plans go through an internal review process. This ensures multiple strategists at the agency have eyes and approval on client-facing documents. Not only is this a helpful method for delivering thorough documentation and reporting, but it also challenges teams to think outside the box strategically with varying team perspectives. Ultimately, an organized review process provides quality control for the work we’re delivering to our clients, keeps team members accountable and allows our team to learn and grow from one another.
Plans for the Fun Events
Let’s face it, PR is a tough gig. That’s why we take our fun outings just as seriously as our account work. Our operations team helps plan everything from the annual holiday party to sending quarterly swag and gifts to every team member. Having a dedicated department that’s familiar with vendors, budgets, venues and more helps execute every event smoothly and efficiently for maximum team fun!
Whether it’s managing a process or booking your next company outing, an operations team touches almost every facet of agency life. This team may be behind the scenes, but it’s essential to delivering great results for clients.
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