“How can I help our Traffic Manager?”
Jan|4|2009
In order for a Traffic Manager to be successful, he (or she) must be the focal point of all work flowing through the agency. There must also be strong support from upper management and other departments. Picture a stagecoach wagon wheel without spokes — sort of useless.
Following is a brief outline of typical departmental responsibilities, as related to traffic. I say, “typical” because every agency is different. More often than not, a single employee wears multiple hats. If you’re that person, you may have a couple of paragraphs to consider!
Accounting
To ensure the accurate billing of all job costs; accomplished through open communication with the Traffic Manager
Account Service
To establish project objectives and obtain background information through Client contact (e.g. budgetary limitations, special requirements, due dates, etc.); provided to the Traffic Manager via face-to-face communication, Client Contact Reports, Change Orders, etc.
Creative
To develop an idea, concept or solution in the most time-efficient manner; accomplished by working closely with the media and/or print buyer and Traffic Manager
Media
To provide accurate scheduling, spec, material, and delivery information in the timeliest manner possible; accomplished via the careful monitoring of scheduling changes due to Vendor timing, fielding of materials inquiries by outside vendors and contact with the Creative Director
New Media
To develop a web-specific idea, concept or solution in the most time-efficient manner; accomplished by working closely with the media buyer and Traffic Manager
Office Administrator
To aid in the maintenance of a job filing system and, in times of excess workload, to aid traffic in the creation of Job Numbers and routing of materials for internal sign-off
Print Buyer
To provide accurate scheduling, spec, material, and delivery information in the timeliest manner possible; accomplished via the careful monitoring of scheduling changes due to Vendor timing, fielding of materials inquiries by outside vendors and contact with the Creative Director
“Yes, Christopher, the world IS flat.”
Dec|10|2008
Ok, maybe not in the literal sense, but figuratively. It’s shrinking, too.
In his 2004 bestseller, “The World is Flat,” Thomas Friedman explores the convergence of technology and events that have enabled countries around the globe to compete in the same marketplace. This blurring of geographic lines becomes more evident to me daily.
In my current position as CCO (Chief Customer Officer) of a web-based software company (Developware), I support Traffic Managers in, predominantly, the United States. Additionally, each new web site inquiry crosses my desk at some point in the process.
[It’s the Traffic Manager in me. I have to know everything that’s going on.]
In the past month, Developware has received inquiries from Canada, Poland, Iran, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey, India, Angola, and Malaysia. Though separated (somewhat) by language, the creative agencies of these, and other, countries share a common desire –- to better manage their workflow. They, too, want to instantly know the status of their projects, to carefully monitor budgets and to quickly gain client approval.
Isn’t it amazing to think that a Traffic Manager, not unlike yourself, is moving at warp-speed to push a project through the pipeline; reviewing an employee’s Time Sheet to make sure everything was entered correctly; fielding requests for, “just one more day” to work on the layout?
The Creative Brief, however, is written in Arabic.
The budget is displayed in Medicals, not dollars.
The client meeting is “in the city” — Istanbul, to be exact.
There are only three radio stations — in the country — to air the spot.
The copy reads from right to left.
The world really is one big, flat marketplace. We’re ALL trying not to fall of the edge.
“To bill or not to bill? That is the question.”
Nov|7|2008
The primary goal of the Traffic Department is to increase agency efficiency. Its Manager must effectively monitor jobs, improve communication and ensure workflow consistency.
As Sandra Claudio, former Traffic Manager at Adler Boschetto Peebles & Partners and contributor to “Careers in Advertising” by Eva Lederman summarizes, “Our job is to make sure that everyone else does their job, whether we have to plead, prod, coddle, or cajole them.”
Can a dollar value be tied to these (and other) traffic functions?
Over the past several years, I’ve heard arguments both for and against billing a Traffic Manager’s time.
For obvious reasons, not every task you accomplish can be recorded (and billed) –- two minutes opening a job, ten minutes proofreading, four minutes running between departments. You’d go insane capturing the increments and the Client would have a heart attack upon seeing the bill. You have to use your best judgment.
When I was a Traffic Manager, I opened a catchall job on the first day of each month (e.g. “November In-House Charges”). Over the course of that month, I recorded time against a non-billable Work Code (e.g. TM (Traffic Management) @ $0/hr.).
On any given day, I might have five hours of TM, along with an hour of PROOF (Proofreading @ $50/hr.), against Job Number 00-ABC123, and two hours of ADMIN @ $75/hr. (e.g. an administrative function like on-line research), against Job Number 11-DEF456. Time spent working against actual jobs was always recorded and, if possible, billed to the Client. Time spent “trafficking” was simply considered agency overhead.
Another benefit of recording my time was that management could view a report at year’s end, for example, and determine whether a second Traffic Manager was needed; a lot of proofreading hours might indicate a full-time reader was needed; and so on.
Regardless of whether the cost of traffic is passed along to the Client, you should certainly record your time throughout the day. Think of it as “justifying your existence” (as though you even need to!).
Traffic rules to live by
Oct|28|2008
1. Know your “power.” As Traffic Manager, you have the power to move deadlines. If you know there’s padding in a job’s timeline, move the deadline and let everyone involved know you did so.
2. Find Tasks that can be completed simultaneously. Don’t get caught in a linear rut. The more Tasks executed simultaneously, the shorter the job’s lifecycle.
3. Find out what employees need. It’s your job to ensure employees have the information they need to complete Tasks, not to simply hold them accountable when they aren’t finished on time.
4. Understand employees don’t “want” to miss deadlines. No one wakes up and thinks, “I’m going to miss three deadlines today and feel good about it.” Missed deadlines happen for a reason. It’s your job to ensure they don’t.
5. Be proactive, not reactive. When you become reactive to missed deadlines, rather than proactive in avoiding them, you become part of the problem… not the solution. Plot the workflow course.
6. Don’t play “gotcha.” It makes employees feel bad and, ultimately, can lead to decreased productivity. You’ll get a lot more done by being a partner, and sharing responsibility, than you will by being a hall monitor.
7. Let employees know you see them as people, not machines. Happy employees are productive. Establish connections with employees rather than constantly asking if they’ve gotten their work done.
More flies with honey than vinegar.
Sep|13|2008
Have you ever heard the saying, “You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar?”
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy interprets the adage as meaning, “You can win people to your side more easily by gentle persuasion and flattery than by hostile confrontation.”
This is, in my opinion, a fundamental traffic principle.
Traffic isn’t just about deadlines and project specs, it’s much more. It’s about building relationships with the people involved in the “process” of traffic; getting to know the folks you’re asking to stay late, to fit just one more ad revision into their day, to load the artwork on disk “really quickly…”
When I was a Traffic Manager, I made it a point to know what was going on in my peers’ lives. My art director was reading a good book – I asked him about it. My proofreader was due to have her second child – I chatted about baby names and nursery themes. My account executive was feeling the pressure of managing several large clients – I bought flowers to brighten her desk.
At another agency I “trafficked,” I introduced a “prize closet.” If my account executive put his meeting notes in the system right away, I sent an e-mail to the entire team praising him. And, he “won” a bag of candy. The creative director of the agency even gave me a monthly prize budget ($25). Over the course of the month, I’d pick up items here and there with each employee in mind – a cool pen set, notebook, toy, or vase.
Another means of gathering traffic prizes stemmed from our client base – a hip new bowling ball used in a photo shoot, gift cards for food items, etc. I even used certificates we’d designed in-house.
As a Traffic Manager, you’re in a very unique position. You’re, dare I say, the honey that holds the hive together!