Long wait times, unhappy customers, disengaged agents, and high turnover: call center problems can have cascading effects that significantly impact your bottom line. Whether you manage a single call center or oversee several outsourced contact centers, finding the root cause or seeing the bigger picture isn’t always easy. In this article, we’ll cover 10 of the most common contact center issues and share actionable steps to resolve them.

Project management is important in all industries, but healthcare could benefit the most from a comprehensive strategy. As the healthcare industry continues to suffer from budgetary constraints and a talent drought, a healthcare project manager becomes the light in the dark. However, there are several healthcare project management challenges that stop managers from getting the most out of their projects.

Our regular webinar viewers will know we’ve been leaning into the topic of “time” for some time now. We’ve looked at how time impacts everything from an agency’s pricing strategy, to workplace culture, and everything in between. In this month’s webinar, we went back to basics to focus on what is possibly the biggest time-related challenge facing agency leaders today: getting staff to actually track their time in the first place!

In today’s blog we’ll be looking at the basics of kanban boards!

A decade ago, if you asked an agency owner how they managed their projects, the answer would have been one of two things: a whiteboard with sticky notes, or a complicated Excel spreadsheet. Today, thanks to technological advancements, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the project management space by offering agencies a more streamlined approach.

You can’t achieve any project’s full potential if you don’t have the right team, the right team management software, and the right processes in place! With team management software, you can create a system for every cog in your project machine and engage in real-time collaboration. With the right system in place, everyone understands their roles, their responsibilities, and their deliverables.

Whether your call center’s North Star metric is its customer satisfaction score (CSAT), net promoter score (NPS), or return on investment (ROI), you need a platform that can measure and optimize your efforts. Yet choosing the right solution is more challenging than it might seem.

The key to project management is time. When will X start? When will Y end? When is Z available? Project managers have to juggle many different tasks, resources, deliverables, and stakeholders. And like juggling, the trick is in the timing. That’s why all good project managers rely heavily on project management calendars. Project management calendars are more than just a collection of dates. They’re a roadmap. A glimpse into the future. A way to keep your entire project team on task.

According to SBO Financial and the rule of thirds, marketing agencies should be hitting around 30% net profit. But, as any agency owner will tell you, hitting this benchmark is harder than you might think. It involves forecasting, keeping a lid on project costs, managing billable hours, translating financial data, and countless other things. Proactive project financial management sets agencies on the right track to protect their bottom lines.

Hey there, welcome to the new normal! In our fast-paced, always-connected world, the traditional 9-to-5 office grind is quickly becoming a relic of the past. Enter the hybrid workforce, a dynamic blend of in-office and remote working revolutionizing how we think about work. Now, if you’re thinking, “Okay, that sounds cool… but how do I manage that?” don’t worry. We’ve got you covered.

You can't have an agency event without Teamwork.com, which is why we attended Mirren Live 2023 back in May. Among the inspiring conversations and new connections, we had the privilege of meeting Olivia McCormack, VP of Business Development at Tag and a loyal Teamwork.com user. In this customer Q&A, Olivia delves into her agency journey, sharing her passion for #agencylife and how essential Teamwork.com is for keeping Tag organized and efficient. Tag has been a Teamwork.com customer for 9 years!

Achieving and maintaining success in the world of advertising takes plenty of skill, cleverness, and hard work — and maybe a dash of luck. But once you reach some initial success and keep consistently onboarding new clients, you run into the complexities of growth. The processes that worked with a handful of clients aren’t working anymore, and suddenly, no one knows where anything is — or when it will be ready for the client.

Joy’s words hold true for aspiring assistant project managers. Becoming an A+ assistant project manager requires dedication, hard work, and a well-honed skill set. You need an understanding of the day-to-day tasks, project management best practices, and strategies to ensure successful outcomes. When everything is in sync — cost, time, and quality — there’s a great sense of accomplishment and pride that comes with being part of a successful project.

What’s the first thing that pops into your mind about remote work? Pajamas all day? Flexible hours? How about communication? Yeah, we thought so! As cool as the ‘work from home’ life sounds (and it is!), it’s not without its unique challenges – and communication is right up there at the top of the list. Don’t get us wrong, we’re all about that remote work life here at Time Doctor. But we also know that communication can make or break a remote team.

When it comes to designing your marketing agency’s website, it's important to put your best foot forward. Showcasing top-notch work helps potential clients see just what your agency is capable of — and what they might expect if they choose to work with you. Agencies that do a great job marketing themselves build instant trust and credibility. It's where you can show off your best work and tell your brand's story, and it's also where first impressions are made.

Whether you need to scale a call center team or reduce agent turnover, you want to onboard the best employees for the role. Asking the right call center interview questions is crucial for screening unqualified candidates and building capable teams. So, what questions should you ask, and what answers should you look for?

Many have seen the word. Far fewer could tell you what it really means (or how to pronounce it… hint: “con-bon”). Something to do with manufacturing? A tool for software developers? A style of project management? Try all of the above. Kanban is one of the most effective tools available for managing project-based work. Interested in Kanban but not sure where to begin? Let’s explore some real Kanban board examples and templates.

Hey there, leaders! Ever feel like you’re juggling a dozen balls at once, trying to keep everything in order? We’ve all been there. Whether your team is in-office, remote, or a hybrid mix, managing productivity and efficiency can sometimes feel like a full-time job itself. Here’s some good news: you don’t have to do it alone. Enter Time Doctor, your down-to-earth, dependable partner in productivity.

In today’s fast-paced business world, finding the right tool to streamline your organization’s processes is crucial. Whether you’re a seasoned project manager or a curious entrepreneur, we’ve got you covered. In this blog, we’ll explore 12 must-have features to look for in a PSA software. From service request management, to invoicing, and capacity planning, we’ll guide you towards making informed decisions.

Welcome to the era of data! If you’ve been paying any attention to the business world these days, you’ve likely noticed that data is having quite the moment. And it’s not just a fleeting trend, either. With businesses growing increasingly complex and competitive, making decisions on a whim or a hunch no longer cuts it. Enter the era of data-driven work culture.

Time and materials. Abstract time and materials. Flat fees. Value-based pricing. With such a dizzying array of pricing models available today, it can be tricky to know which one is right for your agency. If you’re feeling confused by it all, then read on. We recently brought together the brains of three pricing experts for our monthly webinar series – and we think you’ll be surprised (and even inspired) by what they had to say.

How do you create long-term relationships with clients? You want to provide enough value to keep clients coming back for more, but this is tough when you don't know if the client will stick around. That’s why many agencies use retainer agreements: to ensure reliable relationships and revenue. But (like everything else in the business world), retainer agreements come with both benefits and drawbacks.

Do you find yourself juggling multiple tasks and projects, feeling swamped, and not knowing where to start? Tight deadlines, looming tasks, and heavy workloads can be intimidating. They leave you overwhelmed and stuck, unable to figure out where to begin and ultimately derailing your productivity. But fret not! Prioritization is a powerful skill that will help you take control of your workflow and optimize productivity.

To lead a remote team successfully, you need a tech stack that lets you manage projects, communicate with employees, and deliver resources efficiently. If you’re relying on a mix of email, spreadsheets, and synchronous meetings, you’re probably: With the right remote work software, you can automate most team management tasks and work on leveling up your employees instead.

When you oversee large hybrid or remote teams, you need a reliable solution for monitoring and improving employee productivity. Yet you’ve likely found that most tracking tools fall short when it comes to enterprise-level needs, such as: In this guide, we’ll cover the best employee productivity tracking platforms for enterprise users so you can invest in the right software for your team and budget.

You see them on Instagram or Tik Tok, laptop perched on a table in a café overlooking the beach in some dream holiday destination. They usually caption it with something like “Today’s office” to make all their friends stuck in a dreary downtown cubicle jealous. They’re the digital nomads. Kids in their twenties living the dream, armed with just a laptop, a decent education, and a sense of adventure. Except they’re not in their 20s anymore.

Note: If you aren’t seeing Clients in your left-side navigation, not to worry! Click here to learn about how to enable it. When managing multiple clients and their projects, the last thing you need to worry about is manually cobbling together metrics across their projects just to get a sense of how things are going, or realizing you have a client directory with gaps and outdated information. Being the only platform built to run client work, we have just the fix for you!

Processes and systems are essential for growing an agency. They’re the scaffolding holding the structure in place. But too many agencies mistake scaffolding for structure, becoming overburdened with procedure at the expense of productivity, creativity and collaboration. Process should help agencies scale, not become a straitjacket that belabours daily tasks and prevents knowledge sharing.

Mention the word “timesheets” to someone who has worked at an agency and it’ll probably send shivers down their spine and have them running for the hills. It’ll conjure up memories of frantically going through emails and to-do lists on a Friday, and somehow making things add up to 40 hours for the week. We’ve all been there! For an industry so dependent on good time management for success, it can be difficult to explain why most agencies struggle to do it effectively.

In today’s globally connected economy very few businesses of a certain size restrict themselves to just a single country. In fact, even small ‘mom-and-pop’ businesses sell their products online all over the world. Employers of all kinds are tapping into talent and expertise from all around the world, and not just those with subsidiaries in multiple countries. Almost all businesses, organizations, and even governments are under pressure to reduce costs and do more with less.

Whether your organization aims to add flexibility to a traditional work model or require in-office time for remote workers, managing a hybrid workforce is a balancing act. If you’ve already started testing a hybrid model, you’ve probably run into issues like these: With careful planning and proactive problem-solving, you can design a hybrid approach that works for everyone. In this guide, discover 8 tips for successful hybrid workforce management.

Mark Sanborn once said: "Your success in life isn’t based on your ability to simply change. It is based on your ability to change faster than your competition, customers, and business." In the agency world, how you implement change is just as vital as the specific changes you make. It's a classic case of the journey being as important as the final destination.

Whether you’re building a remote-first business or you’re transitioning to a hybrid model, a work from home policy is crucial for setting expectations and establishing guidelines. Over the past decade, our fully remote team has grown to 100+ employees in 31+ countries. The Time Doctor team knows first-hand just how important it is to create a clear policy for both employees and managers.

If your organization plans to join the nearly 75% of businesses that offer a hybrid work model, take time to create comprehensive guidelines. With a hybrid work policy, you can avoid common issues with flexible work arrangements, including: Developing a policy that works for both management and employees doesn’t have to be difficult. In this article, you’ll find everything you need to get started, including a hybrid work policy template and suggestions for what to include.

Almost 30 years ago, Bill Gates made the famous proclamation that "content is king." A lot's changed since the days of dial-up internet and web pages that look like a freshman web developer's end-of-semester project. But when it comes to digital marketing, it's still “long live the king!” That's why 70% of marketers state that content marketing is a key pillar of their overall marketing strategy.

Hiring a remote team has many advantages, from increased flexibility to decreased capital expenses. Yet remote work environments also have several downsides that, if left unchecked, can seriously compromise performance and even reduce retention rates. After 10+ years of working remotely—starting long before working from home became the norm—the Time Doctor team knows all the ups and downs of this work model.

How hard have you worked to make your digital marketing agency a success? You probably need a nap now just thinking about it. But don’t shut your eyes yet, because we need to talk about digital marketing contracts — a key element of agency success. No matter how hard you work, a weak marketing services agreement can tank your efforts, erode your profit margins, and even threaten your agency’s long-term viability.