You're facing a client's last-minute content change request. Can you ensure a smooth approval process?

Assess Urgency: Start by evaluating the urgency of the client's request. Determine whether it involves critical changes that impact the core message or compliance issues, or if it's a minor adjustment. Understanding the level of urgency helps you prioritize tasks effectively and communicate the necessary changes to your team. Ensure that all team members are updated about new deadlines and requirements. If needed, adjust the project timeline to accommodate the changes while maintaining the quality of the content. This approach ensures that urgent requests are handled promptly without disrupting the overall project flow.

You should immediately recognize the last-minute content change, explain the details to minimize misconceptions and analyze the impact on the timetable. Communicate the adjustments to your team, alter the timeline as appropriate, and implement the changes quickly to meet the client's expectations.

When a client comes to me with last-minute content change requests, I know it’s important to stay calm and focused. I always start by acknowledging their concerns and letting them know I’m here to help. I make sure to ask specific questions to understand exactly what changes they need, and I clarify any details to avoid misunderstandings. Once I have all the information, I quickly assess the time and resources needed to implement the changes and provide a realistic timeline. Throughout the process, I keep the client updated, letting them know how things are progressing and when they can expect the final version. By staying communicative and flexible, I ensure the changes are made smoothly and the content is approved.

It behooves you to have a proper (and complete) process in place for dealing with revisions. This should include everything from recording objections, to working on them, to getting the approval, to final delivery / publishing. This will save you from so many headaches and hassles. Just do it.

Highly recommend having a single dedicated person to perform the QA actions in your content project (even if it is you, the project or team leader). Bigger projects may even need a whole team for QA. You need someone, trusted, to be the "final pair of eyes" who provides the ultimate "pass/not pass" decision. When deadlines approach and things get tight, this role will save the rest of the project team from a lot of unwanted heat and unfair attention. By having a dedicated role for QA, this makes it easier to focus attention on specific bottlenecks that may occur along the project lifecycle. This is because separating production from approval, makes it easier to identity where the blockers are occurring.