When account handling manage project delivery...
Melissa Smith
We elevate the potential of creative agencies & direct brands with end-to-end talent solutions | 100% Employee Owned | Recruitment & Training | Founder & Managing Director of The Industry Club & The Industry School
What happens when Account Execs and Account Managers are not - or have ever been - actual Project Managers, yet are responsible for project delivery?
This isn’t a hypothetical question. More and more businesses are merging the role of project management and account management together, asking existing personnel to take on additional responsibilities and tasks that have previously been done by a specialist.
It can’t be easy. Account management and project management are distinct skills. However well you combine (or juggle) them.
Individually, the Account Manager and Project Manager roles are wide-ranging enough. Performed by one person, the remit is a real challenge. It doesn’t play to any individual’s core strengths and ultimately, it can get to the point where both client service and project delivery suffer.
Account Managers obsess first and foremost over the quality of their client relationships, ideally leaving the quality of the work they hand over in the equally obsessive hands of a Project Manager. They’re at their best when they’re building goodwill unhindered by the nitty gritty of scope creep, invoice queries and other stuff that can affect a smooth agency/client dynamic.
So, if you want your account management team to be responsible for project delivery, the way forward is to get them properly trained for the demands of the project management role.
More and more Account Managers are joining us on our Project Management Workshop. They come to learn about the key principles of project management, discover how a structured framework makes the role more manageable and how important building internal relationships is to a successful project. They leave feeling confident and empowered to take greater responsibility for project management, thanks to a greater understanding of how to effectively plan and deliver projects.
But the best part? By training your Account Managers and Executives in project management, you’ll be equipping them to provide greater support to the senior team.
This in turn will free them up to focus on building client relationships and winning new business.
A win win situation.
Our next Project Management training Workshop is on 13th November in central London.
Book here or get in touch to find out more.
Don't take our word for it...
The session was really engaging and I genuinely now feel more equipped to use the content from the session as frameworks for my client’s brand ongoing.
Took so much from it, and have already implemented a suggested WOW in the team. Melissa was just brilliant!
Lisa Kelso, Account Manager, ICP London
#projectmanagement #creativeops #training
Head Of Digital at Earnest, award winning B2B agency in London and New York
6 年Interesting... but you could argue it’s easier to teach PMs to keep clients happy just by being their efficient quality obsessed selves, than it is to teach AMs to get into the detail?