Forecast x Evolved: Interview with Hayley Fell, Operations & Delivery Director
Forecast: Hi Hayley, thank you for joining us today. To start, can you tell us about Evolved and the work you do?
Hayley: Sure! Evolved is a specialist search and social marketing agency based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. We work largely within the automotive and home and garden space. We integrate with client teams, connecting the dots between disjointed channel strategies to move the needle when it comes to results.
Forecast: Perfect. Could you tell us a little bit about your role at Evolved?
Hayley: Of course, as a key member of the senior management team I’m responsible for directing, coordinating and driving the efficient performance of the delivery functions, supporting the growth and development of the agency. As Operations & Delivery Director, I oversee the on-going planning, coordination and delivery of agency output in line with growth goals and targets, whilst ensuring the effective provision of services to our Evolved client base.
Forecast: To start us off, can you tell us how your team's workflow has evolved when managing project delivery and service levels for clients?
Hayley: Absolutely. Over the last four to five years, we've made significant changes. Initially, we started with time tracking, which gave us a clear understanding of our service levels. For instance, we found that we were servicing a £3.5k client at £20k in one month. This insight led us to develop a Client Servicing Operating Model, which improved our control over client output and key agency metrics.
Forecast: That’s impressive! What specific challenges did you encounter during this evolution?
Hayley: One major challenge was managing the planned work progress and how fluctuations affected our service delivery and utilisation. We were using multiple tools throughout our process including time tracking software, task management software, a tool for reporting and Google sheets! This was extremely time-consuming and difficult to consolidate.
When I moved into a delivery-based role, I searched for a solution that could consolidate these tools and integrate with our processes, leading us to Forecast. Now, the level of insight we receive, in real-time, allows us to adapt quickly to changing requirements and also manage our clients and team’s time more effectively.
Forecast: How do you effectively allocate resources and scope project timelines in your service-based company?
Hayley: Our approach is quite fluid because we work on retainers rather than set projects, and each client's requirements are bespoke. Some clients want to work in a deliverable based way, whilst others prefer to be performance based. There were two main challenges around this, before using Forecast.
Firstly, we were never really able to consistently keep track of the time we were spending i.e. committing more time in one month and reducing others, but there was no way to track this centrally. Secondly, we didn’t have enough granular detail of how long certain deliverables were taking. Now, with Forecast, we have the ability to track and review timings of each piece of work. This means we can plan better and more efficiently, and naturally improve scoping, but also ensures we can manage the team's time effectively, adjusting planned hours where needed.
Another thing Forecast makes really easy for us to do is move resources around freely. Due to the way we work, hours can change for an individual on a client each month. So, once client planning is finalised each month, we can easily see in Forecast who has capacity to do the work required. It’s not a problem if one team member is overbooked, we can distribute the workload among peers or other teams.
Forecast: What are the key metrics that signify successful project delivery and client satisfaction for you?
Hayley: Since projects make up less than 5% of our revenue, we focus on retainer-based work. Our approach is largely based on channel performance, client relationship, and strategic thinking. Client satisfaction is very important to us and we measure this through direct communication with the client to ensure we understand their sentiment and how our performance is impacting the wider business.
From an operational standpoint, Forecast allows me to measure and monitor the more tangible metrics like planned servicing levels vs actual fulfilment, hourly rates and profitability through reports created, using the reporting functionality in the platform.
Forecast: Can you share any recent initiatives your team has implemented to enhance project profitability and cost management?
Hayley: Sure. We seconded a team member to the Operations team as an Operations Manager, which was a first for us. We centralised our operations function, allowing managers to focus more on client delivery and service development and account managers on relationships and sentiment.
We iterated and launched a new version of our client planning process. As we continue to adapt and utilise more of the platform, alongside new features launched by the Forecast team, we are constantly reviewing how we approach planning to improve accuracy and efficiency. Our newest iteration saw us plan client work up to 6 months in advance, with monthly check-ins. This reduced the amount of time and resources needed each month for planning.
Lastly, we set up new reports for better insight into client campaign servicing levels. Forecast drives so much of what we prioritise as our next area of focus. For example, we recently set up new reports, using the standard reporting features, that provide more insight around the progress of delivery each month for each client, as well as servicing levels for each client, across each channel.
Forecast: In your role, what types of insights or data do you find most valuable for informing strategic decisions and improving operational efficiency?
Hayley: Utilising data is crucial. I use Forecast reports to track planned and actual resource utilisation, which informs decisions on headcount and recruitment. I also monitor the pipeline of work for revenue and resource projections through Forecast’s integration with HubSpot. This allows me to easily identify when, due to our sales pipeline, we need to recruit and into which departments. Additionally, I keep an eye on profit per client to adjust our services and pricing strategies as needed.
Forecast: Great! Thank you for sharing your insights, Hayley. This has been very enlightening.
Hayley: My pleasure. Thank you for having me.
