Small agency owners often require employees to be flexible and wear many different hats during the day. Most are quick to acknowledge that they take on various roles and responsibilities, many of which are quite different from their job description. 

Yet, it’s vitally important to have clearly defined roles. Employees with clearly defined roles are also more satisfied. 

According to one study, employees with greater role clarity are 83% more productive than those whose roles are more ambiguous. The same study also confirms that overall work performance increases by up to 25% due to role clarity. 

In this post, we are going to look at the differences between roles and responsibilities, and why it’s so important to draw a line between the two. 

What are Job Roles? 

Every individual within an organization takes on a role, usually forming part of a team. Some common examples of roles include product managers, designers, and developers. 

During the early stages of a company, most people usually perform several roles. For instance, a product manager might also be involved in the development, which means they have two roles. 

What are Job Responsibilities?

Each role comes with a set of duties and responsibilities that must be filled. Responsibilities are the tasks that employees have to perform to fulfill their roles effectively. 

For instance, the responsibilities of a product designer might be as follows:

• Review project requirements
• Create wireframes and product mockups
• Gather feedback from stakeholders
• Revise the designs

Every person within an organization plays a role in keeping things running smoothly, from the interns to the chief executives. And to do this effectively, they must fulfill their responsibilities and deliver on what’s expected of them.

The Many Benefits of Clearly Defining Job Roles and Responsibilities

Maintaining a clear distinction between job roles and responsibilities offers a variety of benefits to businesses. Here are just some of the biggest advantages.  

Attract and Retain Top Talent

When you interview a potential candidate for a role, they will generally expect some clarity on the work they’re required to do. It doesn’t paint a good impression if you’re unable to explicitly define their responsibilities and the role they’re supposed to perform. 

Defining responsibilities clearly for each role is also a good way to be transparent with your expectations from new hires. It provides potential candidates with a clear understanding of how they can contribute to achieving the company’s overarching goals. 

This also helps retain your top performers. Employees are generally more willing to stay when they have clear expectations about their role and have a clearly defined growth path. 

Managing Employee Transitions

Clearly defining roles and responsibilities also makes it easier to manage employee transitions. When staff moves to other roles within the organization, or when you hire new employees, it’s always easier to get them up to speed and explain the demands of a new role if you have everything documented.

Reduce Cost Inefficiencies

Cost inefficiencies are quite common in organizations with ambiguous roles and responsibilities. It often leads to conflict, especially if two individuals believe that they have similar responsibilities. 

The organization ends up spending a significant amount of both time and money in eliminating redundancies and attempting to reduce the drain on their human resources. 

By having clearly defined roles and responsibilities, each member will know what they have to do, or who might be responsible for specific tasks. 

This also helps improve productivity by a significant margin, as team members don’t have to worry about guessing their daily responsibilities. They know their tasks for the day and will remain accountable for their work.

Define Your Company’s Objective

The tasks performed by your employees on a daily basis help the company get one step closer to achieving its goals. 

When setting individual targets for each role, you’ll know just how they contribute to achieving the company’s objectives. For example, if your target is to drive more traffic to your site, you can set individual KPIs for each member of the marketing team. 

Each employee will then work towards achieving those objectives, from creating new content to running paid ads. The sum of all their effort will eventually help the company achieve its objectives. 

You will then have a greater understanding of whether each role in the organization is firmly aligned with the long-term vision of the company.

Create Meaningful Relationships at Work

When everyone knows about each other’s tasks and responsibilities, it’s much easier for them to approach one another.

This also ensures that people don’t have to sit around guessing who has to complete certain tasks, which can undoubtedly lead to friction between team members.

In most cases, this leads to a serious decrease in productivity and team performance. It also impacts the overall atmosphere in the company. 

But, when roles are clearly defined and each member knows who to approach, everything works like a well-oiled machine.

Employees know who to approach for certain tasks, who is responsible for certain things, and more importantly, how to play to each other’s strengths. 

Team roles are generally flexible, so if one member feels that they can do a particular task better, they can easily swap it out with another member. All of this translates into better performance and improved quality of work. 

The Importance of Employee Feedback

An excellent way to develop more meaningful relationships and encourage communication in the workplace is to regularly ask for feedback from your employees about their roles and responsibilities.

This is a great way to get ahead of any potential issues that might arise, such as bottlenecks, their desire to grow, or perhaps quit the organization. It’ll put you in a good position to take steps and improve the work experience for your employees. 

The Agency Founder Trap: Why Unclear Roles Turn Builders Into Full-Time Project Managers

In web and digital agencies, the line between roles and responsibilities collapses faster than anywhere else. Founders start agencies because they are exceptional designers, developers, or strategists. But as client volume grows and team boundaries remain loose, a familiar operational trap takes over: the founder becomes the default project manager, lead account executive, QA inspector, and fire-fighter all at once.

When responsibilities are not tied strictly to bounded workflows, tasks fall through the cracks between team handoffs. The founder steps in to triage bug reports, chase client feedback across scattered email threads, and re-assign tickets manually. Instead of building high-value systems or growing the business, top technical talent spends hours every day coordinating work across an unorganized pipeline.

Fixing this dynamic requires more than a static RACI matrix. High-performing agencies scale by delegating discrete operational responsibilities to autonomous execution layers. By centralizing collaborative reviews in a shared task management workspace and deploying specialized AI agents to handle routine triage, automated audits, and client handoffs, founders restore their operational boundaries. Clear roles define ownership; intelligent workflows eliminate the manual overhead of enforcing them across your agency operations.

Stop letting unassigned agency roles drain your billable hours. Plug autonomous specialists into your agency to handle QA, client communication, and SEO instantly. Try Atarim Free →

How to Define Roles and Responsibilities

There are several roles within an organization. Each of these contributes to the smooth operations and the success of the business. 

However, you can’t just create a role out of thin air. Well, you can, but you’d have to provide a comprehensive definition for it. Here’s how to define roles within your organization, and the responsibilities for each.

Identify the Core Function

The first step is to identify the core function of that role. This is important as it’ll help you define how that role fits within the larger organizational structure. 

To do this, take a look at the tasks you expect the individual to perform in that role. For instance, the core function of a developer is to write code and develop the layout of a website. 

Similarly, for a paid marketing specialist, the core function will be to run ads on different platforms, track their performance, and identify ways to increase visibility and improve ROI.

Define How Roles Fit in Your Organizational Structure 

Once you have identified the core functions for each role that you want to introduce, the next step is to determine how they fit into the chain of command. 

For instance, who does the developer report to? Modern teams no longer follow the hierarchical structure with its standard top-down approach.

Instead, departmental boundaries are often removed altogether. Most modern organizations rely on a team-based structure, with employees working in different groups to achieve broader objectives.

For instance, a developer may report to a team lead or a senior architect, who might be playing the role of a project manager too. 

Explain the Skills Required and the Tasks for Each Role

Now that you have the roles down, it’s time to define the responsibilities. You need to be very clear about the skills required for each role, and the tasks they’ll have to perform. 

Some roles also come with requirements, such as proficiency in a specific language or software. Ideally, when defining the skills required for a specific role, you’ll want to create a mix between both soft and hard skills. 

Soft skills are general skills that come naturally to people, such as leadership, effective communication, or time management. These are transferable skills and can help people in any profession. 

Hard skills, on the other hand, are skills that you require to complete a specific job. For instance, a developer may require hard skills such as proficiency in a programming language to be able to create websites. Both soft and hard skills complement each other, and it’s important that the job description reflects that. 

Once you have that down, you can list the day-to-day responsibilities and tasks that each role is required to perform. This is important, as potential applicants will know exactly what’s expected of them. 

Defining Clear Roles and Responsibilities Improves Job Satisfaction

As an entrepreneur, one of your primary responsibilities is to ensure that employees are satisfied. In growing organizations, this can be difficult, since employees often go above and beyond their core duties. 

However, defining their roles and responsibilities gives them a clear purpose, and makes it easy for them to draw the line, especially as the organization grows. It also improves communication, since employees don’t have to sit around and guess who’s responsible for certain tasks. To learn more about this, you may want to read Predictors of Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment in Human Service Organizations by Charles Glisson and Mark Durick. It’s a fascinating research paper that outlines several variables that contribute to job satisfaction.

You may have read quite a bit about onboarding new employees, but equally important is making sure that they’re able to exit smoothly. That’s what employee offboarding is all about. 

It’s that final goodbye when the two parties decide to part ways, and needless to say, you will want to ensure that it’s smooth for both. The last thing you want is to be emailing or calling the employee about company assets or asking them about stuff that you should already know. 

This just creates disruption and prevents your team from working effectively. In this post, we’re going to provide a step-by-step guide on employee offboarding, including the different procedures involved. 

What is Employee Offboarding?

First things first, it’s important to explain exactly what employee offboarding is. To put it simply, it’s when you formally end business relationship with an employee. 

It’s like the last day of working together with someone; you want to make sure that you tie up all loose ends before both parties go off on their merry ways. 

Employee offboarding is rarely as simple as it sounds, mainly because there are so many things to care for. From turning over all assets, to account credentials – and making sure that uncaptured knowledge is documented and accounted for. There are a series of steps and procedures you need to run through.

The Importance of Employee Offboarding

Many agencies and companies often downplay the importance of offboarding employees properly. In fact, most don’t even have an effective strategy in place for this. 

The fact is, if your offboarding doesn’t go smoothly, it’s quite possible it may cause disruptions for several months to come. There’s always a risk that things will slip through the cracks, which could affect the relationship you’ve worked so hard to build with your clients. 

Remaining employees may not know about specific processes that the offboarded member of the team used to follow, which will affect general performance, and may result in bottlenecks. 

Offboarding is important for several reasons:

• Reduce security issues: Proper offboarding ensures all company assets are returned, and access to company accounts is revoked. 
• Contract signoff: To avoid any legal troubles in the future, the company usually gets sign off from the employee.
• Get feedback: Employees may have valuable feedback to give that managers can use to improve operations before they leave the organization.
• Maintain positive relationships: You don’t want to let an employee go on bad terms. It’s bad for your company’s reputation and may affect morale within. 

Employee Offboarding: A Step-by-Step Guide

Here’s a step-by-step guide that you can follow to create an effective employee offboarding strategy.

1. Streamline the Resignation Process

Your HR department will play an important role in streamlining the resignation process. When an employee tenders their resignation, and their notice period begins, the first step is to document it. 

The employee should be asked to sign a formal letter of resignation, which the company can keep in its records. Once the formal letter is signed, the manager must notify the team members, and ensure that roles and responsibilities are divided until a new employee is hired.

2. Exit Interview

An exit interview is of vital importance before an employee departs. It’s your way of ensuring that the employee leaves on good terms. 

This is a great opportunity for you to gain feedback about their time at the company, and to ask about their reasons for leaving. You could gain invaluable feedback from this interview, especially because at this stage employees aren’t hesitant to hold back. 

3. Notify Their Clients

Offboarding a client-facing employee also requires you to notify their clients, and introduce them to another employee they’ll be working with in the interim. Make sure you hold a formal introductory meeting so both parties can get acquainted, and let them know about the reasons for the employee leaving. 

4. Finalize the Paperwork

This is where your legal team will have to step in. Any contracts that need to be signed should be done so now, and you may want to discuss any non-disclosure agreements that the employee has signed, and answer any questions they may have. 

You’ll also need to make sure that you clear their dues. Their final payroll processing and tax information should be organized properly to ensure any outstanding amounts are paid. 

Information related to tax and benefits needs to be prepared so that the employee can access it when they’re leaving. 

5. Work Handoff 

Minimizing disruption is vitally important in the workplace, especially when an employee leaves. There are several things that you need to do during this phase:

• Identify replacements: Who will take over the tasks and responsibilities of the employee? Who will work with their clients? 
• Access to accounts: Make sure access to all accounts in the employee’s name is revoked, and the company has all the credentials they require. 
• Training gaps: If another employee will be taking over their duties, you need to identify any training gaps that may exist, and create a suitable plan for this. 

6. Gather Company Equipment

Any equipment that you may have issued to the employee will need to be returned. You’ll need to ask them for standard equipment, such as:

• Company identification 
• Laptops or mobile phones
• Any security devices, such as a Yubikey
• Any company assets they may be using
• Company credit cards

This is also the time to ask the employee to remove any personal items that they may have on premises. 

7. Revoking Account Access

This has been mentioned earlier, but it’s imperative that you check whether employee access to company accounts has been revoked, including any tools that they were using. 

Any emails that they are receiving should be routed to specific employees, and their names should be removed from company meetings and calendars to prevent any problems later on. 

Atarim Makes Employee Offboarding Easy

Atarim is an excellent tool that agencies can use to determine any active tasks assigned to employees, review their responsibilities, and identify the hours they have worked. This information can prove to be vital when it comes to offboarding employees. 

You can use it to calculate their billable hours and makes it easier for you to reroute requests to other employees working on the same project. And, if you want to improve employee turnover and productivity in your organization, you may want to read The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Turnover, Productivity, and Corporate Financial Performance by Mark Huselid.

We all love getting paid, right? And as an agency owner, getting paid by the client is a fairly important part of the business. But there’s a potential catch: should you charge an hourly rate or a flat rate for each project?

Both are commonly used pricing strategies, and both are used by agencies to determine their maximum earnings. There are pros and cons to each, and it can be challenging to decide which option to go for.

If you’re an agency owner and not sure about which one to choose, this post will clarify the benefits and drawbacks of each, and enable you to make the best choice for each project.

What is Hourly Billing?

Hourly billing is fairly simple: you charge a base rate for each hour that you spend working on the project. This is the amount you can charge for each billable hour that you or your team spends working on it. 

Hourly billing takes into account certain variables that may arise during the course of the project. It’s generally quite flexible, so in case a client wants something more complicated done, hourly billing ensures that you get paid for all the work you put into the deliverables. 

Also, in case a client requests a revision or adds something else to the original scope of the project, you’ll always have the option of charging an additional amount. 

However, while hourly billing is more flexible than charging a flat rate, there are a few downsides. For starters, you won’t know how much you’re going to get paid until the project is completed. 

Secondly, you’ll have to make sure that you track time accurately. In some cases, clients may require you to justify the hours that you’ve spent working on specific items. 

They may even ask you to use tools that take screenshots periodically or take webcam shots, which may feel like an invasion of privacy. However, some clients require these extra measures to ensure fairness and accuracy during billing. 

Hourly Billing — An Example

A simple example is when a client hires you to conduct a thorough content audit for their site. You quote an hourly fee to the client, and then you start sifting through all the posts they have on your site. 

Charging an hourly fee, in this case, makes sense, because you won’t know how many posts there are, or how much work is needed. 

You’ll need to work with a content marketing expert to review the pieces, identify those with potential, conduct keyword research, review the work done by their competitors, and then propose changes.

Needless to say, determining the amount of work to be done upfront for a project like this is obviously difficult. That’s why hourly billing is generally the best approach for such a project.

The Pros and Cons of Hourly Billing

Pros 

• Ensure no effort goes unpaid: As long as you track the hours properly, you’ll be guaranteed payment for all hours worked. 
• Flexible pricing: Hourly billing is quite flexible since the amount varies depending on the number of hours worked. 
• Easier to land clients: Because the upfront pricing is generally low, hourly billing often seems like a more attractive option for clients. 
• Reduce scope creep: Hourly billing prevents scope creep, as you can just charge more for additional work. 
• Improve communications: Hourly billing often leads to a more proactive dialogue between agencies and clients. 

Cons

• It’s difficult to ensure accuracy when tracking hours: When working in distributed teams, it can be difficult to accurately track hours (although Atarim makes tracking time spent on projects massively easier).
• Smaller projects often pay less: For smaller projects that don’t take as long, you’re generally not going to get paid a decent amount. 
• Complicated budgeting: This can be an issue if you’re charging a separate hourly rate for different services. 
• Complicated calculations: Hourly costs can’t just include employee costs, but all of the costs involved in running your agency (hardware, software, heating, lighting, etc.), making them harder to calculate. 
• Clients may underestimate costs: When you charge hourly, there’s a risk that clients may not accurately predict the full costs, resulting in friction later on.

What is Fixed Price Billing?

The second option is for you to charge a fixed price for the project. Also known as flat rate billing, this is fairly easy to explain: a client comes to you and requests a specific service, and you quote them a fixed fee for the entire project. 

Unlike hourly billing, where you’re paid for each hour worked, this means you get paid once the final project is delivered, irrespective of the hours you sink into it. 

Right off the bat, you can determine that there are a few benefits of the flat rate system: it’s more predictable, both for the service provider and the client. Once the two parties agree on a fee, they don’t have to worry about preparing time-tracking sheets or giving any proof of the behind-the-scenes work carried out.

But, the downside to charging a fixed price is quite clear: it’s often difficult to accurately predict the time and effort you’ll eventually invest into a project. In some cases, if you end up undercharging, you’ll come off feeling dissatisfied after the project ends. 

It doesn’t matter if you go above and beyond — the client will still pay you the agreed-upon amount. 

Fixed Price Billing — An Example

Let’s assume a client comes to you and wants a website designed for their company. They tell you it’s a simple website with X number of pages. You discuss the specifics, the content, and the timelines, and then give them a flat rate quote. 

After the scope of the project has been agreed upon, the two parties sign the contract, and you can start working on the project. Once the website is completed and you’ve satisfied the client’s requirements, you can invoice them the amount. 

The Pros and Cons of Fixed Price Billing

Pros

• Transparency: Both parties know right from the get-go how much the project is going to cost, ensuring maximum transparency. 
• Potential for higher earnings: There’s also potential to earn more, especially if you can get the project completed early. You’ll free up space to take on more work in the same time period, helping you maximize your income.
• Easier to plan for resource allocation: Because it’s predictable, it’s much easier for teams to allocate resources over the course of the project while maintaining profit margins.
• Cost efficient: While you’ll be able to charge for starting projects from scratch, several resources and assets may be reused, which reduces cost inefficiencies and increases margins.

Cons

• Risk of being underpaid: If you do not estimate the hours worked properly, there’s a risk that you won’t get paid for any additional work that you end up doing.
• Difficult to create accurate estimates: There’s a lot of calculation involved in accurately estimating the costs of completing a specific project, including the materials, the costs of labor, and other variables. 
• Difficulty in getting clients: Some clients may balk at your original cost estimate, and some may even start haggling. This makes fixed price billing slightly more difficult to sell. 
• Project control: Assess the amount of control you actually have over the project. If it’s not 95% or so, there’s a risk of scope creep. 

Which One Should You Choose?

As mentioned above, this is not easy to decide. It’s never a one-size-fits-all answer. Some projects might be suitable for an hourly fee, while others are better if you go with a fixed price billing. 

In some cases, the customer may have a say in this too. Either way, if you’re going with hourly billing, make sure you calculate a suitable rate that includes the costs incurred for both labor and materials. 

If you’re charging a fixed rate, make sure you account for all the costs you might incur too, as you can’t just spring an additional invoice on your clients later on. 

Use Atarim to Track Time More Effectively and Gain Better Insights into Team Performance

Atarim is one of the best tools that you can use to track time more effectively and gain a better understanding of how each member of the team operates. You’ll have a clear idea about how much time was spent on each task, making it easier for you to bill clients. If you think your billing process can do with some improvements, you may want to read What to Do When Your Billing Process Stinks by Arita Damroze.

There’s no doubt at all that our work culture today has changed drastically compared to just a decade ago. Working from home had already begun to rise in popularity even before the pandemic, but now it’s an accepted way of working for millions of us, providing much greater freedom and flexibility.

This change in the way people work has inevitably demanded a change in the way we communicate, and technology has evolved to make that even more dynamic, versatile, and effective. Businesses that have taken advantage of these new technologies have already seen the benefits and embedded them within their work culture.

In this article, we are going to discuss 10 of the best online communication tools that teams can use in 2023 to stay connected with each other.

Let’s get started!

1. Atarim

Atarim is one of the best communication tools designed for use by web design agency owners. Atarim makes it easy for teams to communicate with each other as it allows each team member to leave comments on different projects in real time.

More importantly, as the administrator, you can track team activity and performance, and get clear, insightful reports. Time tracking is also available in Atarim, which helps introduce a high level of accountability. 

Atarim is a great choice for distributed teams as it lets you share project information through a centralized platform, instead of having to rely on multiple communication channels. Because at its heart Atarim supports the use of annotated screenshots of web pages to create and track tasks and projects, this makes communication far faster and more effective. When working with projects that are largely visual, such as websites, it makes sense to use a collaboration tool that places visual communication at the center of everything.

Key Features

• Backend commenting feature to prevent any information being missed in translation
• The dedicated email inbox can be used to track tasks
• Ability to create internal requests on a client’s live website
• Free version available
• Task assignment and time tracking available 

2. Slack

Slack is easily one of the best communication tools available today. Used by some of the biggest companies in the world, Slack makes it easy for users to communicate with each other, by allowing them to create specific channels, create custom workspaces, share files, and set reminders as well.

You can even send messages to yourself, which essentially serves as a way to add personal notes or messages. One of the biggest benefits of using Slack is that it integrates seamlessly with different tools, including Google Drive, Atarim, Zapier, and others.

Key Features

• Free version available
• Lots of integrations with all popular work management apps
• File sharing is allowed
• Huddles allow users to share video or conduct a voice call
• All data is encrypted by default on Slack
• App available for all major platforms, including iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows.

3. Microsoft Teams 

Microsoft Teams is an incredibly popular communication platform that’s used by some of the largest enterprises in the world. Teams integrates with Microsoft’s suite of apps, including Office, making it easy to share and collaborate on different files. 

Teams conversations are fully encrypted, and two-factor authentication ensures that communication remains safe. Teams integrates with all popular apps including Asana, Skype, PowerPoint, and more. 

Another excellent feature in Microsoft Teams is the panels, which allows you to create dedicated posts, and ask questions from different team members. 

Video and voice calling are also available in Microsoft Teams, so your team members can communicate effectively with each other. 

Key Features

• Built-in integrations for the MS Suite and various other project management tools
• Notification scheduling 
• End-to-end encryption 
• Premade bots to automate routine tasks
• Screen sharing, voice calling, and video calling

4. Zoom

Zoom shot up in popularity at the start of 2020, and has continued to grow rapidly. It’s a web conferencing platform that’s designed for holding virtual meetings and conferences. 

A free version is available, which allows users to hold calls for up to 40 minutes before the call disconnects. With a paid version, you can hold calls for an unlimited duration, and also record calls. 

Zoom lets you create custom meeting links, and supports up to 300 attendees joining in one call. Zoom is one of the most popular video conferencing apps available today, known for its reliability and ease of use.

Key Features

• Free version available 
• Screen sharing and call recording
• In-built chat option available 
• VoIP phone option available too 
• Online whiteboard to help in brainstorming and conveying ideas

5. Google Meet

Google Meet is another popular platform that’s used for communication by remote teams. Meet makes it easy for team members to communicate with each other through video, and offers all of the features that you’d expect: screen sharing, call recording, whiteboards, and rooms.

If you have a larger number of attendees, you can assign them to breakout rooms to manage communications, creating smaller teams. One of the biggest reasons why you should use Google Meet is because it’s entirely free to use.

If you get the paid subscription, you’ll be able to access advanced features, including the ability to record calls, and even partake in different virtual activities. 

Meet also lets you create custom virtual backgrounds, or blur your background to maximize privacy. And with a subscription, you can invite up to 500 participants in one meeting.

Key Features

• Integration with Google’s suite of apps
• Screen sharing and call recording
• Very easy to create meeting links and schedule them
• Free to use 
• Chat option available

6. Basecamp

Basecamp is a remote collaboration tool that offers chat functionality, and greatly simplifies project management. If you need an all-in-one solution for communicating with your team and managing documentation and files, Basecamp’s a great choice. 

Basecamp lets you organize different projects on the home page and create to-dos for each. There’s also a centralized file management system where you can store, share, and collaborate on different files.

Scheduling is also available to specify deadlines, events, and set general milestones. You can create check-ins for each team member to know what everyone else is up to.

Kanban boards are available here too, but they are known as the Card Table, which allows you to streamline workflows and get a better understanding of what each member is working on. 

Key Features

• Excellent project management functionality
• Built-in chat options
• Kanban boards to track project progress
• File sharing and document management
• You can also set milestones for specific projects

7. Trello

Trello is a highly popular project management tool that’s used by teams around the globe. The app has pioneered the concept of Kanban boards, offering a visual understanding of different projects and allowing users to customize each stage. 

With Trello, you can organize each project into a separate board. For each board, you have the option of creating various columns that indicate different stages – and then creating cards that are essentially tasks. 

When a person’s done with a task, they can leave a comment on the card and move it to the next column. It offers user tagging and color-coding, making it easy for you to communicate with your team members. 

You can also use Trello to comment on tasks in real-time very easily. These comments then automatically trigger the sending of a notification to all users who are subscribed to that task. This streamlines communication and ensures every member is on the same page. 

Key Features

• Extremely simple Kanban board view
• Automations available for different tasks
• Integrations available for all popular apps
• Set priorities, color code, and label different tasks

8. Asana

Asana is generally billed as a project management app – and rightly so, since it excels in that department. However, Asana also has communication features built in, which makes it easy for teams to stay in touch with each other.

Asana Messages allow your team members to send messages to individuals or to different groups or teams. They can also send messages to all members who are subscribed to a specific project. 

Asana gives you suggestions based on the work that you’re referring to in your messages, and you can use their full-screen compose mode to add links to different projects so that nothing is lost in translation. 

Project messages can be viewed by all subscribers, showing the workflows and helping teams understand the discussion more easily. Users can also define periods for when they want to receive notifications. 

Key Features

• Third-party integrations available 
• Offers a combination of messaging and project management in one package
• Multiple project views available
• Personal notepad for recording important information

9. ClickUp

Used by some of the biggest agencies in the world, ClickUp is a fantastic solution for distributed teams that wish to streamline communication and improve workflows.

When it comes to communication, ClickUp has a Chat view, which lets you consolidate team communication throughout your team. You can set up chat channels and add users with a simple @mention. 

And, like others on this list, ClickUp makes it easy to embed different conversations, share files, or link to any of the documents that you’re using on the platform. 

ClickUp also prioritizes organization by allowing you to create Chat views for specific projects, or for specific teams, making it easy to recall different conversations. 

ClickUp does offer a free version for you to try that includes unlimited tasks and unlimited members, but you’ll probably want to upgrade to one of their other plans, starting at $5 per member, per month, rising to $19 for the top package.

Key Features

• Easy to link different documents and projects in chat
• Formatting options available
• Fully customizable project management app
• Offers support for hundreds of integrations
• Free option available, with affordable plans for small businesses/agencies

10. Dialpad

Dialpad is a VoIP solution that’s designed for video conferencing and voice calling. It’s a fairly basic and straightforward tool that allows teams to remain in touch with each other. 

You can share your screen, record calls, and invite multiple users to the project. It’s also ideal for businesses to offer support to their customers, especially with its mobile app.

One of the biggest advantages of Dialpad is that it assigns a different number to each employee, so it’s akin to calling them over the phone. 

Dialpad is incredibly reliable and features High Definition audio. Mobile and desktop apps are available, making it easy for teams to remain connected on different devices. 

Key Features

• Video calling
• Call recording
• Mobile apps available
• TLS encryption for all data transferred within the app

Verbal Communication Is Essential in the Workplace

While we mainly communicate through writing, it’s critical for users to communicate verbally with each other as well. It helps foster teamwork and allows employees to remain personally connected with one another. 

In fact, The Importance of Oral Communication, by Sue Hetherington, is an excellent read for individuals that want to understand just how important such communication is in the modern workplace.

Design collaboration is an important component of creating and launching digital products. The design process of a product is incredibly important, as it affects how people will use it. 

The term ’design collaboration’ is generally referred to as the process by which people from different backgrounds – and those possessing different skill sets – collaborate on a particular project. 

At Atarim, we are firm believers in the importance of design thinking, and collaboration plays an important role in fostering that approach.

In this article, we are going to discuss how you can use design collaboration effectively to improve workflows, team effectiveness, and team efficiency. 

Understanding Design Collaboration

In essence, design collaboration is an umbrella term that refers to a series of processes that companies can use to collaborate on the design of a website or a product. 

In general, it’s considered a multi-stage process that takes into includes planning, strategy, feedback, and lots of iteration. The entire design collaboration process can be divided into three main stages:

1. The research stage
2. The design phase
3. Launch

Of course, companies can design products without requiring any sort of collaboration, but that’s not always the wisest approach. When building a digital product, such as an app or a website, it’s important to get feedback from different stakeholders. 

Essentially, design collaboration provides a common platform to different experts within the company, and seeks inputs from each of them.

This way, everyone takes ownership of the product, and when everything’s done, the final product is significantly better in quality. Here’s some more information about each stage.

The Research Stage

This is the phase where you can send a questionnaire to your clients and get the answers you and your team need. This will give you the important information that you must have to start working on the first version.

It is essential at this early stage to define the scope of the project as specifically and comprehensively as possible. This includes not only what will be included in the project, but also what won’t be included. It’s also important to be clear about who is responsible for each task – including the client themselves when providing feedback.

For a more detailed look at this idea, read our article “The Complete Guide To Defining Project Scope In 6 Steps”.

During this stage, designers try to gather as much information as they can so that they have a solid foundation. This also means reviewing the latest industry design trends for specific products.

The more information you have at this stage, and the more specific you can be, the higher the chance of being able to reduce or eliminate the risk of project creep.

The Design Phase

The design phase is all about iteration. It’s the stage where the designers seek feedback from other teams, and then use it to create new iterations. 

Instead of creating multiple screens right away, designers usually start with a few and then seek feedback – both from the client and from other teams.   

After multiple iterations, the actual product design begins to form, which allows the designers to eventually focus on creating a demo. 

Iteration and Feedback

Finally, with the design complete and approved by the client, the first iteration can begin. This begins a cycle – often referred to as the iterative process – in which the agreed design is implemented and realized, and then presented to the client for feedback.

This feedback will go on to influence the continued development of the final product, until it reaches completion, with the client’s feedback satisfied, and the project scope met.

How to Improve Workflows and Team Efficiency in Design Collaboration

For a long while, collaborative design processes went underappreciated, with product teams often ignoring the importance of working together to improve the core product design. 

In the past, most teams used to work in silos, which obviously made cross-department communication quite difficult. 

However, if you want to improve workflows and team efficiency to ultimately improve design collaboration in your agency, here are some of the steps that you can take. 

Provide an Open Platform to Internal Teams 

With any project such as web design that involves the development of a visual product, the single most effective approach to improve the design collaboration between clients and teams, or even between teams, is to do so directly on the site.

Being able to share visual screenshots of pages, sections, or page elements and then annotate these allows for a far more effective way for everyone to see and understand the tasks, suggestions, and ideas. 

This approach is at the very heart of Atarim’s workflow process, allowing everyone to see the suggestions, ideas, and approaches, and become involved in this quickly and easily. This helps to eliminate the risk of misinterpretation which, as any agency knows, can easily lead to time and money being wasted.

Encourage Constructive Feedback from Internal Teams

One of the best ways to improve design collaboration is to encourage constructive feedback from internal teams. As the designer, getting design reviews from different teams is often a bit of a challenge.

The core product designers will take great pride in their work, and opening up the design to reviews from various teams is frequently going to be difficult. However, this has benefits: different users will evaluate the product based on how they intend to use it. 

As a result, you’ll be able to get crucial feedback that will help you improve the overall user interface before launch.

Use the Right Collaboration Tools

The design of a product is greatly influenced by the quality of the tools that are available to your designers. For example, many agencies will either commit to one product they’ve always used without considering alternatives (that could potentially improve their design flow) or spend considerable time trying to analyze the benefits.

A classic discussion many agencies have had recently is whether to use Figma or Sketch for the design stage. It’s important to be open to using tools and software that you haven’t used before because in some cases the benefits outweigh the time commitment required to getting a team up to speed with the new tools. (We can save you quite a bit of time here as we’ve written a full guide on which is better – Figma or Sketch.)

Making sure that the team has access to the right design collaboration tools is vitally important. That’s why we created Atarim (or more accurately, WP FeedBack, which then became Atarim as so many agencies began taking advantage of the improved way in which feedback and collaboration could be done).

We knew ourselves how vital it was that we were able to communicate effectively both internally and with the client, and we knew other agencies felt just the same.

You can use Atarim to ask for feedback from not just other internal team members, but also from your clients. As so many agencies have already found, design collaboration becomes incredibly easy, allowing users to leave feedback on specific areas as comments, so your designers know exactly what to focus on.

This kind of approach is one that we’ve seen ourselves greatly improve turnaround times. Instead of endless emails, calls, and a certain amount of guesswork, team members are able to leave very focused feedback on specific points, instead of surface-level reviews.

Review Progress Regularly

Working in a remote team can be challenging, especially if you’re taking a design-first approach. It’s important for agency owners to keep track of any collaborative changes, and to make sure that the project remains on schedule. 

While you can always use communication tools like Slack to ensure you’re in touch with your team members, there are a number of things that you can do to ensure that everyone remains on track:

• Hold meetings to discuss progress at least once a week 
• Track the progress of tasks using Kanban boards, so you know exactly where each task stands
• Track time spent on each task to determine if there are any bottlenecks 
• Celebrate successes for team members and share them across the team!

Double Down on Documentation

During the design phase, your core team of designers will be working across a significant number of files, many of which contain old iterations or design changes that are crucial for the success of the project. 

It’s essential for you to organize these files, and to ensure that appropriate documentation is available that clearly identifies all of the changes that the project went through. 

If you have guidelines in place for version control and tracking changes, make sure that every designer follows them. 

Consider the Agile Methodology

The Agile Methodology is popularly used in software development and is designed to bring cross-functional teams together. This approach isn’t just limited to software development though, as many companies use it to push out new products and to improve their iterative processes. 

Simply put, the Agile Methodology requires that teams from different departments work together to push out a new feature or update. In this case, that would mean agreeing on a specific design. 

The Agile Methodology encourages team members to communicate freely with one another, irrespective of their teams. It allows anyone with substantial input to come forward and provide it through a centralized channel. 

This allows designers to improve their understanding of how different users may think about the product, or use it. The earlier they know this in the design phase, the better. 

Collaborative design processes and the Agile Methodology combine really well, as they bring teams from different verticals together, and allow them to share their thoughts or reviews about the product design. 

Collaborative Design Leads to a Better Digital Product

Organizations that understand how to leverage the intellect of different members in the team are often able to succeed. They understand that inspiration can come from anywhere, and that’s why they take collaborative design processes so seriously. 

Creating something entirely new – from scratch – definitely poses a few challenges. But with input from different team members, you end up with a digital product that is much more likely to appeal to a wider audience. If you want to learn more about design processes, you may want to check out Herbert A. Simon’s journal article, entitled The Science of Design: Creating the Artificial.

Client reporting might not be the most glorious part of your job as an agency owner, but it’s still incredibly important. The format and the frequency of reports vary from one client to another, primarily depending on the nature of the service that you offer.

For instance, if you have signed a client on an aftercare plan, they’ll expect reports about the website’s performance over a given period. Similarly, if you did some basic design work for a client, they might expect reports about the hours worked on a project.

Client reporting is one of the best ways to outline your value proposition to a client. It’s a great way to showcase just how big of an impact the client has made by bringing you on board. 

It may seem like a chore at first, but if you do it right, you can easily upsell a client and reduce churn by a significant margin. 

At Atarim, we are big fans of transparency, and we’ve made it easy for our users to generate daily and weekly reports, which you can send to your customers. 

In this article, we are going to discuss how industry-leading agencies approach client reporting. 

The Importance of Client Reporting

Before we talk about how to approach client reporting, it’s important to outline just how important this process really is. Some freelancers and smaller agencies tend to ignore client reporting, but this might become an impediment to growth over time. 

Here are just a few reasons why client reporting is so important. 

Highlight What You Bring to the Table

One of the biggest reasons why you should take client reporting seriously is because it allows you to showcase exactly what you bring to the table. You can offer reports to your clients to elaborate specifically how things have improved since they brought you on board.

Keep Your Agency in Your Clients’ Minds

By sending out a report regularly, you’ll essentially remain at the forefront of your clients’ minds. This may lead to better word-of-mouth marketing opportunities, and are likely to recommend your brand name to others if the opportunity arises. 

Opportunity to Upsell

When you start offering client reports, you can highlight specific areas where the client can improve. If you offer a similar service, this is a great opportunity to upsell to your clients.  

Build Trust with Your Clients

If you want to increase your customer retention rate, you need to build trust with your clients. By offering them detailed reports, you introduce a level of accountability. The client won’t have to worry about asking for updates; the reports you offer will provide them with detailed information. 

Improve Client Collaboration

It’s not a wise idea to sign on a new client, and then not approach them for a while. Regular client communication is incredibly important, and reassures your clients that their work is being prioritized. 

Hold Your Clients Accountable Too

The relationship that you build with your clients is transactional in nature, obviously. Before you start on a project, you’ll define the goals. Once you start supplying reports, your client will know exactly where the project stands.

If you need some assets or information that the client fails to provide, it’s going to affect progress. You can point out to the client the reason for the delay, holding them accountable. 

How the Top Agencies Approach Client Reporting: 10 Best Practices

Here are ten best practices that you should follow when it comes to client reporting. 

1. Identify Main KPIs and Metrics That You’ll Track

Before you start preparing client reports, you need to know exactly what you’re going to track. More importantly, you need to make sure that both you and the client are on the same page. 

The first thing to do is to hold a discussion with your client and identify the main KPIs and metrics. Some clients might be interested in tracking a specific metric, so it’s important that you both work this out. 

There’s no reason to cram every single metric into your report; only focus on the KPIs and metrics that your clients want you to focus on. It saves you a great deal of time, and it also helps ensure that the client gets reports that offer substance. 

2. Make Sure You Both Have Clear Expectations

Another important thing you need to do is to discuss the expectations with your client. Make sure both parties are in the clear, and explain to your clients exactly what they’re going to get. 

For instance, you’ll want to determine the frequency and the format of the client reports. Once you have determined the key metrics to track, make sure you set clear expectations. 

3. Automate Client Reporting

Building reports one by one is obviously not scalable. Anyone who has experience with web design projects knows just how many things can pop up at any given time.

That’s why with Atarim, you can generate weekly and daily reports, including time tracking and other metrics, offering complete transparency into your workflow automatically. 

Client reporting can be a relatively resource-intensive process if you aren’t automating certain parts of the process. Automation doesn’t just save you time and resources, it also minimizes the risk of human error. 

1. Use Data Visualization Tools to Improve Reporting

It’s one thing to add a whole bunch of numbers in your report, but you need to make sure that the information is actually digestible. The best way to do that is to use data visualization tools to make your report more meaningful.

Using simple tools like Google Data Studio, you can present the information in your report in a better manner, helping clients glean interesting insights from each report. 

According to one report by the Aberdeen Group, 74% of organizations that rely on visual data empower their managers to make more informed decisions, which demonstrates just how important it can be. 

Data visualization tools also help make the reporting process more effective. Instead of simply presenting numbers, you’re now presenting insights to your clients, which they can use to make key decisions. 

2. Customize Your Report Based on the Reader 

A one-size-fits-all solution may seem tempting, but it’s really not a wise idea if you want to improve client reporting. Instead, you should try to tailor each report based on the reader. 

For instance, if the report’s going to be read by a marketing manager, you will want to focus on providing key insights instead of offering basic recommendations that they might already know. 

Similarly, if you’re working with a client with limited knowledge, there’s no reason to provide a convoluted report that’s filled with marketing terms they may not understand. 

You will want to break down the information as much as possible for such clients so that they can actually get something of value from the report. 

3. Avoid Using Technical Jargon

Keep in mind that in most cases the report might be shared internally within your client’s organization. Therefore, you’ll want to make it accessible and readable by as many people as possible. 

The best marketing agencies try to make their reports as simple as possible so that anyone, including those with limited marketing knowledge, can understand exactly what you’re trying to say. 

There’s no reason to use technical jargon in your reports, as it’s only likely to cause friction. The clients may approach you time and again to ask for clarification about certain elements, so there’s no point in making things difficult for them.

4. Add a Summary

One of the best ways to make your client reports more valuable is to add a brief, one-paragraph summary at the beginning of your report. This summary should talk about the key insights in the report, and it should tie in with the original goal that both parties decided on.

At the end of the report, you should also add a section to highlight the key takeaways from the report. Keep in mind that not every client has the time to go through the entire report. A summary is a great way to round up all the key points in the report. 

5. Always Display Relevant Information First

When devising the structure for your report, it’s important that you find data that relates to the primary goals that you and the client decided on. It’s important that you add the most relevant and important information first. 

6. Break Your Report into Sections

It’s also important that you focus on readability when preparing client reports. Make sure you break the report into different sections so that clients can navigate easily through different sections. 

For instance, you can divide the report into sections like web design, PPC, or SEO, giving them a clearer idea about how much value you generated in each department. 

7. Stick to the Schedule

Organization is an important part of client reporting. It’s important that you stick to the schedule that you both decided on. 

Ideally, most clients require a report once a month, but some may require a weekly update. Some even prefer quarterly reports. Regardless of the schedule that you decide on, make sure you stick to the schedule. 

In case of a delay, let your clients know a few days in advance, and outline the reason. 

Client Reporting Can Unlock Greater Revenues

Client reporting is severely underrated. If you’re a freelancer or a small agency looking to grow, offering client reports will make you look more professional, and more importantly, it’ll help improve client retention. 

Simplify Client Reporting with Atarim

It’s a great way to improve the quality of your services too and helps improve the sales relationship that you build with your clients. On that note, you may want to look at this excellent journal article on Relationship Quality in Services Selling: An Interpersonal Influence Perspective.

A project communication plan is one of the most effective documents that helps companies keep everyone on the same page, and ensure that projects are completed on time. 

Effective communication is critically important in the workplace, allowing employees to ask for feedback, make changes, and ensure that they communicate with relevant stakeholders. 

Using a project communication plan can improve project management significantly, and minimize needless back-and-forth. 

In this article, we’re going to discuss what a project communication plan is, provide a template, and show you how to use one effectively. 

What is a Project Communication Plan?

Simply put, a project communication plan is a document that outlines how all stakeholders working on a project will communicate with each other. 

It details the channels of communication, including what information to share, as well as specific milestones when information must be shared.

For instance, you can detail how you want employees to provide a status report. You can use a template to ensure that every report is streamlined. 

The Importance of Using a Project Communication Plan

There are several reasons why you should consider using a project communication plan. 

Establish Professional Boundaries

One of the main reasons why you should consider using a project communication plan is because it helps you establish professional boundaries with your stakeholders. 

For instance, some members on the project may not like it if you call them incessantly, or contact them over mobile. They might prefer communicating over email. 

Improve Asynchronous Workflows

Distributed teams often work asynchronously, with people working from different time zones on the same project. Obviously, you’ll want to receive status updates from everyone. 

With a project communication plan, every member will know exactly when to provide updates, what format they have to use, as well as any key information that must be included. 

Improve Communications and Planning

Most projects generally go through ups and downs. It’s important for teams to realign expectations, define milestones, and change them as necessary. 

Maintaining transparency with one another is obviously very important. Not only that but making sure that the client receives regular updates is a key component to maintaining healthy relations. 

A project communication plan can help you do just that. For instance, if one member is going to be unavailable for a while, they can let you know about it using the appropriate channels.

Because you’ll know in advance, it’ll become easier for you to redistribute the workload, or extend the deadline and then let the client know about the changes. 

Key Components of a Project Communication Plan

Any successful project communication plan must include and define several key components. These include:

Primary Stakeholders

These are the primary members of the project who can serve as the main points of contact. For instance, the project manager is one, as they are generally in touch with the client. 

When listing them, make sure you also include their contact details, such as email addresses or phone numbers. 

Teams 

If several teams are involved in the project, make sure you include the names of each member. List down the team members and their main duties, so everyone knows each other’s responsibilities. 

For instance, if someone from the content team needs assistance from a designer, they can just check the communication plan to determine who to contact. 

Modes of Communication

You will also want to outline all channels of communication that stakeholders must use. For instance, you can mention internal communication tools, such as Slack or Microsoft Teams. 

Other channels of communication include email, phone, or videoconferencing. 

Communication Formats

If you have any specific formats that you want team members to use, you can also mention those in the plan. For instance, when providing status updates, do you want employees to mention any blockers they may have faced? 

Or, if you have a list of questions that you want them to answer, make sure to add those to the template. 

Schedule for Meetings

Your project communication plan must also include a schedule for meetings. For instance, do you hold a meeting weekly? Or, will there be an all-hands meeting when a certain milestone is reached?

Make sure you include all of these details in your plan.

Goals 

What’s the purpose behind the project communication plan? Why should people use it? It’s important to mention the communication goals in your plan so that everyone understands what you aim to achieve. 

Project Communication Plan Template

Here’s a basic template that you can use to create your project communication plan.

Project Communication Plan

Goals:

• Ensure that all parties remain informed about project timelines, budgets, or other changes
• Identify roadblocks and help team members overcome them
• Request feedback from stakeholders on specific deliverables 

Primary Stakeholders

The project manager is [add name here]. 

You can reach out to them at [add contact details here].

Name	Designation	Contact
Person X	Content Lead	[Contact details]
Person Y	Design Lead	[Contact details]
Person Z	Development Head	[Contact details]

Meeting Schedule

Reason	Frequency	Lead	Channel
Check-in Meeting	Weekly	[Add responsible authority]	Zoom/Google Meet
Client feedback	Major milestones only	[Add responsible authority]	Zoom/Google Meet
Standup meeting	Daily	[Add responsible authority]	Zoom/Google Meet

Communication Formats

Meetings: Held online with relevant leads to review progress, discuss feedback, identify issues, and address questions. Key points to share:

• Deliverables
• Timelines
• Work in progress
• Questions 

Email reports: Reports sent once a week outlining project progress. Key points to include:

• Client feedback
• Deliverables approved
• Revisions requested
• Important points to note
• Next steps
• Items pending review

This template is obviously customizable, so you can add or remove whatever you want. For instance, if you prefer, you can flesh out certain parts, such as including specific modes of communication for internal or external communication. 

How to Prepare a Project Communication Plan

Here’s what you need to do if you want to prepare a project communication plan.

1. Create a Framework

The first step is to create a framework for your communication plan. It should include all the relevant details, such as the timeline for the project, the deliverables, the number of people involved, and any specific protocols that you want them to follow. 

Decide all the important points that you want to include in your plan, including the communication styles that your team prefers, any client preferences, or the frequency of communication that you expect.

2. Define Your Goals

The next step is to define your goals; what would you consider successful project communication to be? Ideally, you should have a clear set of goals about how the plan should aid in project management.

3. Put it in Writing

Finally, it’s time to start preparing your communication plan. Make sure you keep your goals in mind when writing the plan, as that will impact its structure. Decide what approach you want to take, the frequency of meetings, and any other important details to include in your plan.

Improve Internal Communications with Atarim

Atarim is a visual collaboration tool that makes it easy for distributed teams to communicate with one other. It has built-in team management features, including the option to create Internal Tasks and communicate with team members through comments. 

To learn more about this topic, check out the AMA Handbook of Project Management, which has an excellent chapter on managing project communications.

WordPress is an incredibly powerful content management system that makes it easy for website owners to add a whole range of new functionalities to their site. One of the best ways to do that is by using plugins. 

WordPress plugins can add lots of new features to your website. They are essentially snippets of code that add backend functionality, improve the way your site looks, and can add a ton of different tools.

In fact, you can even use plugins to improve your workflow. In this article, we are going to talk about eight of the most popular project management plugins and tools that you should use in 2023. 

1. Atarim

Atarim is a fantastic project management tool that’s designed to help freelance WordPress developers and agencies manage multiple projects far more efficiently and smoothly. 

Atarim’s WordPress plugin works seamlessly with the tool itself, allowing clients to leave comments on screenshots of their site. This alone helps significantly improve the quality and usefulness of feedback that you get from clients. 

You can install Atarim on any of your clients’ websites. It allows them to take screenshots of live pages and leave comments, which are then turned into tasks on Atarim and transferred into the main app. 

The plugin significantly improves Atarim’s core functionality and allows agencies to get clearer work requests. It lets you see exactly what the client sees, and also pulls in relevant information, such as their browser, screen size, and resolution.

And as the Atarim plugin just relaunched on the WordPress plugin repository, you can easily download the very latest version and start using it on your websites today.

Key Features

• Lightweight plugin
• Assign WordPress users, designate tasks, and manage project performance
• Instant boost to productivity thanks to visual collaboration
• Email notifications
• A comments feed to track changes
• White labeling available
• Time tracking features 

2. WP Project Manager 

WP Project Manager is a nifty little plugin that adds a ton of new functionality to your site, with a focus on task and project management. This plugin allows you to easily create tasks, assign them to different members, build to-do lists and track progress – all within the WP dashboard. 

If you need a plugin that’s user-friendly, has a very shallow learning curve, and is all about teamwork, you can’t go wrong with WP Project Manager. It even has file sharing and discussion threads built-in, which significantly improves collaboration in a distributed team. 

You can customize user roles, authorize specific permissions to different members, and track deadlines and progress seamlessly.

Key Features

• Advanced time tracking tools
• Detailed reporting features
• Kanban boards, task lists, and Gantt charts
• Built-in file sharing options

3. WP Client Portal

Another popular project management plugin for WordPress is WP Client Portal, which brings together a CRM and infuses it with some useful project management capabilities. The Client Manager feature makes it easy for you to assign specific clients to different team members. 

This makes it easy to funnel related client information towards specific teams, allowing you to go through it as the project progresses. 

It also has an option to create Estimates and Invoicing, which is great for creating white-labeled estimates and quotations and sending them to your clients. Once clients review these quotes, they can choose to clear an invoice directly too. 

The functionality is all built into the plugin, allowing you to manage client websites and different projects simultaneously. You can browse through CRM records and then send emails to clients to follow up, or to give updates.

Key Features

• Built-in CRM functionality
• Estimates and invoicing feature
• Ability to request digital signage
• No-code automations available for creating custom workflows

4. Project Panorama

Project Panorama is a visual project management plugin for WordPress that lets you create custom dashboards, which you can use to showcase the project status to a client or to other team members. 

This is a great way to indicate just how the project is progressing and to make it easy to bill clients for the hours you’ve worked. Panorama automatically calculates project progress, so you don’t have to worry about making tiny adjustments. 

And, like other WordPress management plugins, Project Panorama lets you create new tasks, assign them to different team members, set deadlines, and review performance. 

Your team members can also leave comments on specific tasks, and upload and share files. Project Panorama has document management capabilities built-in, so you can get approvals, send revision requests, and keep all important documents in one place.

Key Features

• Task management features
• Team roles can be customized 
• Rich kanban board views to manage task states and workflows
• Visual dashboards to offer a clearer view of task performance
• White labeling available 

5. WordPress Project Management by UpStream

UpStream deserves a mention on this list because it’s free, and offers a huge range of options and tools. You can create project discussion threads, track the progress of different projects, use the in-built bug tracker, and manage client details through a simplified user interface. 

UpStream lets you create custom fields and statuses for different projects, assign roles to different employees, and even create login pages for them. You can create milestones for different tasks and projects, use color-coding for different statuses, and give clients a clear view about project progress.

UpStream lets you create a custom login page for your clients too, letting them view how the project is coming along. You can add your own CSS, create custom fields, rename projects, and customize virtually every element of the dashboard that you want.

Key Features

• Create custom login pages for your clients
• Project dashboards available
• Report bugs and assign tasks to specific users 
• Manage project discussions through the plugin instead of keeping email trails
• Rename milestones, bugs, tasks, files, or specific elements

6. SP Project & Document Manager

SP Project & Document Manager was originally launched as Smarty Pants. However, since its launch, the plugin has undergone quite a few changes. Apart from its excellent file management options, it also lets you create unlimited folders and subfolders to further organize your files. 

And when it comes to project management, SP Project & Document Manager has a whole range of excellent features. You can create a custom login and registration system, designate user access, manage client uploads, add new documents, and make changes to files through the dashboard.

The Amazon S3 integration allows you to expand its functionality, and support for WooCommerce is also included. You can use SP Project & Document Manager as a separate project manager, or in tandem with another project management tool to add document management capabilities. 

Key Features

• Support for different media file types
• Add an unlimited number of projects and users
• Robust security features to protect your files, including SSL support
• File organization capabilities

7. Projectopia

Projectopia is a fantastic WordPress project management plugin that lets you set up custom client dashboards, get quotes and estimates, and streamline task management. 

There’s a dedicated settings panel and a permissions system that you can use to grant varying levels of access to your team members. The front-end dashboard is quite responsive and has AJAX-enabled actions, letting you showcase information about the projects. 

You can create client-facing logins, which offer information about the projects, and provide clients a space to take notes. For invoicing and estimates, you can also select deposit percentages, and move different tasks and milestones. 

Projectopia also lets you upload files for different tasks, set their status and priority, and even create specific notifications when a task’s status changes. 

Key Features

• Addons for WooCommerce and 2Checkout
• Bug tracking option
• You can add expenses for each project within the plugin
• Create kanban boards, manage tasks, and track time
• Facility to create support tickets

8. Zephyr Project Manager

The Zephyr Project Manager is a fairly intuitive project management plugin for WordPress that’s designed to improve productivity and help you manage your tasks more effectively. 

Zephyr Project Manager makes it easy for you to create different projects, categorize them, and then track their progress. It even has a website for file management that you can use to manage all documentation related to a specific project. 

Zephyr makes visualization easy by letting you create charts that help you monitor tasks and progress easily. You can set up email notifications, invite team members, and use the discussions thread to easily communicate with others. 

Key Features

• Create automated progress charts
• Form groups, and assign tasks to different team members
• Customize profiles for each member
• Customize notifications 
• Dedicated file management 

What Factors Should You Consider When Looking for a WordPress Project Management Plugin?

With so many different WordPress project management plugins, it can be a bit overwhelming to determine which one you should choose. Here are some key factors to consider when making a decision:

• Features: When selecting a project management plugin, it’s important that it offers basic features, such as task creation, visual collaboration, user roles, and team management. 
• Simplicity: You don’t want to use a WordPress project management plugin that’s overly complicated. Ideally, the best digital products are easy to use by all members of the team.
• Progress views: It’s essential that you choose a plugin that lets you view the progress of different projects, by letting you create different charts and reports. 
• Security: You don’t want sensitive information about the project leaking due to poor security practices. Make sure you use a plugin that uses decent security, such as 2FA and TLS (Transport Layer Security).
• Pricing: Another important factor is pricing. Some plugins are free to use, but you have to pay for additional functionality. Make sure you choose one that falls within your budget.
• Popularity: With plugins, it can often be a good indication if the number of downloads is reasonably high. That shows that a high number of people are using it, which is often a good indication of stability, compatibility, and reliability.
• Maintenance: Always check the date when the plugin was last updated, and even check to see the log showing how often it has been updated. Don’t use a plugin that’s either not been updated for a long time, or is only updated very sporadically.

Project Management is an Evolving Science

Using WordPress project management plugins like Atarim can help you simplify your workflows, and make it easier for you to manage your clients and their projects. 

If you’re just starting out, the Fundamentals of Project Management by Joseph Heagney is a great read. It’ll help you understand the basics, and allow you to improve your performance to ensure timely delivery of projects. 

Building trust with your clients is an essential part of the relationship between you and your customers. It can be hard to get people to trust you in the beginning, but once they do, it will make your work much easier. In this post, we’ll cover how you can build trust with clients and make sure that their experience with your company is a good one.

The Importance Of Strong Client Relationships

Many people think of their business as a way to make money. They want to sell as many products and services as possible, but that’s where the focus stops. For every client you have, you need to keep them happy because they are your main source of income and success! A strong relationship with your clients is going to help you achieve this goal and make sure that everyone stays happy.

Happy Clients

Happy clients are more likely to refer you to others, especially if they had a good experience with you. Happy clients are also more likely to pay your invoices on time, which can save you money and stress when it comes time for payment.

In addition, happy clients are much more likely to work with you again, either because they enjoyed working with you so much that they want an excuse to do so again or because they were so impressed by the quality of your work that they recommend it highly elsewhere.

In short: happy clients make for happy business owners!

Happy Employees

Happy employees are more productive. They don’t need as much supervision, and they’re also more creative and innovative. According to the Harvard Business Review, “As employees’ happiness increases, their performance improves.” This may be because happy people are less likely to make errors or leave the company due to frustration with their job or manager.

Happy employees tend to be more loyal, choosing to stay with your company longer than unhappy ones do – and that means fewer turnover costs for you! In fact, according to a Gallup report on employee engagement in the U.S., “The average cost of turnover is approximately 20 percent of an employee’s annual salary.”

So if you want your business model to succeed smoothly without any hitches along the way, keep morale high among your team members by making them feel valued at work every day instead of treating them like replaceable cogs in a machine (which they aren’t).

More Work Opportunities

The more you do for your clients, the more they will do for you. As a result of the relationship you’ve built with them, they are more likely to send their business your way and refer others to you.

This is a win-win situation: the client benefits from receiving a higher quality service than they could get elsewhere while at the same time benefiting from word-of-mouth recommendations and referrals. They also end up loyal customers who return again and again!

These clients can also lead you towards other opportunities that wouldn’t have been available otherwise – like repeat work or better deals on future projects.

Open Communication With Clients

Open communication with clients is essential for any business. You can’t grow your business without communicating with your clients, and if you don’t open the lines of communication then you will fail to develop the necessary relationships that will keep them coming back for more.

The best way to communicate with clients is through phone calls or face-to-face meetings. In-person meetings are great because they allow you to see how a client reacts in person – you can get a sense of their personality, as well as how they interact with others. Phone calls are also very effective because they allow people from different locations (and even different countries) to connect easily without having to travel far away from home base or work space.

Strong Partnerships

A strong partnership is a great way to grow your business. A partnership can mean different things, depending on the company and the person who’s doing the partnering. In some cases, it means that you’re working together to achieve a common goal, while in others it may be more of a formal agreement between two companies. Either way, a partnership can be beneficial for both parties involved because they get more exposure as well as an opportunity to gain new clients and generate new leads for their business.

You’re probably familiar with the saying “happy clients equal happy employees.” This is true, but it also means more than that. Happy clients mean strong partnerships and open communication between you and your clients, which can lead to more work opportunities for both of you.

It all starts with building a good relationship when you’re first getting started in business – and it can make all the difference to how your company grows over time.

So what strategies can you build into your business and workflow to help create these happy clients? Perhaps the most important of these is communication.

Communicate In A Respectful Way

When you communicate with your clients, remember that they are human beings. They have feelings and emotions just like you do, so treat them with respect even when their requests seem unreasonable. When communicating with a client or prospective customer you should always aim to do the following.

Be Clear About What You Are Saying

This also includes being clear about what they need to hear. It’s hard enough for some people to hear bad news without having it sugarcoated by being told something completely different from what was said.

Be Clear About What You Are Asking

It’s also important for the person on the other end of the line to understand this request. It’s easy for someone who does not know anything about our business or industry to misinterpret instructions – so we need to make sure that everyone involved understands exactly what needs doing (and why).

Be Clear About What Offers Or Services You Have Available

This also includes both pricing and availability. Letting someone think something is cheaper than it really is can lead customers away from us; over-promising creates unrealistic expectations among those who rely on us as suppliers/employers/partners/service providers etc…

Be Transparent

When you have a client, it’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of their requests and tasks. You may not realize that they’re worried about whether they can trust you as much as they should. If you’re honest about your abilities and schedule, and if you maintain an organized and efficient workspace and office, then your clients will be more likely to trust that their work will get done well.

Some things are out of our control (like traffic), but others are within our power: how we write an email response or what we say about ourselves on social media. Be true to yourself by being honest about whatever it is that makes up who you are – even if there’s something embarrassing about it!

Be Accountable

Being accountable means that you are responsible for your actions, words, promises, and decisions. You accept the consequences of your actions and mistakes. Being accountable is not only about admitting your mistakes – it is also about taking ownership of them and working harder to fix them. By being accountable to others in the workplace or at home, you develop trust with others because they know that you will take responsibility for what happens regardless of who or what may have contributed to the outcome.

Being accountable is important because it gives others confidence in us as people who can be trusted with sensitive information or projects that require extra attention or effort on our part. It also demonstrates that we understand how our behavior affects others around us and shows self-discipline – two qualities essential when building strong relationships with clients.

Be Consistent

Consistency is key. In every area of your life, you need to be consistent in order for people to trust you. You can’t be a jerk one day and sweet the next. It doesn’t work that way! If you want to build trust with your clients, then being consistent is the best way to do it.

Everyone knows this, but most people don’t practice it in their business or personal life because they aren’t sure how much consistency matters until they try it out on someone else and see how well it works (or doesn’t).

On top of all this, being consistent also makes things easier: once a client trusts that they can depend on you for something without fail, then there’s no reason why they wouldn’t keep coming back again and again!

Be Authentic And Real!

So how do you build trust with your clients? First and foremost, be yourself! That’s right – be as genuine as possible. Don’t try to be someone you’re not or put on a false front just to impress the client. This will only create an awkward environment for everyone involved.

Instead of faking it, own up to your mistakes, admit when you don’t have all the answers, and acknowledge that there are certain situations where no one is perfect (including yourself). Be honest with your clients about things like this so they know where they stand with you at all times.

This concept applies not only in person but also via email/phone calls/text messages etc., as these exchanges can often turn into opportunities for miscommunication if we aren’t careful enough about what we say or how we say it (or even who we send them to!). Also remember: if someone asks us something specific that pertains specifically only to them then act accordingly without making assumptions based on generalizations (ie: “I think this would work better if…”).

Conclusion

Your relationship with your clients can be one of the most important parts of your business. That’s because clients are the lifeblood of your business. They’re the reason you have a business, and they’re the reason you get up in the morning. If you don’t have any clients, then your business doesn’t exist – and if it doesn’t exist, then neither do you or those who depend on your paycheck!

Your client relationships should be thought of as investments: investments in money and time spent developing rapport; investment in building trust; investment in making sure that each interaction goes smoothly and builds upon what came before; investment in making sure there is always something new to offer each person based on their individual needs.

Creating an accurate project estimate is an uphill challenge for most agency owners. Ideally, you want to make sure that your initial project estimate is as close to the actual amount as possible.

To introduce more accuracy in project quotes, many companies now use bottom-up estimating. It’s an incredibly effective technique that helps agencies create accurate project estimates. 

In this article, we are going to discuss what the bottom-up project estimation method is, how it differs from the top-down estimation approach, and why it’s so popular.

What is Bottom-up Estimating?

Bottom-up estimating is a standard management technique that’s used to determine the total costs of a project, as well as the total duration of the project. Bottom-up estimating takes into account minute details of the project, examining it at a very granular level. 

By examining each task and deliverable from the “bottom-up”, project managers are able to develop a more accurate estimate of both the time required and the total budget for the project. 

Bottom-up Estimating vs. Top-Down Approach

The top-down approach, which is quite popular among larger organizations, generally doesn’t go into as much detail as the bottom-up approach. In a top-down approach, companies generally estimate the cost of a project based on a similar project they’ve done before. 

Obviously, no two projects are the same, which means that these estimates are often inaccurate. 

On the other hand, when you go with bottom-up estimating, every element associated with the project is scrutinized in great detail, which leads to a more accurate and better understanding of how much the project is going to cost, and how much time and resources it’s going to take. 

The top-down approach is good as long as you’re working on a duplicate project, but since those are generally not as common, the bottom-up estimating technique should be preferred. 

How to Create Effective Bottom-Up Project Estimates

Here’s a full guide to creating effective bottom-up project estimates. 

1. Start by Listing All the Tasks Related to the Project

Your first step should be to create a list of all the tasks that are related to the project. It’s important that you put everything on the list, including those menial, run-of-the-mill tasks that you might otherwise leave out due to their apparent insignificance. 

Once you have listed everything, start by assigning these tasks to team members. Make sure you know who will take responsibility for different tasks, so you can better understand just how much it’s going to cost you.

2. Allocate Resources and Create a Timeline

The next step is to determine just how much in the way of resources the project will require. This means the number of hours your team will have to work, the software, hardware or services you will need for the project, and the time it’s going to take. 

You can assign a dollar value for each hour worked, and then determine which members of the team will work on the project. If any specific equipment might be needed, make sure to account for that too. 

3. Prepare the Estimate

By now, you should have a comprehensive understanding of the tasks associated with the project, the team members involved, and the time each task is going to take. If you want, you can bring on a project manager to look over the team and delegate responsibility to them. 

You can then just use this information to create an estimate, and share it with the client. This way, you’ll have accounted for everything on the list, and you won’t have to worry about the final cost deviating too much from your original estimate.

Bottom-Up Project Estimate — An Example

Let’s assume that there’s a web design agency with 12 employees. The agency is in the process of signing a new client, but they need to give them an estimate for creating an eCommerce store. 

Creating the store, the layout, and importing the database is going to require the efforts of four of your employees. Now, you can start by creating a list of all the tasks involved in creating the online store, including the design, the back-end, and the. optimization.

You can then assign each of these to different employees, and depending on the hourly amount you pay each employee, and the number of hours you believe the whole project is going to take, you can create a more accurate estimate. 

Once you know the costs, you can then add on your profit margins before sending the proposal to the client. 

Now, if you used the top-down approach, your approach would be quite different. Instead of listing down all the tasks and assigning them to individual team members, you’d simply look at the estimate you gave to another client for an eCommerce store, and use that. 

The Benefits of Using Bottom-Up Estimating

Even though bottom-up estimating takes longer, it offers more benefits than the standard top-down approach. Here are just some of the many advantages that it offers:

1. More Accurate Estimates

This one’s fairly obvious: since you’re accounting for everything and going into granular detail, your estimates are going to be much closer to the actual costs incurred for the project. 

2. Assume Less Risk

When preparing a bottom-up estimate, most project managers often plan for contingencies that might arise as well. This helps reduce risk and mitigate the chance of any significant deviations or errors that may derail the project. 

3. Improved Productivity

Another major reason why bottom-up estimating is so beneficial is because everyone knows exactly what they have to do at the start of the project. You don’t have to worry about figuring things out as you go along, which improves efficiency and productivity among team members. 

4. Save Time

Since you’ll account for everything well in advance, it’ll become much easier for the project managers to make better decisions. For instance, if they are faced with a choice, the managers will already know which the cheapest option is, and can plan for it accordingly. 

By evaluating the pros and cons of each decision beforehand, companies can save a great deal of time that would otherwise be spent on performing incremental analyses for different decisions. 

5. Improved Client Relationships

It always leaves a bad taste in a client’s mouth when the final costs are significantly higher than the original estimate. They may choose not to work with you in the future. However, if your estimates are accurate, with very little deviation, it’ll help foster trust with clients. 

As a result, you might be able to build longer, more positive relationships with those clients. 

Use Atarim to Create Effective Bottom-up Project Estimates

Atarim makes it easy for web designers and developers to carefully assess just how much work each client will require. You can create tasks in Atarim, and then assign them to different team members – each of whom will be automatically notified.

Atarim also lets you track time for each member, so you’ll know exactly how much time has been spent on each task. Atarim makes it easy for project managers to analyze the total amount of work that each project will require, as well as calculating exactly how much time in total has already been spent on a specific project. 

You can use all of this information to create more effective bottom-up project estimates for your clients, and usually significantly more quickly too.

Project Management Isn’t an Exact Science

Here’s the thing: every project has minor differences and nuances that may require you to amend your workflow. With bottom-up estimating, you make sure that you get paid for all the work you put into a project. 

You may want to read Delivering Accurate Cost Estimates Through Risk Informed Decision-Making, a fantastic journal article by Shay Kelly and Brent McElrath, which goes into deeper detail about how to account for risks in a project. Using this information, you’ll find yourself in a much better place to prepare accurate cost estimates for clients, and improve team efficiency as a whole too! Check out Atarim’s project management features and find out why leading web agencies are boosting their reputation and safeguarding their profit margins by gaining tighter control over every stage of their clients’ projects.