Design N2-ition
A Solution for Encouraging Teamwork and Camaraderie Between Departments
As part of the Leadership Academy at The N2 Company, the company hosted a “Shark Tank” style event where invited employees were to team up in pairs and propose a new business initiative to improve employee lives.
I had the honor and privilege of working with my co-worker and friend Sandra Pérez-Puelles on an initiative to improve the working relationship between our team at the time- the advertisement design team - and the sales team that interacts with the clients directly and conveys their wishes to us. The goal of this project is both to get results that both designers and clients can be proud of as well as make us more of a cohesive team across roles and departments.
Our proposed initiative, Design N2-ition, incorporated multiple touchpoints to help build the relationship over time, centering on the design team reaching out to sales/”the field”. Below are screenshots from our Shark Tank presentation with explanations:
Friendly Postcards
In the company’s early stages, Area Directors (franchise owners and advertising salespeople in one) were assigned to one graphic designer who handled all of their advertisements, and one who handled all of their magazine layouts. Over time, these designers built a working relationship with their Area Directors where they grew to stand each other’s communication styles, quirks, and needs.
As the company grew, this model became less sustainable at a larger scale. Advertising design work was placed into a general pool of work that the entire design team drew from at once. This proved much more efficient and reliable, but came at the cost of the personal working relationships.
To help bring some of that personal feel back, and because the entire company business model revolves around getting personal connection via the mail, Sandra and I suggested sending postcards from the design team to the Area Directors. This benefits both sides - Area Directors feel like they have a team supporting them, and there’s also a sense of the human beings behind the comments left on the ad portal.
Designer Spotlights
Continuing on the theme of creating a human connection with the anonymous comments on the ads portal, we suggested designer spotlights in two different locations - in the company weekly e-mail, and in the quarterly “Inside N2” publication for employees.
Educational Handout Card
Hands-down, the biggest challenge in the relationship between Area Directors and advertisement designers is communication.
When area directors don’t get back results that reflect what their client is looking for, they become rightfully frustrated. After all, it’s their job to show the ad to the client and both take client feedback and communicate it back to the designers.
When advertisement designers get feedback on designs that is either too vague or leaning toward micromanagement, they also get frustrated.
These cards are meant to be handed out at the bi-annual area director conference during an educational workshop. This card addresses common phrases the design team sees and struggles with, and suggests ways to pinpoint what the area director and client need more clearly so that the design team can act on these needs with greater accuracy and efficiency.
In the end, all of us want to get ads to the clients that the clients love in a timely manner!
