{"id":32275,"date":"2022-09-16T11:04:18","date_gmt":"2022-09-16T11:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/?p=32275"},"modified":"2024-06-15T07:41:39","modified_gmt":"2024-06-15T07:41:39","slug":"workload-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management","title":{"rendered":"Workload Management: A Complete Guide For Creative Agencies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>In an ideal world, everyone in your agency puts in their 100%. You know exactly when you can take up new projects. And when you need to hire more people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unfortunately, that&#8217;s not how things work in the real world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>People have good days and bad days. Change jobs. Project deadlines slip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your star performers are overwhelmed with work while others struggle to contribute. Eventually, overwork leads to burnout and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0160412021002208\" target=\"_blank\">serious health issues<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s quite a fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On one hand, you want to maximize your team&#8217;s utilization. But at the same time, you don&#8217;t want to negatively affect anyone&#8217;s well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>This is where workload management \u2014 a process that ensures that every team member has the optimal amount of work \u2014 comes into play.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read this article until the end to learn:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What workload management is<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Why is it important<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How to get your team&#8217;s workload organized in five steps<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Bonus: tips for heavy workload management<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is workload management?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Workload management is the process of efficiently distributing work across your entire team to maximize utilization without overworking while ensuring top-quality work gets delivered profitably.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n        <div class=\"mb-8 top-tip\">\n            \n                            <span class=\"flex items-center text-dark-purple-100 opacity-60 uppercase mb-2 text-sm font-bold\">\n                    <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"!w-6 !h-6 !object-contain mr-2\" src=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/toggl-mjtweaver\/img\/brain.png\" alt=\"Top tips to enlarge those brains\" aria-label=\"Top tips to enlarge those brains\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" loading=\"lazy\">    \n                    <span>Top tip:<\/span>\n                <\/span>\n            \n            <div class=\"bg-yellow-30 border-t-[3px] border-yellow-100 px-6 pt-6 pb-2\"><p><em data-rich-text-format-boundary=\"true\">Happy teams = better results = happier clients = more profitable business.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    \n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s easier said than done though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/development-academy.co.uk\/news-tips\/time-management-statistics-2021-research\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">survey<\/a>, 1 in every 5 employees felt that their work is either never in control or only under control one day per week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"667\" src=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/how-often-do-you-feel-in-control.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32277\" srcset=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/how-often-do-you-feel-in-control.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/how-often-do-you-feel-in-control-300x195.jpg 300w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/how-often-do-you-feel-in-control-620x404.jpg 620w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/how-often-do-you-feel-in-control-112x73.jpg 112w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a href=\"https:\/\/development-academy.co.uk\/news-tips\/time-management-statistics-2021-research\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>What gives when team members don&#8217;t feel in control \u2014 Quality of work, due dates, and their mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ideally, you don\u2019t want to wait till you start seeing these problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When implementing workload management best practices, make it a rule to proactively review the situation. You can prevent a lot of the issues that could have negative effects on your project; issues like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Missed deadlines<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Subpar work<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Disgruntled team members<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unhappy clients<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s see what else effective workload management can do for you, so you understand how much it matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why is workload management important?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Everyone works differently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not even geniuses follow the same routine. Even the greatest human minds structured their workday differently. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"404\" src=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/everyone-works-differently.png\" alt=\"How do geniuses organize their work day?\" class=\"wp-image-32276\" srcset=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/everyone-works-differently.png 600w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/everyone-works-differently-300x202.png 300w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/everyone-works-differently-112x75.png 112w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Everyone works differently\u2014including the greatest minds (<a href=\"https:\/\/podio.com\/site\/creative-routines\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">source<\/a>) <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>If you look carefully, you&#8217;ll see diverse working styles across your team&#8217;s members too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plus, life happens and it affects how someone works. A team member who&#8217;s at her best today may struggle tomorrow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>How do you overcome these challenges and maximize the utilization of your team?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Effective team workload management helps. Here&#8217;s how:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Improves work efficiency<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increases business profitability and client happiness<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fosters teamwork and open communication (with fair workload distribution)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Prevents burnout<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduces <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/employees-turnover\" title=\"employee turnover\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">employee turnover<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keeps teams happy and productive over the long-term<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We need to stress that workload planning is about ensuring your team\u2019s well-being <em>and<\/em> the overall quality of your work \u2014 at the same time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They seem like separate arguments, but really they\u2019re two sides of the same coin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you split the workload unevenly between members, some will be working too much. On the flip side, others could be doing more, and end up feeling demotivated.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This directly translates to poor project performance, client complaints, and job dissatisfaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5 steps to organize and manage your team\u2019s workload<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that we\u2019ve established just how important it is for your team to have a balanced workload, let\u2019s look at how you can create an effective workload management plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over with the what and why, and on with the workload management plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here\u2019s the 2-minute version first:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Step<\/th><th>Summary<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>1. Monitor workload<\/td><td>\u2022 Make a checklist of your team\u2019s projects and workflows<br>\u2022 Identify the scope and schedule for each new project and workflow<br>\u2022 Visualize your team\u2019s schedule to identify workload imbalances<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>2. Determine capacity &amp; availability<\/td><td>\u2022 How much bandwidth does each team member have?<br>\u2022 What\u2019s their availability?<br>\u2022 Think long-term to determine the real capacity<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>3. Allocate resources<\/td><td>\u2022 Avoid double-booking &amp; scheduling conflicts<br>\u2022 Find more resources or extend the timeline<br>\u2022 Add project slack (buffer time)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>4. Balance workloads<\/td><td>\u2022 Schedule regular 1:1 meetings with each team member<br>\u2022 Identify areas where team members need help<br>\u2022 Communicate team and project schedules in advance<br>\u2022 Make sure everyone can see the schedule<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>5. Use workload management tools<\/td><td>\u2022 Have a long-term overview of the workload<br>\u2022 Be warned about potential scheduling conflicts<br>\u2022 Track your project progress vs estimates<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>And now for the deep dive \u2014 don\u2019t forget to bring your snorkel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Monitor your team\u2019s workload<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Monitoring the overall workload is the first step. You can\u2019t improve what you don\u2019t measure (or see), so having eyes on the situation is your job #1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some tactics that could help you set it up:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Make a checklist of your team\u2019s projects and workflows<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Identify the scope and schedule for each project and workflow<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Visualize your team\u2019s schedule to identify workload imbalances<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"668\" src=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/illus-adjust-workloads-1024x668.png\" alt=\"Toggl Plan Team timelines make workload management easy\" class=\"wp-image-31768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/illus-adjust-workloads-1024x668.png 1024w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/illus-adjust-workloads-300x196.png 300w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/illus-adjust-workloads-620x404.png 620w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/illus-adjust-workloads-1152x751.png 1152w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/illus-adjust-workloads-1236x806.png 1236w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/illus-adjust-workloads-112x73.png 112w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/illus-adjust-workloads.png 1534w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/plan\/index\" title=\"Toggl Plan\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">Toggl Plan<\/a>&#8216;s Team timeline shows you your team&#8217;s workloads and time off. Adjusting workloads is as easy as drag-and-drop. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>A color-coded overview can help you quickly identify projects and tasks that dominate your team&#8217;s schedule. See which employees are pulling more weight than others. Look for opportunities to balance things out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Determine each team member&#8217;s capacity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Next, break down how much bandwidth your team has. You\u2019ll want to consider:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>How much bandwidth does <em>each<\/em> team member have? This way, you can identify potential bottlenecks early on (i.e., maybe you only have one expert in PPC\u2014what if they have an emergency or need a break?)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Other projects, meetings, vacations, recurring tasks, public holidays, etc. that might impact capacity\u2014scheduling conflict breeding ground if you\u2019re not aware of them ahead of time<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Don\u2019t just think short-term and project-to-project; think long-term to help you determine if your team has the capacity to take on more work<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"661\" src=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/illus-zoom-levels-2x-1024x661.png\" alt=\"Long-term overview of your team's workloads in Toggl Plan\" class=\"wp-image-30658\" srcset=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/illus-zoom-levels-2x-1024x661.png 1024w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/illus-zoom-levels-2x-300x194.png 300w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/illus-zoom-levels-2x-768x495.png 768w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/illus-zoom-levels-2x-940x606.png 940w, https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/illus-zoom-levels-2x.png 1240w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Long-term overview of your team&#8217;s workloads in Toggl Plan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Get a long-term overview of your team&#8217;s workloads in Toggl Plan. Know if you can take up more work or need to make hiring decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Allocate resources to unassigned tasks while avoiding scheduling conflicts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the logical next step once you have measured workload and capacity, and it can feel like a minefield. To navigate it like a champ, you need to know:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What are scheduling conflicts and how to avoid them<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What\u2019s the difference between resource leveling and resource smoothing<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Scheduling conflicts<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>A scheduling conflict happens when an employee has task deadlines overlapping with other tasks or time off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scheduling conflicts are common. Especially in remote teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, you forget an employee in a different time zone has a public holiday, so you\u2019re suddenly in a crunch when they can\u2019t show up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You can avoid scheduling conflicts by:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Keeping an eye out for scheduling conflicts<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Establishing leave\/scheduling request policies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Keeping the communication open<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s also important to make sufficient room for billable and non-billable tasks and create room for some tasks taking longer than anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Also, you don\u2019t want to book every minute of a day. Because one delayed task can send your entire team&#8217;s workload for a toss.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But scheduling conflicts aren\u2019t the same as being understaffed. Or not having enough time to squeeze in all the work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s where <a href=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/resource-allocation\">resource allocation<\/a> solutions come into play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Resource leveling vs resource smoothing<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>These are your options when you simply can\u2019t avoid scheduling conflicts because you lack resources:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Resource leveling:<\/strong> <a class=\"wpil_keyword_link\" href=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/create-project-timeline\" title=\"project timeline\" data-wpil-keyword-link=\"linked\">project timeline<\/a> is adjusted\/extended, so you don\u2019t need any more resources to complete the project, just more time<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Resource smoothing:<\/strong> you can\u2019t extend the deadline, so you have to optimize resources to help you finish the job on time without sacrificing quality<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Resource leveling works great for projects with a flexible schedule. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Resource smoothing, on the other hand, is for projects where the deadline is set and cannot be extended. Your options are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reassign tasks to your most efficient resources <em>and\/or<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Look at what tasks can be trimmed to reduce the workload to a manageable level&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Involve your team members and balance workloads as needed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While it\u2019s up to you as the PM to schedule work, you can\u2019t be the only one making decisions. Involve your team members when planning a project schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So motivate them to participate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Schedule a regular 1-1 meeting with each team member to understand their workload<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Review work habits\u2014help your team become productive.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Train them to make better estimates and improve their time management skills.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Communicate team schedules in advance. So everyone has time to give feedback and you can adjust the schedule if needed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Make sure everyone knows the team schedule and not just their own work plans.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Some team members might want to do extra shifts\/take on more work. These are your biggest assets when it&#8217;s crunch time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Use workload management tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Last, but not least: it\u2019s the 21st century. You don\u2019t have to go at it armed with only spreadsheets and a lot of formulas (and patience).&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Workload management tools to help you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Visualize your team\u2019s schedule and workload<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rebalance workloads and adjust schedules before issues arise<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid scheduling conflicts with off days, public holidays, and tasks from other projects<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>There are a bunch of project management apps out there, though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>So how do you pick the right one?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Look at the features on offer. You definitely need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A visual, long-term overview of your team&#8217;s availability and capacity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Visual workload overview<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ability to rebalance workloads on the fly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ability to track estimated vs actual hours worked<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Since resource management is one of those things you\u2019ll be doing literally all the time as a project manager, any help you can get with it is welcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Tips for effectively managing a heavy workload<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, workload issues are inevitable. There are times when your team needs to put their heads down and plow through a mountain of work.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here&#8217;s how you and your team can get through challenges that seem impossible at first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Reassess priorities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s almost the end of the week. A deadline is around the corner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There&#8217;s very little time. But a long queue of tasks awaits your team. And you know you won&#8217;t be able to deliver <em>everything<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What do you do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s time to reprioritize your team&#8217;s task list. Reassessing task priorities helps you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prioritizing tasks helps you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Meet deadlines by getting the most critical work done first.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Better utilize scarce time and team resources.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Effectively manage your team\u2019s workload.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eisenhower.me\/eisenhower-matrix\/\" target=\"_blank\">Eisenhower Matrix<\/a> is one of the most popular <a href=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/how-to-prioritize-tasks\">ways to prioritize work<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Avoid distractions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Multitasking isn&#8217;t for everyone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to one study, <a href=\"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.3758\/PBR.17.4.479\" target=\"_blank\">only 2.5% of people<\/a> are able to multitask effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a crunch situation, it pays to get your team to focus single-mindedly on the tasks at hand \u2014 one task at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/track\/pomodoro-timer-toggl\/\">Pomodoro technique<\/a> can help your team keep their focus over longer periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this technique, you break your workday into 25-minute chunks, with 5-minute breaks in between.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can do almost anything (even a task you despise) in this 25-minute window. And, the built-in breaks help you maintain your motivation and focus for your entire workday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Identify eager-beavers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We already talked about these briefly \u2014 team members who are happy to put in extra hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Employees looking for a promotion<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>New employees eager to make an impression<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Employees in need of some extra income<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Talk 1:1 with your team members to identify those who are willing to step in and work overtime. Also, identify their motivation so you can recognize their contributions once the work is delivered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Templatize or automate repetitive tasks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you observe your team&#8217;s workflow, you&#8217;ll find some mundane tasks that recur periodically. For example, status updates, bill payments, expense reports, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Mckinsey, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/capabilities\/operations\/our-insights\/your-questions-about-automation-answered\" target=\"_blank\">70% of businesses<\/a> are at least trying out automation in their workflows. And two-thirds of these businesses report reduced operating expenses in addition to a better employee experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some tasks cannot be automated. For example, documentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But even there you don&#8217;t have to start with a blank slate. Instead, create templates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the very least, templates save you time wasted in:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Getting mundane tasks, such as documentation, started<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And formatting documents <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Plus it brings in uniformity which further saves time because your team already knows what information goes where.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The more you can automate or templatize your team\u2019s workload \u2014 the more time you have to focus on meaningful work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Consider outsourcing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>What do you do when your team doesn\u2019t have the availability or capacity to meet a deadline?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hiring new employees is one option. But you have a better chance of winning a lottery than hiring good talent on short notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, consider outsourcing tasks for which you don&#8217;t have the talent or capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The good news is you can easily find freelancers to outsource non-critical tasks. The bad news \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/how-to-hire-a-freelancer\">hiring good freelancers<\/a> is as hard as hiring a new employee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So start early. And build an army of freelancers who can step in when you need them to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Balance your team&#8217;s work and job satisfaction with workload management<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Workload management is a never-ending job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You need to actively monitor your team\u2019s workload and keep it balanced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But once you get a hang of it, it helps you maximize team utilization while improving your team\u2019s well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n        <div class=\"mb-8\">\n            <span class=\"block text-dark-purple-100 opacity-60 uppercase mb-2 text-sm font-bold\">Further Reading:<\/span>\n            <div class=\"border-t-[3px] border-b border-yellow-100 py-4 pb-2 lg:grid lg:gap-8\">\n                                    <div class=\"mb-4 lg:mb-2\">\n                        <a class=\"flex items-center hover:italic hover:text-dark-purple-80\" href=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management-software\" title=\"12 Best Workload Management Software for Teams in 2026\" aria-label=\"12 Best Workload Management Software for Teams in 2026\">\n                            <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"rounded-full w-14 h-14 mr-4 object-cover\" src=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/resource-management-tools-min-112x67.png\" alt=\"12 Best Workload Management Software for Teams in 2026\" width=\"56\" height=\"56\">\n                            <span class=\"font-semibold font-heading leading-snug\">12 Best Workload Management Software for Teams in 2026<\/span>\n                        <\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To run a profitable agency you want to maximize your team&#8217;s utilization without overwork. Lean how workload management can help you achieve this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":607,"featured_media":33680,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-resource-management"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Workload Management: A Complete Guide For Creative Agencies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"To run a profitable agency you want to maximize your team&#039;s utilization without overwork. Lean how workload management can help you achieve this.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Workload Management: A Complete Guide For Creative Agencies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"To run a profitable agency you want to maximize your team&#039;s utilization without overwork. Lean how workload management can help you achieve this.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Toggl Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Toggl\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-09-16T11:04:18+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-06-15T07:41:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/blog-creative.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2048\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1081\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jitesh Patil\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@toggl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@toggl\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Toggl Team\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jitesh Patil\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1f14ae0cadc59db374eaaf4c8de016e6\"},\"headline\":\"Workload Management: A Complete Guide For Creative Agencies\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-16T11:04:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-15T07:41:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management\"},\"wordCount\":2231,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/blog-creative.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Resource Management\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management\",\"name\":\"Workload Management: A Complete Guide For Creative Agencies\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/blog-creative.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-09-16T11:04:18+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-06-15T07:41:39+00:00\",\"description\":\"To run a profitable agency you want to maximize your team's utilization without overwork. Lean how workload management can help you achieve this.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/blog-creative.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/blog-creative.jpg\",\"width\":2048,\"height\":1081,\"caption\":\"Illustration of a paint roller painting strips of color on a laptop screen\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Workload Management: A Complete Guide For Creative Agencies\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Toggl Blog\",\"description\":\"Everything works much better with Toggl\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Toggl\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/toggl-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/toggl-logo.png\",\"width\":814,\"height\":814,\"caption\":\"Toggl\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Toggl\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/toggl\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/usetoggl\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/toggl\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1f14ae0cadc59db374eaaf4c8de016e6\",\"name\":\"Jitesh Patil\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18c6b101c496f4ed723c0e9716f9344068d223a5ae60030e45f79cfc521e7477?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18c6b101c496f4ed723c0e9716f9344068d223a5ae60030e45f79cfc521e7477?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18c6b101c496f4ed723c0e9716f9344068d223a5ae60030e45f79cfc521e7477?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jitesh Patil\"},\"description\":\"Jitesh is an SEO and content specialist. He manages content projects at Toggl and loves sharing actionable tips to deliver projects profitably.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/toggl.com\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jiteshpatil\/\"],\"url\":\"\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Workload Management: A Complete Guide For Creative Agencies","description":"To run a profitable agency you want to maximize your team's utilization without overwork. Lean how workload management can help you achieve this.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Workload Management: A Complete Guide For Creative Agencies","og_description":"To run a profitable agency you want to maximize your team's utilization without overwork. Lean how workload management can help you achieve this.","og_url":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management","og_site_name":"Toggl Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Toggl\/","article_published_time":"2022-09-16T11:04:18+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-06-15T07:41:39+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2048,"height":1081,"url":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/blog-creative.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jitesh Patil","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@toggl","twitter_site":"@toggl","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Toggl Team","Est. reading time":"11 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management"},"author":{"name":"Jitesh Patil","@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1f14ae0cadc59db374eaaf4c8de016e6"},"headline":"Workload Management: A Complete Guide For Creative Agencies","datePublished":"2022-09-16T11:04:18+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-15T07:41:39+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management"},"wordCount":2231,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/blog-creative.jpg","articleSection":["Resource Management"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management","url":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management","name":"Workload Management: A Complete Guide For Creative Agencies","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/blog-creative.jpg","datePublished":"2022-09-16T11:04:18+00:00","dateModified":"2024-06-15T07:41:39+00:00","description":"To run a profitable agency you want to maximize your team's utilization without overwork. Lean how workload management can help you achieve this.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/blog-creative.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/blog-creative.jpg","width":2048,"height":1081,"caption":"Illustration of a paint roller painting strips of color on a laptop screen"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/workload-management#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Workload Management: A Complete Guide For Creative Agencies"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/","name":"Toggl Blog","description":"Everything works much better with Toggl","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Toggl","url":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/toggl-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/toggl-logo.png","width":814,"height":814,"caption":"Toggl"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Toggl\/","https:\/\/x.com\/toggl","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/usetoggl\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/toggl"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1f14ae0cadc59db374eaaf4c8de016e6","name":"Jitesh Patil","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18c6b101c496f4ed723c0e9716f9344068d223a5ae60030e45f79cfc521e7477?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18c6b101c496f4ed723c0e9716f9344068d223a5ae60030e45f79cfc521e7477?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/18c6b101c496f4ed723c0e9716f9344068d223a5ae60030e45f79cfc521e7477?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jitesh Patil"},"description":"Jitesh is an SEO and content specialist. He manages content projects at Toggl and loves sharing actionable tips to deliver projects profitably.","sameAs":["https:\/\/toggl.com","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/jiteshpatil\/"],"url":""}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/607"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32275"}],"version-history":[{"count":35,"href":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32275\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":45563,"href":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32275\/revisions\/45563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/toggl.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}