Ayzenberg Group’s Average Workflow Takes 25% Less Time with Workamajig

Ayzenberg Group, Inc. As a Brand + Tech Orchestra with a global focus, our international network is a key factor in fulfilling our mission: bringing data-centric, predictive decisions by fusing technology with art to achieve the holy grail of one-to-one marketing with a reach of mass-media scale.

quick HIGHLIGHTS

CHALLENGES

• Old financial management system
• Couldn’t scale alongside the fast-growing agency
• Wasn’t cloud-based, forcing users to spend extra hours in office

SOLUTION

• Finance & KPIs to assess profitability, guide hiring, and automate invoicing
• Project management to track conversations, manage files, review change requests, monitor budgets, and more
• Built-in dashboards to help every role operate efficiently and simplify time tracking
• Configurable reports generated in seconds help guide strategic decisions
• Integrated data to fit everything together into comprehensive reports

RESULTS

• Average team member saves 2+ hours/day on workflows
• Data-centric analytics inform strategic growth decisions
• Different teams can now connect, communicate, and collaborate more efficiently

Challenges:

Rigid structures don't support rapid growth

Before Workamajig, Ayzenberg Group was stuck in what Rhonda Burt calls “Excel hell.” When the agency only had 40 people, it had implemented a financial management solution. But as the company rapidly grew to 200+ users, the original software couldn’t keep up.

“The previous system was rigid and couldn’t be adapted to a team of 200. But we wanted to be flexible and accommodate our clients. That required a very manual process,” says Rhonda, Vice President of Finance and Systems.

The old system’s limited functionality inhibited growth. The financial department used the system to track finances, but their efforts were largely siloed from the work of other teams.

“Only the finance team used the old system. There was no way to schedule through it, integrate project accounting, or manage projects. They just used it to track money,” Rhonda explains.

The team had to export data to separate spreadsheets to create things like project reports and quarterly financial reports. This introduced extra steps, allowed human error to creep into the equation, and added hours to every process.

Everyone was frustrated with the old system, not least of all because all data entry had to be done on location. Work that could easily be done from home instead required tons of extra hours in the office.

 “The old system wasn’t cloud-based, so we had to come into the office to work on it. Very laborious and a lot of late nights.”

“To try and get financial work and project
accounting done was a very manual process.
The structure was rigid and couldn’t be
adapted to a team of 200.”

Solution:

A scalable creative, all-in-one creative management solution

Workamajig helps Ayzenberg Group improve project workflow, understand client profitability, and gain real-time metrics. Rhonda and her team finally have all the insights they need in one place: project, budgets, scheduling, reporting, and accounting.

“We use everything Workamajig has to offer,” Rhonda says. “We have around 250 active users now and everyone is in the system—from security guards using it for timekeeping to IT staff doing credit card purchases and purchase orders. Pretty much everybody in the whole company touches Workamajig in some way.”

Because it’s web-based, Workamajig enables Ayzenberg Group’s various teams to stay on top of projects and accounting no matter where they are in the world or what life may throw at them.

“When Workamajig was first implemented, we immediately noticed the difference. One person on our accounting team was out of the country, but she was still able to manage employees, timesheets, and security access work because she was on Workamajig. No one even knew she was gone,” Rhonda says.

Workamajig has proven adaptable to the company’s evolving needs. It has withstood the test of time simply because the platform is so flexible and the team behind it is so responsive.

“Everybody uses Workamajig differently, but the platform is flexible enough to adapt to the way you want to work. Over the past two years, we’ve constantly changed our process workflows and, with Workamajig, we’re not stuck in a box,” Rhonda explains.

“Our confidence in Workamajig also comes from the people behind the product. They really feel like a partner and they’re helpful and responsive whenever I reach out to them. And you get a software update every month, so the program keeps getting better,” she adds.

Rhonda says that everyone has a different favorite feature. Having quantifiable metrics at their fingertips is amazing for leaders who want to make informed data-backed decisions. The sales team loves the customizable dashboard that helps track each sales opportunity.

Her favorite feature is the Credit Card Connector, which automates the workflow when cardholders make a purchase.

“It makes it easy to add charges to the appropriate project budget, pay vendors, and reconcile credit card statements. It shifts the burden off of accounting.”

“We have around 250 active users now and
everyone is in the system. Pretty much
everybody in the whole company touches
Workamajig in some way.”

Results:

25% INCREASE IN PROJECT WORKFLOW EFFICIENCY

Workamajig has streamlined start-to-finish project management workflows. Even though every department uses it in slightly different ways, the average user saves upwards of 2 hours a day thanks to more efficient workflows.

“The biggest benefit of Workamajig is going to be the time savings,” Rhonda explains. “You don’t realize how much time you’re wasting on unimportant things: updating spreadsheets, sending emails, and other repetitive work that the system can take care of for you.”

“Most people will save at least 25% of their day if not more using Workamajig. If you truly embrace the system, you will eliminate so much time spent on redundant tasks,” she adds.

Some processes that used to take months now take a fraction of the time. And increased efficiency results in more timely insights that leaders can use to inform strategic business growth decisions.

“The company financial reports used to take months to produce and we could only create them once every quarter. Now the teams and departments get their financials at the end of every month. There’s no lag because everything is entered into Workamajig in real-time,” Rhonda explains.

As Ayzenberg Group grows and its needs evolve, Workamajig is adapting to those needs and helping the company stay agile.

“We chose Workamajig because it’s got the flexibility to be as big as we need to grow. If we quadrupled in size tomorrow, there would be no concern growth-wise for the accounting team. We would just add more people into the system—it’s that easy.”

“The biggest benefit of Workamajig is going to be the time savings. You don’t realize how much time you’re wasting on unimportant things: updating spreadsheets, sending emails, and other repetitive work that the system can take care of for you.”