Wattsnext

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

I'm the Prime Minister of DBC, a creative agency primarily focused on brand strategy.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire Wattsnext?

We hired WattsNext after hearing Sel Watts speak about building a culture that produced more engaged and productive employees. WattsNext did a few projects over the course of a year, from writing Outcome Profiles (Job Descriptions), to defining a new set of Mission Vision and Values.

What were your goals for this engagement?

With rapid growth for our agency, came a whole new set of problems. We needed to solidify a culture, that would inform our work, and future hiring. In essence, we needed to find ourselves outside of the CEO.

SOLUTION

How did you select Wattsnext?

I heard Sel Speak at an event and was blown away. We had evaluated many other options throughout the years, and this was the first firm that offered concrete results, which is something that's extremely important to me. The pricing made me squeak. But for the level of work, it was absolutely the right move for the organization.

Describe the engagement in detail.

The scope of work was to do 3 or 4 workshops to start. With myself (the CEO) the leadership team, and the entire team. First, we unpacked the challenge, set some long term goals for the organization (which was tough) and then began to talk through each person's position, and the ideal company structure.

I was being interviewed live in New York, but also connected to members of the team in Brisbane, Australia. WattsNext then put together our vision mission and values, and then presented it to our team for our feedback. They followed up with folders and folders of guides and documents.

What was the team composition?

I worked with an account manager, and the co-CEOs directly. There was also a team in Australia that did all of our guide writing. The team made sure I had a guide throughout the process.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the engagement that demonstrate progress or success?

We got soooo much better at understanding what everyone's roles and responsibilities are. With this, our team's productivity increased exponentially. Our recruiting process was able to get one step faster with the Outcome Profiles, and the questions we ask that are directly related to our mission.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

WattsNext is the most efficient vendor we've ever worked with. We always knew where we were in the process, and what would come next. Sel (co-CEO) was always a call away for questions about implementation, and the challenges that we would face interpersonally.

What did you find most impressive about this vendor?

It worked! Sel and her team are rock stars. We can't live as an organization without the work they did. We use it every single day.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I think the sales process took a little bit extra to understand what the value was. I'd love to have a bit more information next time up front.