What to expect from staff

[spicy]

Hi fellow designers,

This is a question for directors and managers mainly I think. I am currently in charge of our graphic design team, and things don't seem to be going as well as I had hoped. The proble I think is in the amount of billable hours they do.

Last month was extremely poor, where it averaged only 2.5 billable hours per person per week. No way we can survive on that. We have worked out that in theory we can work 7.5 hours per day, and can easily expect 5-6 billable hours per person per day. One of the reasons our billable hours was low was due to the fact that a lot of jobs went over the estimated time which we could not bill for.

Does anyone else have or had a similar problem? What do you think is reasonable considering that some jobs we can bill for 2 hours and only work 1 hour for example.

I have created a custom job list and hours tracker which allows us to see the performance of each staff member. All of them are around the same.

Any tips would be fantastic as I need to have this fixed and don't think it is fair to sack them because they are great.

Thanks in advance,

Joe

[frankster]

If they are truely great as you say and are doing their jobs well, then maybe your best course of action would be to increase the number of hours that you estimate for a job. Build yourself more flexibility into your timescales. If the client cannot afford the time required for a competent team of designers to complete their job then you have the wrong clients. I would avoid "sacking" or putting potentially unfairly short time estimates on what you say are a great team.

Where in the design process are you loosing the time? Concept? Execution? Revisions?

[CkretAjint]

Always over quote, then when you come in under your original quote you look like a hero! Plus over time you can better magage the time you will spend on a project... Don't forget the +/- 10% rule as well. :)

[spicy]

Thank you Frankster,

I don't think I am putting on a short time frame on estimates. For example, I think 2 hours to do a basic letterhead is way more than enough. I am trying to pin point where time is lost and am sitting down with each staff member every morning to discuss their hours so we can find out where exactly time is lost. Currently it seems to be a mixture of revisions and team members trying to make it too perfect rather than just getting the job done.

It also seems that a lot of time is just wasted, and I don't know what on. For example, Team member A works 8 hrs a day, has half an hour lunch break and only puts in 4.8 hrs worked. They don't have much admin work to do, and if they did it should be noted in the joblist as it is billable. There is no way they are dealing with new clients for more than an hour - that is my job.

It is very frustrating. The team are very happy with their jobs, they look like they are working hard, and possibly are. It just doesn't add up for some reason.

[spicy]

Thank you CkretAjint,

10% rule won't be enough. For one job that should take somebody 1 hr, it took 6. I think the system is being exploited and what I want to do is set up a system that encourages them to work for X billable per week. I just don't know what X should be. I don't want to compare it to what I do, but what is "average" in other design businesses to be fairest.

Joe

[budafist]

I have the same problem here. I really want a cattle prod.

You should set targets for your staff. It is not their fault when a job goes over the estimated time so put things in place to stop this from happening.

When job is turning out to be more complex than you first quoted for, you need to let the client know that you will need to start charging an hourly rate and that should give them the message that they need to wrap it up.

Are your staff running out of work? If you are, you need to let some of your staff go. If they are sitting there not doing anything, either let them go or get them to work on promotional stuff for the company to generate more work.

My co-worker is hopeless. Today I gave him 2 jobs for the morning. It would have taken me 1-1.5 hours to do both. In my head, I gave him until lunch time. He did 1 of those jobs in the 8 hours. After lunch, when I saw that he was still sitting on the first job, I told him that I needed for him to finish that job and the one after by the end of the day. I mean 1.5 hours work in 8 hours is NOT too much to ask for. He didn't even start the second job today.

The jobs were: make revisions to an invoice I had done (just move around some tables and add a few lines of text). The other was to typeset 8 business cards from copy supplied into a template that has already been made.

So yeah, hopefully your staff are better than my one. I set him half day targets and he ignores them all.

I am not happy.

[spicy]

Gee Budafist, that is bad. Makes me feel a little better now :-).

We do set targets, and we are slightly backlogged with work. The problem seems to be with smaller jobs (most of the time - won't talk about the web team at the moment). I think an extra sharp cattle prod would definitely help me.

Maybe I should give them one job at a time and follow up when it should be complete. That way I am sort of in control constantly. The only problem is that I won't get a chance to do work myself, and I am the guy with most experience and can do stuff the others can't.

Can anybody tell me if these hourly estimates are reasonable to quote?:
Business card design: 1.5 - 2 hrs
Letterhead (basic): 1 hr
A4 to DL brochure (all content supplied): 3.5-4 hrs
Logo design: 16 hrs (we actually do them in 8 hrs most of the time).

I just can't seem to be able to compare anywhere in Australia - it is very random and some firms charge $XX for business card design and are fairly big companies. Just oesn't make sense. By the way, we charge $XXX - all in AU dollars which is about the same now anyway I guess.

Thanks again.

[GraphixNPrint]

IMO billable hours should be stated up front. Clients are always going to change thier minds on things, and for this they should pay.

In reference to Buda's comments... I would have a stern talk with the co-worker of hers (which in my case would be my employee) and either they correct the situation and complete tasks in an average amount of time or look for work elsewhere.

Web wok seems to be a sticky thing to deal with... customers see all these flashy sites and want this and that, so you agree to put this and that together and they go home and look at something else... now they want THE new that... again another change. Now we go back in the circle of charging for revisions.

Might I suggest a eyes on approach for your people... sit back and actually watch (from a distance as to not distract) what thier output is. Are they really as great as you think they are? If these answers are yes, up the billable hours.

Just my opinions.

[Ovaltine]

In response to Buda:^WHY, oh why can people who do that still have jobs, but I am out of one? Not bitter, just very confused. One of my coworkers would sit and surf the web, work on her own stuff etc at work, and she's still there. Why??????:confused:
Life is so not fair, sometimes.

To the O.P., have you checked into the software which can track which files are being worked on and for how long, etc? There's a thread about it on here somewhere. Perhaps if your employees knew their time was being monitored (so they don't have to fill out time-sheets) they would be more productive. I'm not saying go overboard with it, it's just that, sometimes, a little oversight is a good thing. Do expect that the first 30min of the day will probably be taken up with checking emails and catching up with each other. It's good for coworkers to chat a bit, it creates a spirit of team work, but they are there to do a job, not socialize. Plus, if you use the software, they won't have to waste time filling out forms (like I had to when I was an intern), it's really distracting to have to stop and fill those out when you're on a roll.

Also, is the time overage due to your staff working slowly, you underestimating how long a project should take, or the client requesting loads of changes. Deturmining which factor it is will help you find the proper solution.

[frankster]

A mod will probably be along shortly to remove the prices you have quoted for work, as it is against forum policy to discuss pricing.

How are your staff logging their time? On paper? Spreadsheet? Software designed for the purpose?

We've had a few posts about time tracking software before now. This one (http://www.graphicdesignforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30980) is one of the more recent.

[spicy]

We do (well are meant to) tell the client we are approaching extra billable hours when we reach 75% of the allocated time. This works for me, as the client really knows to finalise it. It doesn't seem to work for my employees.

I have just downloaded the timer from the forum discussion I read earlier. I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but I will definitely give it a shot. Our joblist is web based and has a timer function on it. I always tell the staff to work on one project at a time, and check emails once every hour so they can concentrate. I can see your point though Ovaltine, it will show what programs were open too.

I know my staff aren't the quickest - I think they are trying to do more than what is expected. For a while they were starting out whole layouts before even considering the content - this obviously wasted heaps of time because their design suddenly didn't work when content was placed. I have been trainging them so they are more efficient, but some of the stuff they seem to ignore.

All of them came straight out of Uni, so they don't know what is expected, and because I never worked for anyone else, I don't have a guide either.

Maybe I should temporarily work fo another firm to see what they do.

In regards to your question Ovaltine, the time average is about 50/50. The underestimating is now fixed in most cases. I still think that all estimates were fair and could have been done in the estimated time.

Joe

[spicy]

thanks Frankster,

Ooops - I forgot about the pricing bit. Sorry Mod, won't happen again.

I have created a web based application which I will be selling in the near future once we have removed any bugs. It is pretty good as it will tell you everything about the client, the jobs, the invoice and quote details, hours worked, hours that can be billed, percentage of worked vs billable, print details, when the proof was last sent with automatic email notification for followups and much more. It is also very easy to use, and the staff like it as it was built with their input. The only thing it doesn't do is pause when the phone rings. I will read the other post, but in general I was sick of trying all these programs that had good features, but not all so you ended up doubling up in a lot of things.

The good news is that since the new software, productivity has gone up a fair whack, and no jobs have been forgotton to be invoiced either.

[Samakimoto Graphics]

Here's something that could help.

I'm setting up a freelance business as I'm between jobs. So I've downloaded the freetrial...check it out.

http://www.allgraphicdesign.com/project-management-designers.html

[budafist]

Can anybody tell me if these hourly estimates are reasonable to quote?:
Business card design: 1.5 - 2 hrs
Letterhead (basic): 1 hr
A4 to DL brochure (all content supplied): 3.5-4 hrs
Logo design: 16 hrs (we actually do them in 8 hrs most of the time).
I work at a printing company so our times will be different to a design studio. Your hourly estimates are the maximum of what I would quote. Except logo design. We only have the luxury of about 1-3 hours for logos. I do many 8 page newsletters and catalogues in a month. They usually take me 3 hours from start to finish. Where I am working is not ideal for design though. We are a printing company first. Design studio is way, way down on the list of priorities.

Having all your staff straight out of Uni is a huge problem. At Uni we were given 2 weeks to do 1 business card. Today, I am lucky if I get 2 hours to do a card.

In reference to Buda's comments... I would have a stern talk with the co-worker of hers (which in my case would be my employee) and either they correct the situation and complete tasks in an average amount of time or look for work elsewhere.
He's had several stern talking tos from me and management. Today when it was nearly time for him to leave and I asked him why he hadn't even finished 1 job today, he blamed it on his computer. I said to him - as I had said all day when he mentioned that his computer wasn't go so well: Call (the name of our tech support). Our mac support gets paid to make sure we are running 100%.

My colleague seems to think he is so far above help that he won't call for support until he is told to repeatedly. There was another time when his computer was funny and he refused to call tech support. Instead he complained for hours. I told my boss and my boss told him to call tech support at the first instance of computer trouble. One of the reasons is because the support often take up to 5 hours to come in. 5 hours is almost a whole work day.

So my colleague, after about 4 hours of trying to figure it out himself, he calls tech support. OK, they will send someone out in 5 hours. Had he called tech support at the start of his troubles, then he could still have a go at fixing it himself. If he fixes it, he can always cancel the support! I tried explaining that to him but it's like talking to a goldfish. A stupid goldfish.

Might I suggest a eyes on approach for your people... sit back and actually watch (from a distance as to not distract) what thier output is. Are they really as great as you think they are? If these answers are yes, up the billable hours. When I walk past his desk, I sometimes stand and watch him work. I hate doing it but it is so very neccessary. He does things the most random and incorrect ways! I suggest every one in a senior position stand and watch their workers every once and a while to keep them on track.

In response to Buda:^WHY, oh why can people who do that still have jobs, but I am out of one? Not bitter, just very confused. One of my coworkers would sit and surf the web, work on her own stuff etc at work, and she's still there. Why??????:confused:
Life is so not fair, sometimes. I agree. It's totally unfair. If I were the boss here, this guy would never have been hired in the first place. I work overtime hours to pick up this guy's slack. He will not do overtime hours to pick up his own slack. Our previous receptionist told me he wasn't allowed to work overtime because he couldn't stay late because he had to hurry home and cook his girlfriend's dinner every night. Weird.

How are your staff logging their time? On paper? Spreadsheet? Software designed for the purpose? We (as in the system I was taught and I have taught all new staff) write our hours on a piece of paper and either attach it with the job or keep a notebook.

I have told all new staff this from day 1. So when I asked my crappy worker where his time notes where, he said he kept them in his head. This is the same worker who denied all knowlege of a design he had worked on 2 days earlier when a client came into approve it to print. She explained the whole job to him and so did I yet he denied having designed it. If you can't recognise your jobs, how on earth do you think you might keep a record of minutes you have worked on it?

I told him that was not how we do things and reminded him that I had always told him to keep notes. Every time we work on big jobs, I remind my staff to write down their hours. Often we work on each others jobs. How do I know how many minutes are kept in his head? Do not ask me to delve into that head of his.

I asked him how many hours he had spent on certain jobs. Oh wow! 1 hour for all of them.

As you can all tell, this is a problem I have a lot of passion about...passion, frustration, whatever.

[Ovaltine]

For all the good it did, my art director (last job) gave the websurfing employee a book on time management in an effort to increase her efficiency.

Any time I got to feeling overwelmed, I'd let him know, we'd sit down with the (usually 2 page) list of my jobs, and he'd let me know the priority level of each. Once I knew this, I was usually less overwelmed by the mountain of work, and was able to work faster than I thought.

[spicy]

Hi guys,

Thanks for all your posts - really great to read. I was unable to reply earlier as my machine blew its hard drive. At least now I have Leopard :-).

Ovaltine:
That is a great idea, and in fact that is something I have sort of done with my staff. I have attended Steven Covey's time management course and have taught to the best of my ability our design staff good time management. I have built our joblist to Steven Covey's system to enable the best time management I could possibly think of. It has paid off, but sometimes we all just need a slap to ensure we do it right.

Budafist:
The printing industry is harsh when it comes to deadlines. I had experience in a digital copy shop and there was a lot of pressure to get things done. But the most annoying thing was that when you did get it done, and it wasn't right they had plenty of time for a reprint.

I occasionally go through a job with staff and watch them do things, and sometimes it is painful. sometimes my eyes bleed seeing them switch screens, click buttons and move the mouse randomly just to do a simple thing like rotate an object. Then the stress of not having set up the template properly so a simple font change throughout the document takes ages rather than simply changing the styles. It is good practise to see them work, and to assist them in becoming more efficient - but can feel painful as you would know.


I recently had a big discussion with one of my staff regarding hours. I went right into our finances so she could see what was happening and it gave her a little fright - good. She told me that the biggest problem for her is interuptions from the phone and email for example. I told her to only check her email once every hour, and reply twice or three times a day, so that is solved. I am thinking of giving our admin lady the task of being a client manager so all changes, followups and general interuptions are absorbed by her. For that we need to make sure the information is clear in the jobsheet for her to be able to discuss jobs with the client.

Has anyone done this, and if so how did it go and what problems arose.?

[budafist]

Spicy, are you supervising only or do you have a workload of design jobs do too?

My workload at the moment is equal if not greater than my staff. Yet I'm still expected to supervise them. I feel like it's unfair as I don't have the extra time to dedicate to check they are doing their jobs properly.

I check what they are doing if I am passing their desk but I'll only make an effort to check up on them 1 or 2 times a day.

I am lucky to have an excellent memory. I seem to recognise every job that comes through here - even if those that are designing can't even recognise their own jobs. Excellent memory also means I hold grudges too I guess.

Sorry, just been reading and agreeing a horoscope thing for Scorpios that was emailed to me. I hold grudges!

[frankster]

Then the stress of not having set up the template properly so a simple font change throughout the document takes ages rather than simply changing the styles.

OK, I remember you saying that your designers are fresh out of school. Seems if you are having problems such as the one quoted above then it may well increase efficiency if you determine which of these technical issues need addressing in a hurry and organising a "staff training" morning once a week, or hour once a day for a while where you get everyone up to speed on things like this. No point following them all around babysitting and trying to spot them doing things the stupid way constantly when you can get them all in one go and sort out the major time wasting culprits like this in one fell swoop and by the order of priority that you choose.

[spicy]

Budafist, I am the owner, supervisor and main designer. I need to work otherwise we wont survive, which is exactly what I shouldn't need to do. As far as I am aware, I should be only supervising and the staff should bring in enough money to keep us very happy. Ain't happening though. So my workload is the biggest, plus I have business issues to deal with and I am on the same pay as they are. Doesn't seem fair, but on the other hand I know it can work - just need to find out how.

I am known for trying to figure things out myself, too arogant to ask questions, but it has gone on for too long. That doesn't help either as the staff are sort of in a habbit.

Frankster, I think they definitely need on-going training, but I don't seem to have enough time (for the reasons above). I wonder how much more efficient they will become as they can definitely do the basic things, and sometimes even impress me with complex tasks. I know it will make a difference, but not a very noticable one.

Maybe I should simply do it by myself for a while and when I am ready and have everything properly planned go out and find myself an experienced designer to work with.

By the way, this forum rocks, and you guys are a great help.

[PrintDriver]

Hire in a trainer. There are consultants who will come in and train your people on the software they are using. You will have to do some hunting around (start with Adobe though if that is the software they are using) and you will have to decide if the cost of a consultant is worth the time they aren't working. Or have them do a Saturday. It's not unheard of. Would do designers good once in a while to have to work a Saturday (like their printers do ;)). Or do up a set of templates and give them to your staff to study.

Using kids fresh out of school is admirable if you are doing it for the right reasons. Newbs, like interns, require a lot of work and watching. If they are being hired because they will take less pay than someone with 5 years experience, again, figure out what they are actually costing you in time YOU have to spend watching and working with them. Not being critical. I just know what the cost is of taking on an intern in terms of productivity....

If the idea was to hire them to have people who would do things your way without preconceived notions of how they want to get it done, then you have to TEACH them your way. Don't expect a newb to know anything more than how to draw pretty pictures. They may know the theory and have a nice portfolio (that took them 3 years to fill BTW) but they do not know how to set things up for speed or for getting them through a print rip.

[Kool]

Sounds to me like you need to let a couple of the just out of college kids go and hire a well experienced art director. Pay him/her what you were paying the two you let go combined and let them run the shop and whip the other designers into shape. I'm pretty sure that if you get the right person that they and the other designers will be able to keep up with the work and free up your time to run and promote your business.

[Drorain]

What is your staff like for experience? If they are new to the industry they may produce great results, but their process is fairly slow because their used to school projects, which give you weeks on a brochure or logo design. They might be a little green and will get better in time.

Personally I think a designer should have more than 1 job at a time, if they get stuck on something, they can bounce to the other project in the meanwhile. Are you giving your designers time for research too, looking at books to get inspired, market research on the web, a little might go a long way.

Also apparently people waste 20% of the workday on the web/email and such, loss in productivity. This is across the board in the USA, I can attest to it because I waste about that much, but all my work gets done…the joys of being an in-house designer.

[Broacher]

Spicy, reading your story makes me wonder why you went this route in the first place. Why would you want to give up the creative and be held responsible for a bunch of people's jobs while working endless hours for low pay? Have you considered going as an independent or finding maybe just one or two business partners?

I guess a lot comes from the answer to the question: what does designing really mean to me? If it's mostly for the profit, then your work is what you described: making young designers as efficient as possible in cranking out the work. If you want less work, less stress, less workers-- maybe your goal is what Jeff Fisher is always describng: to get paid as much for the hours you do work as an independent, to really enjoy and get more hours where you can put that money 'to play.'

That might put you in competition with the elite class of designers--fewer jobs and clients, but a lot more money. It also takes a lot of sacrifice and hard work to get to that level. Maybe subcontracting our creative ambitions is a lot easier?

I don't know which would make you happier in the long run.

Do you?

[budafist]

Just a thought, you aren't doing the just out of school workers any favours by surrounding them with people with the same inexperienced work ethic. When they move on from you (and let's face it, people don't have loyalties these days) they will have a couple years experience but it's like they still haven't gained real work work ethics.

I'm guilty of this too. :(